Business and Economic Commentary by Christopher Ram
Part 7 June 21, 2024
Introduction
Banks DIH Limited, a blue-chip company on the domestic scene, has asked the Securities Council of Guyana to suspend the trading of its shares on the Guyana Stock Exchange. While I am not aware of any precedent for such a request in Guyana, the request is often justified where there are concerns about unfair trading or market manipulation. In a circular to its thousands of members, the company’s Board of Directors expressed concern that there is a continuing pattern of an unusual reduction in the price of BDIH shares involving very small trading. It notes that for the period 2019 to 2023, revenue increased by 48.8 % and profit after taxation increased by 79.7 % but yet the Company’s share price declined from $300 per share in March 2022 and to $115 per share in May 2024. The Circular added that “such a comparison of the price of shares going down at the same time that profits are going up defies any logical explanation” and raises fundamental questions as to the integrity of the Stock Market. Even more strongly, the Circular added that “[A]ny reasonable person would consider that the Stock Market in Guyana cannot be taken seriously!”, with an exclamation mark.