The Securities and Exchange Commission will take the next course of action on minimum shareholding by directors of listed companies upon receipt of a certified document of the High Court verdict.

In a notice issued on November 22 last year, the commission made it compulsory for sponsors, directors and promoters of all listed companies to have a minimum of 2 percent stake individually and a 30 percent stake jointly in their firms.

The stockmarket regulator also set a six-month time to May 21 to acquire shares to meet the stipulation.

“The High Court in a verdict on May 21 upheld the SEC directive and vacated the writ petitions challenging the legality of the circular filed by some directors and aspirant directors of three listed firms,” the regulator said in a press statement yesterday.

“So the commission's circular on the minimum shareholding is in effect,” the SEC said in the statement.

The stockmarket regulator added that it has already started gathering information on the shareholding status of listed companies.

The SEC directive on minimum shareholding was meant to stop sales of shares by sponsors and directors and to create a buying pressure in the stockmarket for the benefit of general investors.

There were also allegations that many sponsors and directors sold off their shares but still held the controlling power of the company.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Dhaka Stock Exchange asked all listed companies to inform the premier bourse of their shareholding positions as of May 21, within this month.

The bourse's move came as a follow-through to the expiry on Monday of the six-month timeframe granted by the SEC to non-complying firms to bring their shareholding positions in line with the regulatory directive.

About 950 directors failed to meet this term, according to DSE's preliminary investigation. As of May 21, some 550 directors bought shares to meet the regulatory requirement on minimum shareholding.