No more direct listing for private companies

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission mull a regulatory measure which would not let private companies join the bourses under the direct listing system in a bid to protect the investors and the capital market’s interests. In direct listing system, a company could be listed on a stock exchange without increasing existing paid-up capital.

The authorities issued the directive after a company Aman Cement Mills sought permission to be listed in the premier bourse directly which was earlier misused before the price crash of 2011. A probe committee found that stock market was affected by listing of companies with inflated prices.

Direct listing system was introduced in 2006 and five state-owned companies and five private companies joined the bourses by offloading shares since then.

Exports face challenges as Taka appreciated

The export sector of the country is facing challenges in international market because of local currency’s strong position against US Dollar. A Citibank NA report said Taka remains stable against the US Dollar while major currencies including Euro and British Pound depreciated sharply.

Policy Makers should take steps to cope with situation due to currency mismatch. In January 2016, the price of dollar was Tk78.50 and Tk78.55 in February. But it went down at Tk78.40 in April of same year. In 2016 fiscal year, the economy of Bangladesh grew at 7.11% in which emerging private and stable public investment contributed a lot. The private investment contributed 23% in GDP while it was 22.1 in 2015 fiscal year.

Industrial growth will be negatively affected if this situation continues.