The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on Monday allowed foreign investors to be the sponsors of mutual funds.
The decision came at a commission meeting presided over by its Chairman Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, a BSEC press statement reads.
According to a directive issued by the regulator, any foreign company, either public or private, must be eligible to be a sponsor of any mutual fund, either single or jointly, with any local eligible sponsor.
The foreign company must meet the requirements to create a trust as per the Trust Act 1882.
However, in case of joint sponsorship, the local sponsor may be appointed to create the trust and other necessary activities in this regard.
No foreign company as a sponsor of a mutual fund can subscribe to more than 25% of the fund size, it said.
The commission on the day also approved Capital Market Stabilisation Fund 2021, that will soon be published in a gazette.
The BSEC has found more than Tk20,000 crore of undistributed and unclaimed dividends by listed companies, which it now plans to use to safeguard the interests of the capital market and its general investors.
The stock market regulator has formed the capital market stabilization fund with the unclaimed dividends through a notification.
The regulator would control the volatility and liquidity of the capital market through this fund.
The regulator at the meeting also decided to appoint a special auditor to assess financial statements and activities of Fareast Finance and Investment Limited.
The BSEC also issued a notice regarding the exemption period for submission of financial statements or other documents due to the lockdown.