ABG Ltd, a sister concern of Bashundhara Group, will become key strategic partner of the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) by acquiring 25% stake of the bourse.
A partnership deal was signed between two sides on Sunday in the port city of Chittagong.
Md Ghulam Faruque, CSE's managing director (current charge), and Sayem Sobhan, managing director of ABG Ltd, signed the contract on behalf of their respective organizations.
Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury attended the program as chief guest while Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister, was present as guest of honour, a press release said.
Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, mayor of Chittagong City Corporation, Barrister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, deputy minister for Education, Prof. Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, chairman of the securities regulator, and Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, chairman of Bashundhara Group, attended the programme as special guests.
The CSE chairman Asif Ibrahim chaired the program.
As per the agreement, ABG Ltd will purchase 25% stake of the port city bourse CSE at a price of Tk15 per share totalling Tk240 crore.
Land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury said the partnership marked the entry of Bashundhara Group into the capital market.
"The main focus of the Bashundhara Group will be on building a commodity exchange and I think a new horizon will be opened through this strategic partnership," the minister said.
In his speech, Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister, said the lack of sufficient institutional investors was a big weakness of the country's market.
He said infrastructure development has been ensured but people who need to take the opportunity are not coming here.
BSEC chairman Prof Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam said: "We did not have a commodity exchange and now that void will be fulfilled at the CSE's initiative."
He said a missing link will be established in the stock exchange through the CSE's strategic partner.
The supply chains will work rationally through the commodity exchange, the BSEC chairman hoped.
On September 28, 2022 the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) approved the CSE's proposal of selling a 25% share to ABG Ltd.
As per the Demutualization Act, 40% shares of the CSE were credited to the members' accounts, while the remaining 60% were kept in a blocked account.
Of the 60%, 25% has been sold to the strategic partner ABG Ltd and the remaining 35% would be offered through the initial public offering (IPO).
Both the Dhaka and Chittagong Stock Exchange completed the demutualization process in November 2013.
Earlier, a Chinese consortium comprising Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange joined the Dhaka bourse as its strategic shareholder purchasing 25% shares at a price of Tk947 crore.
