Bhutan Stock Market Report [Jul ’23]
We started this month with the biggest salary increase getting credited in our bank accounts.
This new income must have rekindled the enthusiasm of Bhutanese civil servants to serving Tsawa sum with dedication.
Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan announced cash limits of Nu.25,000 for travellers.
In banking industry, Bank of Bhutan Ltd introduced the international debit card for students with a limit of US$ 10,000.
Bhutan stock market was more active. It was due to right issue of DPNB and public auction of unsubscribed right shares.
I didn’t participate in the auction. In Bhutan, personally I have realized it’s cheaper to buy in secondary market than in auction.
People who purchased shares of BNB and RICBL during auction in 2021 know this very well.
Let us see how Bhutan stock market performed in July – BSI, trades and how my portfolio performed as well.
How Was the Stock Market of Bhutan?
Total Trade Value
The total trade value of the Bhutan stock market for the month of July is Nu. 59.57 millions. Nu. 42.07 millions is an OTC trade and Nu. 17.50 mil an m-CaMS trade.
This month OTC trade is more than m-CaMs trades by Nu. 24.57 millions. The total OTC trade is 70% of the total trade.
So, big investors traded more than retail investors unlike last month. OTC trades are usually that of big investors.
230 users traded shares via m-CaMS whereas 403 users traded over the counter (OTC).
Benchmark Index
Bhutan Stock Index (BSI) started at 1,321.25 points. It remained flat for the first week and started to decrease from second week.
BSI decreased from 7th. The maximum decline was from 19-24th losing 13 points. It didn’t bounce back.
The decrease wasn’t much from the 3rd week. However, BSI closed this month at 1,289.88 points. It lost 31.37 points this month.
Individual Stocks
When we look at an overall stock market trade value, it showed low trade volume. But most of the tickers were traded this month.
This month, all the counters were down except BPCL. BPCL increased by Nu.2. RICB was down by Nu. 4.55. SVL is still below face value!
Did I Make Changes in Total Holdings?
BUY
This month, I made total purchases of Nu. 19,202.62 – in TBL and DWAL. I used money from sales of BBPL and SVL.
It was 250 shares of TBL at Nu.33.00 and 75 of DWAL at Nu.143.50. It’s to lower purchase prices in my portfolio.
SELL
To make my stock portfolio simple and reduce number of tickers, I have sold all the holdings in SVL and BBPL.
I sold them at 25-30% loss. However, the capital invested in them is not much, I am ok with the loss.
How CD’s Stock Portfolio Performed?
This month, 50% of the tickers in my portfolio are down in red and 50% of them are in green.
The unrealized profit this month is Nu. 395,703.88 and unrealized loss of Nu. 53,309.72.
The above graph represents monthly net unrealized profit. This time it is lower than last month.
The Month’s Lessons & Future Plans?
It’s hard to be a long-term investor. There is no assurance that companies we invest will remain profitable for the entire duration.
If we have to re-balance, it means either to pocket a small profit or bear a huge loss.
No matter if we are in it for long-term, I feel it’s ok to sell off and cut loss when we don’t see prospect in the company.
In this aspect, I had to sell all my holdings in BBPL and SVL. Though loss wasn’t much, it’s hard to take it.
I want to reduce number of counters in my portfolio. I will sell in coming months until I am left with less than 10 tickers.
How was your stock portfolio in July? Did it keep up your expectations? What is one thing you did this month?