DSE shareholders elect four new directors

The shareholders of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) elected Wednesday four new directors from six contestants for the demutualised stock exchange.
The directors are Md. Shakil Rizvi of Shakil Rizvi Stock Ltd, Mohammad Shahjahan of Jahan Securities Ltd, Khwaja Ghulam Rasul of Khwaja Equity Services Ltd and Sharif Anowar Hossain of Sahidullah Securities Ltd.
Of the total 242 shareholders, 217 cast their votes, said a DSE statement. The election was held Wednesday on the DSE premises from 10:30am to 4:30pm without any break.
DSE ex-president Shakil Rizvi bagged the highest number of votes --- 184 out of 217 votes. Mohammad Shahjahan obtained 152 votes, Khwaja Ghulam Rasul 147 votes and Sharif Anowar Hossain 140 votes.
Md Shamsul Hoque, district & sessions judge (retd) conducted the election as chairman of a three-member commission and announced the winners' names. The other two members were Mahbubur Rahman and M Kamal Uddin.
Ahmad Rashid bagged 123 votes and was placed at fifth position, while Ms. Lailun Nahar Ekram got 106 votes and was placed at sixth position.
An annual general meeting (AGM) will be held today (Thursday) to formally introduce the newly-elected directors and hand over the charges to the newly-formed board of the DSE.
Along with the four directors, a 13-member new board will be formed for the demutualised stock exchange for the first time after its demutualisation.
The remaining nine directors will include seven independent directors, one from the strategic investors' category and the other is the bourse's chief executive officer, who will have voting rights to choose the new chairman. The chairman of the DSE will be elected at the AGM from the independent directors in line with the demutualisation scheme.
The tenure of each director and the chief executive officer will be three years, according to the Demutualisation Act 2013.
A law on demutualisation was passed in parliament on April 29 last year with a promise to bring transparency to the stock market.