The DSE Brokers Association (DBA) has appealed to Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus to facilitate the listing of state-owned and multinational companies on the stock exchanges in a bid to strengthen the capital market.
The request was made in a letter signed by DBA President Saiful Islam on Tuesday.
In the letter, Mr Islam highlighted the challenges faced by the capital market over the past 15 years, citing issues such as extreme irregularities, mismanagement, and instability.
He also noted that some institutions have become almost ineffective or have failed altogether.
The stock market has shrunk by 40 per cent in real terms in the last 15 years, largely due to negative returns and poor management practices, Mr Islam said.
The market has failed to attract quality companies for listing and Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) while political interference and inconsistent regulatory actions further contributed to the decline of the market, he added.
"The market has not been able to recover due to various adverse events and local and global geopolitical events, particularly the scams of 1996 and 2010 came as financial crises in the market, which caused permanent damage to investor confidence," he said.
During this period, the share prices of many companies were artificially inflated, causing huge losses to investors.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the imposition of a floor price on shares for nearly 20 months afterwards have caused irreparable damage to the market, Mr Islam pointed out.
"This has led to global fund managers moving away from Bangladesh and caused severe losses for local investors as well," he said.
Mr Islam pointed out that millions of taka were looted from the market due to weak IPO listings over the last 15 years, resulting in a prolonged liquidity crisis and further eroding investor confidence.
He also said that a lack of good governance, transparency, and accountability among regulators, listed companies, market intermediaries, and other stakeholders, including financial auditors and rating agencies, has contributed to the serious confidence crisis.
"If we do not come out of this crisis quickly under your leadership, we will miss a great opportunity to turn around the market and bring discipline in the market for creating an environment for raising funds for business expansion," he warned.
He also raised concerns about low trading volumes, a lack of investable securities, and supply mismatches, which have led to speculative and manipulative trading.
"To escape this environment, it is necessary to bring high-quality IPOs to the capital market as soon as possible," said Mr Islam.
"We have numerous profitable State-owned Enterprises (SOEs). If these entities are listed in the market, supply of quality stocks will be increased, which will help in creating a balance between demand and supply and will also bring back investors to the market and solve the liquidity problem," he added.
Moreover, many well-performing and large multinational companies have been operating in Bangladesh for a long time, some of them for centuries. "We urge the government to offload stakes in various multinational companies at fair prices through direct listing," said Mr Islam.
"We hope that in the greater interest of the capital market, you will sincerely consider our request and take effective steps for its implementation," added the DBA chief.
babulfexpress@gmail.com
© 2025 - All Rights with The Financial Express
