Crb Stocks To Be Suspended From Today

The National Stock Exchange (NSE), Bombay and Calcutta stock exchanges have decided to indefinitely suspend trading in all the four CRB group stocks - CRB Corporation, CRB Capital Markets, CRB Share Custodian and the mutual fund scheme, CRB Arihant Mangal, from today.

The BSE had already suspended two group stocks - CRB Capital Markets and CRB Corporation - from trading on the exchange for a period of three days, effectively from May 19.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) executive director R C Mathur said the action has been initiated on the basis of a letter from the companies share transfer agent, CRB Share Custodial Services, dissociating themselves from the companies.

 

Senior NSE sources said that the bourse was unable to suspend the stocks from Monday as this was during the current settlement. Therefore, it was decided to wait until Wednesday to suspend the companies, sources said.

CRB Share Custodial Services, the registrar, is the inhouse registrar and the share transfer agent.

Mathur told Business Standard that the BSE had asked these companies whether they have made any alternative arrangements for share transfer agents. If such an arrangement is made, the board may reconsider the suspension.

He said: The fact that the inhouse registrar has dissociated itself from the group is a serious issue. Though the CRB Corporation and CRB Capital Markets stocks were traded on NSE yesterday, there was a price freeze at Rs 3.15 in both the counters.

The BSE action has set a precedent for companies where registrars dissociate themselves. Under normal circumstances, the company takes up the transfer work in an event of the registrars ability to do the same. There is, however, no trace of any of the companys senior officials.

Mathur said that all the four CRB companies had to be suspended indefinitely, in view of the fact that buying or selling in these counters will be of no consequence in the absence of the registrar and transfer agent. Although the BSE suspension comes into effect from today, there was no trading in CRB Share Custodian and CRB Arihant Mangal on Tuesday.

The Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE) too announced it was indefinitely suspending trading in scrips of CRB Capital Market, CRB Share Custodial Services and CRB Corporation, effectively May 19. These shares were in the permitted group on the CSE.

CSE president Dinesh Singhania said This move has been taken after the share transfer agents of CRB dissociated themselves and said they would not accept any shares for transfer. Since the Bombay Stock Exchange, the regional exchange for CRB, suspended trading, we felt we should follow suit.