Photo: Chief Adviser GOB’s facebook page
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Photo: Chief Adviser GOB’s facebook page
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has instructed authorities to offload shares of well-performing state-owned companies and list them on the stock market as part of efforts to revitalise the capital market.
The directive aims to increase the supply of healthy companies and attract more investors.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. The instruction was issued at a meeting titled “Development and Strengthening of the Capital Market”, held today at the State Guest House Jamuna in Dhaka.
During the meeting, Yunus also suggested offering shares in multinational firms, such as Unilever, to the public, a participant at the meeting said.
Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Secretary of the Financial Institutions Division Nazma Mobarek, and Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Chairman Khondoker Rashed Maqsood were present at the meeting.
Azad Majumder, deputy press secretary of the Chief Adviser, confirmed that the chief adviser issued five directives to bring dynamism into the stock market.
One of these involves offering incentives to non-listed companies that perform well, encouraging them to go public.
Yunus further instructed the inclusion of foreign experts within three months to implement effective reforms in the market.
The fourth directive was about ensuring strict punishment for those involved in corruption and market manipulation.
Besides, the chief adviser urged authorities to encourage large borrowers to raise capital from the stock market by issuing equity and bonds, reducing reliance on bank financing, said the participant.
The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, has been on a downward trajectory in recent months following a decline in the profits of several large firms.
Recently, a group of investors protested in the streets, demanding the resignation of the BSEC chairman.
Last Thursday, the index rebounded by around 100 points, or 2.07 percent, after news emerged that Yunus had summoned finance advisers and the BSEC chairman to discuss the market’s condition.
