The year 2025 is nearing its end without a single company being listed, a rare event in the history of the country’s capital market.
The current commission of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), formed after the political changeover in August last year, has yet to finalise revised public issue rules, which market analysts say is a major reason companies have shown little interest in entering the secondary market.
“Issuer companies and issue managers have been waiting for the final listing rules,” said Salim Afzal Shawon, head of research at BRAC EPL Stockbrokerage.
The securities regulator has been working on much-needed changes to the public issue rules to ensure, as it says, clearer eligibility criteria, greater accountability of issue managers and stock exchange–level vetting so that fundamentally strong companies enter the market through a fairer price discovery process.
Meanwhile, the new commission has rejected nearly a dozen pending IPOs over the past 17 months, saying the move was part of reform measures.
Since the commission has prioritised market discipline, bringing new companies to the equity market has taken a back seat, Shawon said.
The last company to float an initial public offering (IPO) was Techno Drugs, whose subscription closed in June last year. The IPO was approved during the tenure of the previous commission led by Prof Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam. Techno Drugs raised Tk 1 billion through the issuance of primary shares.
Over the past 16 years, an average of 10 companies were listed each year. Even during the 2007–2008 caretaker government tenure, 26 firms—both public and private—were listed. The last state-owned entity to enter the market was Bangladesh Submarine Cable in 2012.
Other factors discouraging new listings include a lack of incentives, unattractive valuation under the existing book-building method, easy access to bank financing and a lengthy IPO approval process.
Meanwhile, the market has been experiencing a sustained exodus of investors. Amid poor performance of equities across all sectors, including blue-chip stocks, the absence of IPOs has intensified investor apathy.
More than 43,000 beneficiary owners’ (BO) accounts have been closed since December last year, according to Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd.
The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) plunged 6.51 per cent this year. Adding to the gloom, Bangladesh’s capital market was named the world’s worst performer in April and May this year.
“The main problem of the stock market is that it doesn’t have enough investable equity,” said Saiful Islam, president of the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA).
Ensuring transparency and accountability alone will not be enough to revive the market, he said, adding that new listings of fundamentally strong companies are necessary to restore investor confidence.
The message has been reiterated at the highest levels of government many times, but to no avail.
Even the chief adviser, at a meeting in May this year, suggested listing profitable state-owned enterprises (SOEs). However, there has been no progress on this front in the past seven months.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange has held a series of meetings with major trade bodies, including the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI), to encourage new IPOs. So far, discussions and plans have not translated into results.
On October 30 this year, the stock market regulator sought public opinion on the draft amendment to the BSEC (Public Offer of Equity Securities) Rules 2025, proposed by the capital market reform task force.
Regarding the revised IPO rules, Md Abul Kalam, spokesperson of the BSEC, told The FE that the market watchdog would soon finalise them.
“We hope that a gazette of the revised Public Issue Rules 2025 will be published by the end of this month,” Kalam said.
He added that the new rules are expected to encourage listings of well-performing companies, with an emphasis on transparent valuation to protect investors’ interests while making the listing process smoother for issuers.
“There is no IPO application in the pipeline,” said Mr Kalam.
He noted that discussions are ongoing with relevant ministries and authorities on offloading government shares of state-owned and multinational companies operating in Bangladesh, expressing hope that reputed firms, including some state-run entities, may enter the stock market in the coming years.
BSEC Chairman Khondoker Rashed Maqsood, in a recent meeting with stakeholders, assured that companies considering going public under the revised IPO rules would receive fair pricing. The amendments are part of a broader effort to modernise the listing framework and strengthen regulatory oversight.
The meeting brought together representatives from state-owned and multinational companies to review the draft IPO rules and discuss mechanisms for direct listing.
“The companies should now prepare to come to the market. The government’s top brass has already communicated the instructions, and the implementation process will begin shortly,” the BSEC chairman said.
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