Abdus Salam Sikder elected chairman of CCBL

Abdus Salam Sikder, former commissioner of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), has been elected the first chairman of the newly-formed Central Counterparty Bangladesh Ltd (CCBL).

Mr Sikder was made chairman for the next two years in the company's first board meeting held on Thursday, according to a press release on Friday.

The BSEC on June 17 approved the eleven-member board of directors of CCBL, which will settle the trading of equities with reduced risk and time.

The 11-member board of directors of CCBL includes seven independent directors and four from shareholders directors.

The first board meeting of CCBL was held online in the presence of all members. Abdus Salam Sikder, former commissioner of the BSEC and also an independent director of CCBL, was unanimously nominated as the chairman for two years.

The independent directors are: M H Samad, former managing director of Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd, Tajdiqul Islam, former finance director at Sanofi Sanofi-aventis, Dr. Mohammed Jamal Uddin, Professor, Finance at University of Chittagong, Md. Mostafizur Rahaman Sohel, former director at BASIS, Dr. Muhammad Asif Hossain Khan, Prof at CSE Department at DU and Dr. Mohammad Tareq, Prof Department of Accounting & Information at DU.

Four shareholders directors are: Md Rakibur Rahman, director of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, Asif Ibrahim, chairman of the Chittagong Stock Exchange, AKM Nurul Fazal Bulbul, vice-chairman of the CDBL, and Anis A Khan, former managing director of Mutual Trust Bank, on behalf of banks.

The company will also ensure trading anonymity and make settlement operations more efficiently. It will ease the settlement problems and complexities of stock exchanges.

Currently, the settlements are done through the Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd (CDBL).

The DSE holds 45 per cent shares at CCBL, CSE 20 per cent, different banks 15 per cent and CDBL 10 per cent while strategic investors would hold the rest 10 per cent shares.

In June 2012, the CSE submitted the first proposal to the regulatory body to form a separate company for clearing and settlement. Later, DSE also submitted the same proposal.

On August 21, 2013, both stock exchanges signed a memorandum of understanding to form a separate joint venture company for clearing and settlement.

The company was incorporated in May 2018.

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