BO accounts on the rise

Easy opening process, IPOs lure investors

FE Report | Published: February 27, 2021 22:18:18

The number of new beneficiary owners' (BO) accounts, used to invest and trade in the stock market, continued to rise following regulatory measures taken to ease the account opening process.
The regulatory approval for a good number of IPO (initial public offering) proposals this year has also inspired investors to open BO accounts, according to market insiders.
The number of active BO accounts stood at over 2.66 million as of Thursday, up from 2.63 million on February 1.
Of the total accounts, over 2.50 million accounts are owned by resident Bangladeshis while the remaining 0.16 million belong to non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs).
The data of the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) revealed that the BO accounts saw a rising trend in its number over the last several months.
The number of accounts was 2.51 million on December 1, 2020 and the figure surpassed 2.55 million on January 4 this year.
To increase the investors' participation, the securities regulator inaugurated the online BO account opening system in Dubai as well as at its own office in Dhaka early February.
As a result, investors are now able to open BO accounts from their home without going to brokerage houses in person.
The securities regulator has also decided to allow stock brokerage firms to open digital trading booths across the country.
The number of new BO accounts soared in November and December 2020 following restoration of stability in the secondary market and the regulatory approval to several IPO (initial public offering) proposals.
Around 190,480 new BO accounts were opened in those two months.
The securities regulator approved IPOs of 15 companies, including the biggest-ever IPO of Robi Axiata, as of December 2020.
In November, more than 0.13 million accounts were opened following the regulatory approval to the Robi's IPO proposal.
An investor has to pay an annual fee of Tk 450 for maintaining the BO account. Of the amount, Tk 200 goes to the public exchequer, Tk 10 to depository participants, Tk 100 to the CDBL and the remaining Tk 50 to the securities regulator.
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