Regulator unilaterally appointed independent directors: DBA
FE REPORT | Thursday, 5 September 2024
Brokers have raised questions about the recent appointment of seven independent directors to the board of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), saying they have been chosen without consultation with the bourse.
The new appointees do not have any female representation, which is "regrettable", said the DSE Brokers Association (DBA) of Bangladesh.
"At least 20-30 per cent female representation is considered global standard practice", said the DBA in a press release issued on Wednesday, for incorporation of diverse opinions.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on Monday appointed seven independent directors to the 13-member DSE board, following the resignation of all directors amid a change in the political landscape.
The DSE had sent a list of seven individuals to the securities regulator for the posts of independent directors of the premier bourse.
But the stock market regulator did not consider any of them.
"This is very unprecedented that the regulator appointed independent directors unilaterally, not considering the DSE list," reads the statement.
There is also no professional chartered accountant among the newly-appointed independent directors, said the DBA.
The letter submitted to the BSEC and signed by DBA President Saiful Islam urged the regulator to reconsider the decision.
The DBA is a platform of trading right entitlement certificate (TREC) holders of the DSE.
The BSEC on Monday appointed KAM Mazedur Rahman, chairman of Maldives Islami Bank, Major General (Rtd) Dr Md. Kamruzzaman, professor and director general of the Army Institute of Business Administration, as independent directors on the DSE board.
The regulator also appointed Dr Nahid Hossain, additional secretary of FID, Md Mafizul Islam Rashed, Brig Gen of 46 brigade; Dr Md Helal Uddin, professor of the economics department at Dhaka University; Syed Hammadul Karim, a former general manager at MetLife Bangladesh, and Mohammed Ishaque Miah, managing director of Bangladesh Data Center and Disaster Recovery Site, as DSE independent directors.