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Last year’s trading volume decreased by 11.27 million shares
Thupten Sangpo
Although the volume of secondary market stock transactions last year more than doubled from the year before, the market capitalization (M-cap) showed an upward trend, indicating rising stock prices.
According to the Royal Stock Exchange of Bhutan (RSEBL), the market traded 19.35 million shares of 17 listed companies worth Nu 782.02 million as of December 2023. Last year, 30.62 million shares worth Nu 1.92 billion were traded in the secondary market.
This means that the trading volume decreased by 11.27 million shares (36.81%) and the value decreased by 1.14 billion Ngultrum (59.21%).
Despite the decline in trading volumes, M-cap (the total value of all listed companies) rose from N53.83 billion the year before to N60.19 billion last year, an increase of 11.81%.
M-Cap is the current market value of shares of the 18 companies listed on RSEBL. It is calculated by multiplying the number of shares existing by the current market price, which means that an increase in price or number of shares will increase M-Cap.
If the number of shares remains the same, it is attributed to an increase in the share price. This means that more people are willing to buy the shares (demand) rather than sell them (supply). It also indicates growing interest in the market, even if trading activity is low.
The Bhutan Stock Index (BSI) also reflects this dynamic, rising to 1,377.53 points as of December last year. This is a 26.56% increase compared to 1,088.41 points last year.
According to the Bhutan Stock Exchange, Bhutan’s BSI index hit a record high last year, reaching 1,427 points, the highest point on record, indicating that the Bhutanese market is performing significantly well.
This year, the highest point of the BSI was 1,571.99 points on June 19. As of yesterday, the BSI had fallen to 1,493.73 points.
The BSI is a stock market performance index that investors can use to compare the performance of investor portfolios.
The BSI was set at 1,000 as a benchmark on December 31, 2019. A rise above or below the benchmark indicates a change in price.
The top gainers in 2023 include Bhutan Carbide and Chemicals Ltd, which increased from Nu34.09 to Nu51.24 per share.
Meanwhile, the share prices of State Trading Company Ltd (STCBL) and Bhutan Flat Products Ltd increased from Nu 62 to Nu 76.5 per share and from Nu 29.92 to Nu 35 per share, respectively.
Bhutan Tourism Ltd’s share price fell the most, from Nu 937.11 in 2022 to Nu 650 last year, followed by Druk PNB and Bhutan Insurance Ltd (BIL), with share prices falling to Nu 35.17 and Nu 65, respectively.
Last year, even though Druk Satair Corporation Limited was delisted from the stock exchange with an exit price of Ngultrum 14.26 per share from October 6, the number of shareholder accounts also increased from 100,422 to 100,572 compared to the previous year.
Eight companies have declared dividends for the 2023 income year. Bhutan Ferro Alloys Ltd has declared the highest dividend of 100%, followed by Royal Insurance Company Ltd with a dividend of 35.24%. Druk Wang Alloys Ltd has declared a dividend of 30%, while Bhutan Insurance Company Ltd has declared a dividend of 21%. Two companies, T-Bank Ltd and STCBL, have declared bonus shares of 1:5 and 1:2 respectively.
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