Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked the authorities to take more programmes to alert small and new investors about relevant laws and rules of the stock market to mitigate their investment risks.
“I would like to ask all concerned to take more awareness-raising programmes for the small and new investors in the capital market so that they can understand the risks,” she told a meeting, after laying the plaque of foundation stone of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) building at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in Dhaka.
She said careful investment can reduce the risk of capital, benefiting the investors, promoters and the economy. Finance Minister AMA Muhith and BSEC chairman Dr M Khairul Hossain addressed the function, reports agencies.
The prime minister’s advice comes at the fag end of the government’s five-year tenure when the market went through a long recession since late 2010 allegedly due to scam, seriously affecting all the stakeholders from small investors to big ones like banks and financial institutions. Reportedly, the market crash also claimed few lives.
The 10-storey BSEC building will be built at a cost of TK 438.6m entirely from the BSEC’s coffer. BSEC and Department of Housing and Public Works will implement the project by December 2015.
Once completed, the building will have some 89,250 square feet of space with a multipurpose conference room, state-of-the-art library, a daycare center, a canteen, uninterrupted power supply and solar power.
Hasina said a 10-year master plan has been formulated for the development of the capital market as well as to protect the interest of the investors as it was often seen that the small investors face problems for lack of knowledge about relevant laws, rules and regulations.
She said if the master plan is implemented properly, it would be possible to avert the problems in future.
She said the government is in the process of implementing a special package to protect the interests of the small investors of the share market. “They’re being given tax-weaving facilities and 20% quota while issuing new IPOs,” she said.
Referring to the creation of a Tk50bn open-ended mutual fund (Bangladesh Fund), she said the face value of the share of all companies and mutual fund has been made Tk10 each.
The Prime Minister said the delivery of the dividends and bonus shares has been made mandatory within 30 days of the approval of the board.
She said steps have already been taken for the demutualisation of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) to separate its management from the ownership aimed at making its activities transparent and accountable.
A tribunal has been constituted for the speedy disposal of the cases relating to the capital market with setting up surveillance system, she added. “These steps have helped make the capital market stable brightening its prospect in the global arena.”
Hasina said the country’s economy has got a firm footing over the last five years due to relentless efforts of her government. The macro economy is now very much stable and its every index is progressing very positively.
She said Bangladesh’s economy has maintained average annual economic growth of over 6% over the last five years despite the whole world was reeling on economic crisis. “Our export earnings will cross US$30bn at the end of this fiscal year.”
The Prime Minister said her government has taken all necessary steps for interrupted export of readymade garments (RMG) despite many obstacles and conspiracy at home and abroad. “Our remittance is on the rise and reserve of the foreign exchange rose to US$17bn,” she said.
She said the size of the country’s annual budget has grown up to Tk2.22trn from Tk 890bn in 2008 while local and foreign investment in both public and private sectors has increased substantially.