Earning Management, Timing Ability and Long-Run Underperformance of IPOs in Bangladesh.

This paper mainly focuses on two conjectures. Firstly the firm’s timing ability and secondly whether the firms are intentionally managing their pre-IPO discretionary accruals to overstate their earnings at the time of floatation to fetch higher price for their issues. In our study we do not find any evidence that supports the timing ability proposition of Ritter. But considering the cumulative abnormal return we find that in the long-run, IPOs have poor stock return when managers aggressively manage pre-IPO discretionary accruals of these firms than when they manage pre-IPO discretionary accruals conservatively. Keywords: Earning management, long-run underperformance, timing ability

Long-run Price Performance of Initial Public Offerings in Bangladesh

Long-run underperformance is a major a anomaly of the IPO market. But it is not as pervasive in nature as short run underpricing. The objective of this paper is to document empirically the long-run price performance of IPOs in Bangladesh. In addition to investigate whether this phenomena has any cross sectional or temporal pattern. We find a general pattern of underperformance in our market after five years of going public.  The underperformance is 10.19% per year for investing in IPOs relative to the market. We observe some temporal variations and variations across different industries for long-run performance of IPOs. Keywords: long-run performance, initial return, short –run underpricing, wealth relatives

The Supply Side Gaps and Opportunities of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh

The growth and development of SME is largely dependent upon cheap and quick access to financial resources. More than ever before, nowadays SME contribute enormously to the economic development of a country; emerging economies top the list. In Bangladesh, 80% of the industrial employment comes through SME and hence much effort is being given toward flourishing it further. However, growth has been affected a lot with contracting funds in the hands of the owners making them vulnerable to slowing down. The major source of finance- the commercial banks face increasing risks from inexperience of the SME owners, lack of well prepared financial statements, in-depth knowledge about the actual need and government bureaucracies. This study attempts to light on the less pronounced challenges of SME development- those faced by the lenders or financers in the process. It has been found that in Bangladesh the segment is underserved by the financial institutions (FI) with less focus on providing customer-tailored products, no specialized credit risk assessment system and huge time required for credit clearance information are some of the bigger challenges. With the knowledge we will be able to identify the risks inherent in lending by the prime commercial banks as well as find solutions to increase the credit flow in the sector. Keywords: SME, Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs), supply side, commercial banks

Distribution of Risk and Return: A Statistical Test of Normality on Dhaka Stock Exchange

The present study deals with the normal distribution of risk and return of the capital market of Bangladesh. Normal distribution of return is an essential assumption in the field of efficient market hypothesis which posits that the returns of a market must follow the random walk behaviour. Again it is an integral part of Capital Asset Pricing Model, which suggests that if an investor wants to get higher return then he must consider higher risk, this denotes to the normal distribution of risk and return. This study has used a set of parametric and non-parametric tools to examine the returns calculated from the three indices of Dhaka Stock Exchange: DGEN (from 2002 to 2010), DSE20 (from 2002 to 2010) and DSI (from 2006 to 2010). As positive skewness and kurtosis are evident in most of the cases, the returns are found to be suffering from some extremities. Daily, weekly and monthly returns are not normally distributed which shows the contra-evidence of random walk behaviour of market return. Besides the inconsistency between risk and return (daily and weekly) is found, which suggests that additional return may be achieved without having exposure to additional risk. Keywords: Dhaka Stock Exchange, Efficient Market Hypothesis, Kurtosis, Non-parametric Test, Normal Distribution, Parametric Test, Risk and Return, Skewness

Dividend Versus Capital Gain and Investor Preference:A Case Study on Dhaka Stock Exchange

This paper explores investors’ preference for capital gain and dividend payment. The questionnaire results show that overall, investors prefer capital gain over cash dividend. The results from the regression also demonstrate that all demographic variables and investor characteristic, specifically education level, age, investment amount and investment income, are positively related to an investors tendency to prefer dividend payment, with investment income and age having the strongest impact. The results from this test reconfirm that investors with larger sums tend to be more risk averse. Moreover, the results from the primary data also reveal that investor preferences are compatible and consistent with traditional theories including the Birds-in-the-Hand Theory, Information Signaling Theory, Tax Preference Theory and Clientele Effect Theory. Keywords: dividend payment, capital gain, demographic characteristics, Information Signaling Theory

e-ESAS: Evolution of a Participatory Design-based Solution for Breast Cancer (BC) Patients in Rural Bangladesh

Healthcare facility is scarce for rural women in the developing world. The situation is worse for patients who are suffering from diseases that require long-term feedback-oriented monitoring such as breast cancer. Lack of motivation to go to the health centers on patients’ side due to sociocultural barriers, financial restrictions and transportation hazards results in inadequate data for proper assessment. Fortunately, mobile phones have penetrated the masses even in rural communities of the developing countries. In this scenario, a mobile phone-based remote symptom monitoring system (RSMS) with inspirational videos can serve the purpose of both patients and doctors. Here, we present the findings of our field study conducted on 39 breast cancer patients in rural Bangladesh. Based on the results of extensive field studies, we have categorized the challenges faced by patients in different phases of the treatment process. As a solution, we have designed, developed and deployed e-ESAS—the first mobile-based RSMS in rural context. Along with the detail need assessment of such a system, we describe the evolution of e-ESAS and the deployment results. We have included the unique and useful design lessons that we learned as e-ESAS evolved through participatory design process. The findings show how e-ESAS addresses several challenges faced by patients and doctors and positively impact their lives

Growth performance of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) in cage stocked at different densities

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the growth performance of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) in cage stocking at different densities. It was expected that silver carp could grow feeding on plankton without external feeding. In this experiment, silver carps in nine cages were stocked in three different stocking densities such as 20, 30 and 40 fishes/m3 designated as treatments T1, T2 and T3, which were located in the south west corner of the L-shaped pond in Field Laboratory Complex, Faculty of Fisheries, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU), Mymensingh consisting of three treatments with three replications of each for a period of 90 days from 18th August to 17th November, 2015. Each cage size was 1m x 1m x1m (length x width x height) and silver carp was cultured in the cage with natural feed which filtered phytoplankton mainly. Twenty five genera of phytoplankton were identified in pond and the average phytoplankton production was around 8.44x105cells/liter. Water quality parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and transparency were recorded fortnightly. At the completion of the experiment, weight showed significant difference (p>0.05) among three treatments although length didn’t vary significantly. The highest length gain (18.61+0.369 cm) and the highest weight gain (62.52+2.249 g) were found in T1. The highest SGR% for silver carp was found in T1 and the highest total production was obtained in T3 (5.00+ 0.015 kg/m3). Individual growth performance of silver carp was satisfactory. Further studies are needed with different stocking densities and duration to verify the result

Ischemic Strokes: Observations from a Hospital Based Stroke Registry in Bangladesh.

Background. Stroke is an important morbidity for low and middle income countries like Bangladesh. We established the first stroke registry in Bangladesh. Methods. Data was collected from stroke patients who were admitted in Department of Neurology of BIRDEM with first ever stroke, aged between 30 and 90 years. Patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid and subdural hemorrhage, and posttrauma features were excluded. Results. Data was gathered from 679 stroke patients. Mean age was 60.6 years. Almost 68% of patients were male. Small vessel strokes were the most common accounting for 45.4% of all the patients followed by large vessel getting affected in 32.5% of the cases. Only 16 (2.4%) died during treatment, and 436 (64.2%) patients had their mRS score of 3 to 5. Age greater than 70 years was associated with poor outcome on discharge [OR 1.79 (95% CI: 1.05 to 3.06)] adjusting for gender, duration of hospital stay, HDL, and pneumonia. Age, mRS, systolic blood pressure, urinary tract infection, pneumonia, and stroke severity explained the Barthel score. Conclusion. Mortality was low but most of patient had moderate to severe disability at discharge. Age, mRS, systolic blood pressure, urinary tract infection, pneumonia, and stroke severity influenced the Barthel score

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education of medical, dental and non-medical healthcare professionals in Bangladesh : findings and connotation

Lockdown measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic had an appreciable impact on the education of all medical, dental, and non-medical healthcare professional (HCP) students. These included the closure of universities necessitating a rapid move to e-learning and new approaches to practical’s. However initially, there was a lack of knowledge and expertise regarding e-learning approaches and the affordability of internet bundles and equipment. We initially con-ducted two pilot studies to assess such current challenges, replaced by a two-stage approach including a full investigation involving 32 private and public universities during the early stages of the pandemic followed by a later study assessing the current environment brought about by the forced changes. Top challenges at the start of the pandemic included a lack of familiarity with e-learning approaches, cost of the internet, lack of IT equipment and the quality of the classes. Universities offered support to staff and students to a varying degree to address identified challenges. Since then, e-learning approaches have widened the possibilities for teaching and learning at convenient times. However, challenges remain. In conclusion, there were considerable challenges at the start of them pandemic. Several key issues have been addressed with hybrid learning here to stay. Remaining challenges include a lack of ICT equipment. However, new innovations will continue

Embedded health service development and research: why and how to do it (a ten-stage guide)

In a world of changing disease burdens, poor quality care and constrained health budgets, finding effective approaches to developing and implementing evidence-based health services is crucial. Much has been published on developing service tools and protocols, operational research and getting policy into practice but these are often undertaken in isolation from one another. This paper, based on 25 years of experience in a range of low and middle income contexts as well as wider literature, presents a systematic approach to connecting these activities in an embedded development and research approach. This approach can circumvent common problems such as lack of local ownership of new programmes, unrealistic resource requirements and poor implementation. We lay out a ten-step process, which is based on long-term partnerships and working within local systems and constraints and may be tailored to the context and needs. Service development and operational research is best prioritised, designed, conducted and replicated when it is embedded within ministry of health and national programmes. Care packages should from the outset be designed for scale-up, which is why the piloting stage is so crucial. In this way, the resulting package of care will be feasible within the context and will address local priorities. Researchers must be entrepreneurial and responsive to windows of funding for scale-up, working in real-world contexts where funding and decisions do not wait for evidence, so evidence generation has to be pragmatic to meet and ensure best use of the policy and financing cycles. The research should generate tested and easily usable tools, training materials and processes for use in scale-up. Development of the package should work within and strengthen the health system and other service delivery strategies to ensure that unintended negative consequences are minimised and that the strengthened systems support quality care and effective scale up of the package. While embedded development and research is promoted in theory, it is not yet practiced at scale by many initiatives, leading to wasted resources and un-sustained programmes. This guide presents a systematic and practical guide to support more effective engagements in future, both in developing interventions and supporting evidence-based scale-up