Stock market intermediaries such as merchant banks, portfolio managers, asset managers, mutual funds, and stock dealers received until June next year to invest in listed debt securities.
In a directive, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has extended the time until June 2024 to comply.
The regulator made the decision given the stock market is in a volatile situation and institutional investors' remain sidelined amid the liquidity crisis.
In this situation, to create breathing space for the intermediaries, the regulator relaxed rules on Monday.
The directive said the market intermediaries that are required by their parent companies' charters to conduct business in accordance with Shariah regulation shall comply with the aforementioned obligations to invest in Shariah-based debt securities.
Upon request from the intermediaries, the BSEC had earlier extended the time up to June 2023.
In 2021, the commission fixed maintaining at least a 3% investment ratio in the listed debt securities of the intermediaries own portfolios.
In order to diversify portfolio risk, the BSEC directed that merchant banks, portfolio managers, asset managers, mutual funds, and stock dealers invest at least 3% of their own portfolios in the listed debt securities by June 2023.
In another directive issued in February this year, the BSEC asked the intermediaries to invest at least 1% of their own portfolios in the listed securities by June 2023.
