BSEC to shift some of its tasks to bourses

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) will gradually shift some of its responsibilities to the bourses as per the international practice.
"The securities regulator has to attend a number of issues that are supposed to be the job of the bourses. The performance of bourses has not been up to the mark," Mohammad Saifur Rahman, a BSEC executive director and spokesperson, told the FE.
He said a post of chief regulatory officer (CRO) has been created in the demutualised exchanges to enhance the responsibility of the primary institution in the capital market.
The securities regulator has already shifted the responsibility of overseeing the corporate governance aspect of listed companies and the appointment of authorised representatives to the exchanges.  
Following two years of inaction, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has recently been asked to resume the job of scrutinising the draft IPO (initial public offering) prospectuses and send recommendations to the regulator ahead of approval of the IPO proposals.
The proposed amendment to the DSE's listing regulation is awaiting the regulator's approval.
The premier bourse expects that the mode of seeking or collecting information, which is not articulated categorically in the existing regulation, will be cleared in the approved regulation.
Saifur Rahman said in other countries the stakeholders, other than the securities regulator, conduct the market monitoring and ensure the due diligence on the part of the listed companies.
"The surveillance of the capital market is a job of the stock exchanges. But the securities regulator had to introduce market surveillance software. However, recently both the exchanges have installed similar software," Saifur Rahman said.
He said as part of shifting responsibility, the exchanges have already opened corporate finance departments following the regulatory directive.
"Many of the responsibilities, which are presently being carried out by the securities regulator, will be shifted gradually to the bourses. But eventually the primary regulators will be liable to the BSEC for their activities," Saifur Rahman said.
He said the exchanges are in a more suitable position than the securities regulator in case of appointing more than one chartered accountant required to ensure due diligence from the listed companies.
When asked, both the exchanges said they will try their best to carry out the responsibilities to be shifted by the securities regulator.
"I support the securities regulator wanting to transfer some of its responsibilities to the exchanges. We will appoint more trained manpower to carry out the responsibilities which will be shifted to us," said managing director of Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), Syed Sajid Husain.