Dhaka Stock Exchange Managing Director Tarique Amin Bhuiyan has resigned from his position, said a top official of the prime bourse of Bangladesh on Tuesday.
Bhuiyan siad that he could not work freely after joining premier bourse 13 months ago, said the official seeking anonymity.
The official confirmed the matter, saying Bhuiyan submitted his resignation letter to the board chairman seeking discontinuation of service after October 31 later this year.
He cited disagreements with the board regarding how to run the bourse as the reason for his resignation.
DSE chairman Md Eunusur Rahman acknowledged Bhuiyan's resignation.
"His resignation letter came to my notice after Tuesday's evening," said the DSE chairman.
Asked about the reason for Bhuiyan's departure, Rahman said he might have taken the decision due to dissatisfaction.
"Going through his resignation letter, as far as I have realized, he was not able to implement some plans on his own," cited the DSE chairman.
According to DSE insiders, 127 officials of the premier bourse were promoted recently and that decision might have annoyed some board members.
Another DSE official said the promotion of a large number of officials was one of the reasons behind the MD's resignation.
DSE sources also said that Bhuiyan might have been frustrated with the DSE board as it did not issue the confirmation of his three-year contractual job even after his six-month probation period had passed.
Another senior DSE official, seeking anonymity, alleged that Bhuiyan was bypassing the DSE's internal rules and regulations, making some relevant committees and the board think his activities to be autocratic.
For example, any appointment or promotion for the posts of general manager and above is subject to the nod of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) of the DSE board, according to the DSE's own regulations.
Insiders revealed that earlier this week, the MD had promoted 127 officers without any consultation with the board of directors.
Among them, he promoted six officials, three GMs and three AGMs, while bypassing the DSE regulations, which drew the ire of its board of directors.
As per the Demutualization Act, which deals with separation of ownership and management of the stock exchange, there are no senior posts in the stock exchange in the manpower structure.
To create a new post, the approval of the board is required first. Later the approval of the regulatory body Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has to be taken.
But Amin allegedly did not seek any such approval.
He joined the DSE in July 2021.
He is founder, chairman and CEO of Hashkloud Pty Ltd, a Sydney, Australia-based blockchain technology startup.
His passion for blockchain has led him to pursue a research doctoral degree (Doctor of Business Administration) at the University of Southern Queensland under the Australian Research Training Scheme part-time.
In fact, it will be known tomorrow (Thursday) whether the MD's resignation letter will be accepted. An emergency board meeting has been called to take a decision on the matter, said Shakil Rizvi, director of DSE and also its former president.
Only if his resignation is accepted will the search for a new MD begin, he added.
The musical chair
Earlier on October 20, 2020, Kazi Sanaul Hoq had resigned as the DSE managing director with effect from January 9, 2021.
Sources said there was disagreement among the DSE board members over his appointment as the bourse's managing director.
Their arguments were raised during a board meeting, but most independent directors, including the DSE chairman, was said to be on Sanaul's side.
Since then, the DSE has sought applications from eligible people for the position of managing director.
But, it failed to get qualified applicants who would be fit for the position.
Before Sanaul Hoq, the post of managing director at the DSE remained vacant since July, 2019. The tenure of the immediate past MD of DSE KAM Majedur Rahman expired on July 11, 2018.
Before Bhuiyan's appointment, the BSEC had rejected the DSE board’s bid to appoint M Asheq Rahman as its next managing director.
In a letter to the DSE, the BSEC said Rahman’s academic qualification, professional experience and competency do not meet the fit and proper criteria of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (Board and administration) Regulation, 2013.
Rahman's LinkedIn profile stated he was the chief country compliance officer and the chief anti-money laundering officer of Citibank from May 2016 to January 2021.
His profile stated that he had assumed the post of the managing director from January but the name of the company was undisclosed.
His nomination was not without controversy: it has elicited allegations of gaming the system by a number of DSE directors.
Rahman was one of the two candidates shortlisted by the DSE board for the vacant post of MD after Kazi Sanaul Hoq stepped down.
Tarique Amin Bhuiyan was principal consultant, digital core banking transformation consulting, Infosys Lodestone Australia.
He was also senior manager Accenture Australia and CEO at bKash Limited, a Brac Bank subsidiary.
How bourses reacted
Meanwhile on Wednesday, stocks witnessed a downward trend after showing six days of positive trend as the risk-averse investors went on sector-wise issues amid revised trading hours.
DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down by 35.47 points or 0.56% to settle at 6,280. Two other indices also edged lower with the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, dropping 21.67 points to finish at 2,243.69 and the DSE Shariah Index (DSES) fell 8.06 points to close at 1,379.61.
Turnover, another important indicator of the market, also came down to Tk1,134 crore on the prime bourse, which was 24% lower than the previous day's seven-month highest turnover of Tk1,487 crore.
Losers took a modest lead over the gainers, as out of 380 issues traded, 215 closed lower, 71 higher and 94 others remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.
Orion Pharma became the most-traded stock, followed by Beximco, IPDC Finance, Makson Spinning Mills and Metro Spinning Mills.
Union Capital was the day's top gainer, gaining 10% while Jute Spinners was the day's worst loser, shedding 9.70%.
Meraj Mavis also contributed to this report
