The number of Mongolian shareholders of publicly listed companies on the MSE (MSE) rose by 57.7 thousand and reached a total of 552.9 thousand this year.

Food stocks dominated!

In the first 8 months of 2023, shareholders of food companies such as APU (APU), Monos Food (MFC), and Tumen Shuvuut (TUM) have experienced significant increases. Additionally, shareholders of SUU (SUU) increased by 1,319 reaching a total of 9,300.

However, the rise in the number of shareholders is not correlated with the stock price of the food companies. For instance, APU's (APU) share price has declined by 17.2% this year, and SUU's (SUU) share price has also fallen by 17.6%.

What happened?

Overall, among the 326 listed companies the number of shareholders increased for 71 companies, decreased for 68 companies, and remained constant for 186 companies. It's worth noting that over half of all companies experience a lack of liquidity for their shares.

• Troublemakers: Concerning companies witnessing a decline in shareholder numbers, several have encountered notable challenges. Notably, State Department Store (UID), CU Mongolia (CUMN), and TDB (TDB) grappled with significant issues this year. State Department Store incurred fines, CU Mongolia saw its losses surge by 2.7 times, and the TDB owner's case was transferred to the prosecutor. Regrettably, there has been a dearth of communication and clarification provided to investors concerning these matters.
• Banks: State Bank (SBM) and XacBank (XAC) witnessed an increase in shareholders, while the other three banks experienced a decrease. The biggest market-valued bank, Khan Bank (KHAN) lost it’s 3,300 shareholders during this period.

While only a limited number of stocks experience high turnover in the market, the interest in this realm is steadily growing each year. As more participants enter the arena and the demands on companies and exchanges intensify, the stock market is poised for growth and enhanced competitiveness.