News: VMX Valmec signs agreement with local indigenous group, page-11

Not so sure. Paying a dividend makes the shares more attractive to many people. Moreover it raises the market cap which is much too small to attract institutions and provides capital to grow the business (organically or by takeover). Part of the problem has been the shares have been rarely traded and if original owners start to sell down, they have an incentive NOT to drive the price down too much, but to feed them out to new shareholders.

In any case only 7 of the top 20 option holders are listed in the top 20 shareholders, though some holdings could be by related entities of course. The shares have been held by a very small group of shareholders, over 60% by the top 5.