PM outlines 17-point plan to reform capital market

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday outlined the government’s 17 priority programmes aimed at reforming the capital market, saying the condition of the capital market is gradually improving and is doing well now.

“The government is committed to restoring stability in the capital market and rebuilding investors’ confidence through reforms, greater transparency and stronger regulation,” he told Parliament during the question-answer session.

The issue was raised by Patuakhali-4 lawmaker Alhaj ABM Mosharraf Hossain on behalf of Khulna-4 MP SK Azizul Bari.

Responding to the query, the Tarique said the government had already taken a number of initiatives to build a stronger and more sustainable capital market by ensuring good governance, transparency and accountability, increasing market depth through product diversification and expanding investor education.

He said investigations by experts, investor organisations and relevant agencies had found that the prolonged downturn in the stock market during the previous Awami League government’s tenure was caused by market manipulation, artificial price movements, irregularities in IPOs and bond issuances, weak regulatory oversight, poor corporate governance, lack of transparency, limited participation of institutional investors, a crisis of investor confidence, policy inconsistencies and the absence of investor-friendly tax policies.

Tarique said the government would identify those responsible for the market collapse, which caused heavy losses for thousands of investors, and bring them to justice.

He said the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had already investigated stock market scandals, identified several individuals and initiated legal proceedings against them, while further investigations were underway to determine whether any other individuals or organisations were involved.

The Prime Minister said the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) had imposed fines totalling Tk1,497 crore on individuals and institutions involved in market manipulation, irregularities and corruption.

He added that reports from various investigation committees had also been sent to the ACC for necessary legal action.

Outlining the government’s reform measures, Tarique said a new chairman and three commissioners with expertise in the capital market were appointed to the BSEC on June 4 this year.

He said the new commission withdrew the floor price shortly after taking charge and was working to encourage the direct listing of profitable state-owned enterprises, multinational companies and other large firms.

The Prime Minister said the government was also planning to list more fundamentally strong and SME companies, strengthen whistleblower protection, reform audit practices, facilitate foreign portfolio investment, introduce capital market tribunals, establish reform and investigation commissions, expand the use of blockchain technology, introduce AI-based market surveillance, digitalise BO account services, adopt investor-friendly tax policies and strengthen investor protection through legal reforms.

He expressed hope that the measures would restore investor confidence and ensure the long-term stability and sustainable growth of Bangladesh’s capital market.

Replying to a supplementary question from MP Sarwar Jamal Nizam, Tarique said reducing disparities across different sectors was one of the government’s key objectives, and the capital market was no exception.

He said experts recently appointed by the government were expected to provide recommendations to strengthen not only the Dhaka Stock Exchange but also the Chattogram Stock Exchange.

Responding to another supplementary question from MP Abdul Hannan Masud regarding alleged irregularities in insurance companies, Tarique said the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) now had a newly appointed chairman who was investigating the complaints.

“Once the investigations are completed, action will be taken in accordance with the law,” he said.