PM assures of all necessary steps to stabilise stock market

No government agency will ask any question about "undisclosed income" invested in the stock market and there will be short-, medium- and long-term plans announced "in a day or two" to rescue the small investors, a high-profile meeting led by the prime minister decided Wednesday night, reports bdnews24.com. The SEC chairman, briefing newsmen on the hours-long meeting, said the commercial banks would go all out to inject more cash into the market that has seen poor turnover over the past weeks. "No government agency will raise any questions about undisclosed income," professor Khairul Hossain, the chairman, said after the Ganobhaban meeting that ended minutes before midnight. "The plans will aim to help the small investors recover their losses," the chairman said. "The prime minister has said everything that's needed will be done for the stock market," Arif Khan, an SEC member, added. Another SEC member Helal Uddin Nizami said recommendations for several new measures came up for discussion in the meeting and they would be mulled over in the next few days. Dhaka Stock Exchange president Shakil Rizvi said an announcement could be made on Nov 20. The prime minister's meet follows a massive fall in stock prices for three consecutive days after the nine-day Eid recess and a series of street protests by small investors. Battered share prices soared on the two bourses on Wednesday buoyed by the news of the brainstorming, however. Local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam and prime minister's adviser H T Imam were present at the meeting. UNB adds- The marathon meeting started at about 7:40pm and continued till 11:40pm. Finance Minister AMA Muhith, LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, PM's advisor HT Imam, Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Dr M Khairul Hossain, National Board of Revenue chairman Nasiruddin Ahmed, Bangladesh Bank deputy governor M Nazrul Huda, SEC members Helal Uddin Nizami, Amzad Hossain and Arif Khan, Dhaka Stock Exchange president Shakil Rizvi, Chittagong Stock Exchange president Fakhor Uddin Ali Ahmed, Standard Bank chairman Kazi Akramuddin, Finance secretary, Banking Division secretary and representatives of Bangladesh Insurance Association, Bangladesh Association of Banks, Association of Bankers, Bangladesh were present at the meeting. However, Salman F Rahman, one of the major stakeholders, was not invited to the crucial meeting. Rahman, also the president of Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC), was appointed director of the Dhaka Stock Exchange board in September last.