Investors take to streets as share prices nosedive again

FE Report Investors again took to the streets at Motijheel Sunday, as share prices in the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) nose-dived, despite repeated assurances by different stakeholders. The infuriated investors blockaded the road in front of the DSE building and staged demonstration there soon after the DSE General Index (DGEN) fell by 150 points at around 12:15pm and the massive erosion began. At the end of the day's four-hour trading session, the DGEN slumped to nearly two years' low to close at 5,077.12 points, losing 231.65 points or 4.36 per cent. Losers thrashed the gainers, as out of the 251 issues traded, only seven advanced, 237 declined and seven remained unchanged, while the turnover value stood at Tk 3.30 billion. The authorities deployed a large number of policemen in the area before the day's trading started, sensing brewing anger among the investors for the last few days, following ceaseless slide in share prices. The investors, under the banner of Bangladesh Share Market Investors Unity Council (BSMIUC), positioned themselves on the busy road in front of the DSE, halting traffic movement from Shapla Square to Ittefaq Intersection until around 4pm. The investors set fire to wooden boxes, papers and tyres to ventilate their anger. They also chanted slogans against Finance Minister A M A Muhith, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman and DSE president Shakil Rizvi, and demanded their immediate resignation, blaming them for the current market debacle. At one point, the aggrieved investors engaged in altercation with the law enforcers, and chase and counter chase between police and investors took place for a while. Police, however, took the situation under control without any major untoward incident. The investors also urged the brokerage houses to suspend share trading today (Monday) and urged all to abstain from trading activities. They also threatened to go for countrywide agitation after the Eid-ul-Azha, if the government fails to bring back normalcy in the market before Eid. The investors blamed the finance minister for his continuous 'contradictory and negative comments' on the market. "The finance minister Thursday said it's a strange market, and there is no market in the world like it. His comments about the market are rubbish. He should not say anything about the market," said an angry investor in front of the DSE. The BSMIUC leaders criticised the latest comments of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the continuous market fall. They also blamed the central bank governor for not making further investment of banks, saying he is also responsible for the situation. The investors demanded immediate investment of the banks' promised fund to save them from further loss, as the banks and institutional investors are yet to become active in the market. The demonstrators sought immediate intervention of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to restore normalcy in the market, as repeated promises and regulatory measures failed to revive the investors' confidence. The investors said they have lost almost 90 per cent of their capital due to the latest market slump. Later, they brought out a procession to the Shapla Square. However, no major untoward incident took place because of strong vigilance of the law-enforcers. "Speculations over the comments by the WB and the IMF created panic among small investors, and they sold off shares fearing further loss," said a stock broker.