The government is set to introduce a special stock exchange platform aiming to mobilise funds for development of the country's information technology (IT) industry, officials said.
The Digital Bangladesh Task Force (DBTF) made the proposal at its recent meeting to launch the platform styled as 'Small capital stock exchange (SCSE)', they said.
A draft policy on the SCSE is being prepared. It will be completed within the next two to three months. The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) will ensure and implement the move, they added.
The initiative has been taken mainly to mobilise necessary funds by the country's IT firms from the capital market so that the sector may not face any financial crisis to help their companies move forward, they mentioned.
When contacted, officials involved with the issue declined to make any comment about terms/conditions and other related information of the proposed trading platform.
However, speaking on the issue, President of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) Shameem Ahsan told the FE: "We will be able to offload shares of over 150 IT companies to the country's capital market through Initial Public Offering (IPO) within the next three years if the move is executed finally."
"At this, we will be able to mobilise more or less Tk 10 billion funds from the share market," he added.
He, however, said a draft policy on the proposed SCSE is now in final stage. It will be completed within the next couple of months.
Most of the country's IT firms have some financial problems as there is no investment by big entrepreneurs in the sector, he mentioned.
The IT industry is a relatively new sector in the country's economy. Though it is yet to make tangible contributions to the national economy, it is an important growth industry, experts said.
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Special stock market platform to be launched
Rezaul Karim | Published: January 10, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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