Non-Functional Firms Dominate DSE Gainers Chart as Bangladesh Market Hits Regional Low

📈 Dhaka, Bangladesh — Non-operational companies dominated the top gainers’ chart on the Dhaka bourse in August 2026, raising fresh concerns over speculative trading and possible price manipulation at a time when the broader market emerged as the worst performer among its regional peers.

📊 The monthly gainers’ list was led by:

• 📈 Tung Hai Knitting & Dyeing: share price jumped 53.6 per cent
• 📈 GBB Power: gained 50 per cent

⚠ Both companies are identified by the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) as among the closed/non-operational companies. Tung Hai Knitting has been non-operational since January 2019, while GBB Power has remained closed since June 2023.

📋 GBB Power: No Price-Sensitive Information

📊 GBB Power has remained idle since the expiry of its power purchase agreement with the Bangladesh Power Development Board. The company also told the DSE that it had no undisclosed price-sensitive information to explain the unusual rise in its share price and trading volume.

📊 The stock of Tung Hai Knitting experienced substantial volatility during August. It rose by more than 10 per cent in several trading sessions, prompting the DSE to raise queries over unusual movements in its price and trading volume.

📋 Other Non-Operational Gainers

📊 The other non-operational companies on the DSE’s top 10 gainers’ chart were:

• 📈 Alltex Industries: +20%
• 📈 Baraka Power: +19%
• 📈 Nurani Dyeing: +14%

🤔 The sharp rallies in companies whose factories are closed, machinery remains idle and workers have long left have raised questions about the quality of price discovery on the country’s premier bourse.

📊 The DSE has previously flagged unusual movements in several dormant or financially weak companies. In some cases, shares of companies whose operations had remained suspended for years more than tripled within a few months amid heightened trading interest.

🌏 Bangladesh: Worst Performer Among Regional Peers

📊 The latest development emerged at a time when the broader market was struggling. The Bangladesh stock market was the worst performer among its regional peers in August 2026, with the benchmark DSEX plunging 298 points, or 5.05 per cent, amid persistent domestic headwinds and a lack of fresh positive catalysts.

🌏 Regional comparison (August 2026 returns):

• 🇻🇳 Vietnam: +5% (best performer)
• 🇮🇩 Indonesia: +4.64%
• 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka: +1%
• 🇵🇰 Pakistan: +0.50%
• 🇧🇩 Bangladesh: -5.05% (worst performer)

📊 According to Sheltech Brokerage.

🛢 Energy Crisis Weighs on Investor Confidence

💬 Market operators say persistent gas and electricity shortages in Bangladesh continued to weigh on investor confidence, as factory shutdowns, production disruptions and greater reliance on costly alternative energy sources raised concerns about industrial output and corporate profitability.

📊 Against this backdrop, the contrasting performance of closed companies and the broader market points to growing speculative activity in selected counters.

💬 ICB Chairman: Manipulators Driving Up Prices

💬 Speculative trading and short-term profit motives fuelled the price surge of non-functional companies, said Prof Abu Ahmed, Chairman of the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB).

💬 Manipulators often drive up prices through serial trading and spread rumours to lure general investors, who may be attracted by extraordinary short-term gains without assessing the underlying financial condition or operational status of the companies, he said.

💬 “Stronger surveillance, quicker detection of suspicious trading and prompt enforcement are essential to preventing unusual rallies in weak and closed companies,” Mr Ahmed added.

🏛 BSEC Chairman: AI-Based Surveillance Coming

💬 Masud Khan, Chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), said at a recent meeting that the regulator would examine whether large orders or serial transactions were being used to manipulate stock prices.

💬 “Placing a large order by itself is not illegal, but a series of transactions aimed at influencing prices could constitute an offence,” he said.

🤖 The regulator is moving towards AI-based surveillance, which is expected to strengthen its ability to detect unusual trading patterns and distinguish genuine investment from potentially manipulative activity. The DSE is also expected to upgrade its existing surveillance system, to be followed by the BSEC’s move towards AI-based surveillance.

⚠ Market participants, however, say technology alone will not be enough. The upgraded systems will have to be backed by experienced manpower, rapid investigation and timely enforcement to make surveillance effective.

📊 DSE Market Composition: 126 Z Category, 36 Closed

📊 Currently on the DSE:

• 📋 126 companies in the ‘Z’ category (junk status)
• 🚫 36 companies classified as closed/non-operational
• 📊 Out of 360 total listed companies

📊 This means roughly 45% of DSE-listed companies are either in junk or closed status — a significant overhang on the country’s capital market integrity.

🌏 Strategic Context: Bangladesh Capital Market Reform Imperative

📊 The dominance of non-functional companies in DSE’s gainers chart is symptomatic of deeper structural issues in Bangladesh’s capital market:

• 💰 Speculative trading culture — investors chase quick gains rather than long-term fundamentals
• 🏛 Weak surveillance — existing systems inadequate to detect manipulation in real-time
• 📋 Z category proliferation — too many junk companies still trading on the exchange
• 📊 Limited investment options — few fundamentally strong companies attracting institutional money
• 🤝 Enforcement gap — lack of timely action against manipulators

🤝 For Bangladesh’s capital market reform agenda, several actions are urgently needed:

• 🤖 AI-based surveillance deployment — BSEC’s announced move must be expedited
• 📋 Z category delisting — remove chronically non-compliant companies
• 💰 Stronger enforcement — swift prosecution of manipulation cases
• 📊 Investor education — warn retail investors about risks of investing in closed companies
• 🏛 Listing reform — bring more fundamentally strong companies to market
• 🤝 Trading restrictions — consider stricter circuit breakers for Z category

✅ For long-term investors, the August gainers chart is a stark reminder that Bangladesh’s capital market remains a challenging environment for fundamental investing. With the broader market down 5.05% in August while closed companies surge 14-54%, the disconnect between price and value has rarely been more visible. Restoring market integrity will require sustained regulatory action — with BSEC’s AI surveillance initiative and stronger enforcement against manipulation being critical first steps toward rebuilding investor trust in Bangladesh’s capital markets.