BSEC, ADB discuss strategies to boost capital market to 40pc of GDP

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have charted a transformative course to quadruple the size of the national capital market, aiming to elevate its contribution from the current 10 percent of GDP to at least 40 percent within the next three years, reports BSS.
In a high-level meeting held on March 9, at the BSEC office in Agargaon, both organizations deliberated on strategic reforms, digitalization, and market diversification to ensure long-term sustainable growth for the country's financial ecosystem, said a press release on Sunday.
To provide a data-driven foundation for this massive expansion, BSEC announced plans to conduct a comprehensive "Capital Market Diagnostic."
This initiative is designed to identify structural bottlenecks and formulate evidence-based policies for long-term development.
The meeting underscored a clear mandate: to transition the capital market from its current state to a dominant pillar of the economy, setting an ambitious target of reaching a market-to-GDP ratio of 40 percent by 2029.
The meeting emphasized the urgent need to align national market governance with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) standards to attract global institutional investors. BSEC highlighted its commitment to using its full legal authority under existing frameworks to create robust incentives for listing.