BSEC rules out further ease of price restriction

The securities regulator ruled out any possibility of further withdrawal of floor prices in the depressed market.
The message was given at a meeting with key market stakeholders on Wednesday, said Md. Syadur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA).
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) did not specify how long the price movement restriction will stay, he added.
The BSEC called the meeting to discuss the adversities hovering over the market. Investors' participation declined significantly and majority securities got stuck at floor prices.
Top officials of both the bourses and representatives of DSE Brokers Association, BMBA, the association of asset management companies and other stakeholders attended the meeting chaired by BSEC Commissioner Prof. Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam.
"The floor price issue was discussed at the meeting. The BSEC is not in favour of it but it is not in a position to withdraw it either at the moment,"
said Md. Eunusur Rahman, chairman of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
The floor price was imposed in March 19, 2020 for the first time by the immediate past exchange commission to prevent freefall of the market amid the Covid outbreak.
Its withdrawal in June next year was accompanied by other measures, including the imposition of the downward circuit breaker, to cool the volatile market.
The floor price was reintroduced on July 28 last year to prevent the cascading of stock prices against the backdrop of the global economic slowdown rendered by the Russia-Ukraine war.
On December 21, 2022 the BSEC lifted floor prices of 169 stocks as they remained illiquid for a long time in absence of buyers.
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