The number of active beneficiary owners (BO) accounts declined 8.82% from July14 to August 14, primarily due to unpaid account maintenance fees.
A total of 177,681 active BO accounts were shut down during the period, according to data from the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL).
The number of active BO accounts stood at above 1.83 million on August 14, down from 2.01 million on July 14.
Of the total BO accounts, some 1.37 million accounts belong to male investors while 440,000 million accounts are in the names of women beneficiaries, CDBL data showed.
Usually, BO accounts are closed during July 1-31 every year due to non-payment of maintenance fees, according to the officials.
Investors' scope of getting sufficient IPOs using many BO accounts has narrowed following the regulatory decision regarding allotment of IPO shares on a pro-rata basis.
Besides, the securities regulator also introduced the provision of having mandatory investments in listed securities as a requirement for investors applying for IPO shares.
In 2016, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) reduced the renewal fee to Tk450 from Tk500 for each BO account with a view to reducing the financial burden on investors.
Of Tk450, Tk200 goes to the public exchequer, Tk100 to depository participants (DPs), Tk100 to the CDBL and the remaining Tk50 to the BSEC.
Previously, general investors and the NRBs were required to have a minimum investment worth Tk20,000 in listed securities to apply for IPO shares.
On June 8, 2022, the securities regulator extended the investment ceiling to Tk50,000 for general investors, and Tk1 lakh for the NRBs.
The officials of the securities regulator said the investment ceiling has been extended to encourage long-term investment habits among general investors.
