Premier Cement Mills yesterday received permission from the stock market regulator to raise Tk 310.75 crore by issuing preference shares.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) gave the approval.

Preference shares provide dividends to shareholders before common stock dividends are issued. Most have a fixed dividend, while common stocks generally do not.

Holders of preference stocks also typically do not have any voting rights but common shareholders usually do.

The cement maker would raise the funds through issuing fully redeemable, non-convertible, non-participating and cumulative preference shares.

Of it, preference shares of around Tk 235.75 crore of tenures of five years will be issued to potential investors, the BSEC said in a press release.

The remaining preference share of around Tk 75 crore will have tenures of 12 years and issued to sponsors or directors.

The dividend rate of the preference shares that would be issued to investors through private placement ranges from 6.25 per cent to 7.75 per cent.

And the dividend rate for the sponsors' funds is zero.

With the preference share proceeds, the cement company will rearrange its balance sheet, reduce expenditure, raise profits and improve its performance indicators.