Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday asked the authorities concerned for taking more programmes to make small and new investors aware about relevant laws and rules of the stock market to minimise their risks. ‘I would like to ask all concerned to take more awareness-raising programmes for the small and new investors in the capital market so that they can understand the risks,’ she said.
Hasina was addressing a function after laying the plaque of foundation stone of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city.
Finance minister AMA Muhith spoke on the occasion as special guest while BSEC chairman M Khairul Hossain gave the welcome address.
The 10-storey BSEC building will be built at a cost of Tk 43.86 crore to be entirely borne by the BSEC. BSEC and department of Housing and Public Works will implement the project by December 2015.
Once completed, the building will have some 89,250 square feet space with a multipurpose conference room, state-of-the-art library, a day-care centre, a canteen, uninterrupted power supply and solar power.
Mentioning that a 10-year master plan has been formulated for the development of the capital market as well as to protect the interest of the investors, Hasina said it was often seen that the small investors face problems for lack of knowledge about relevant laws, rules and regulations.
She said that if the master plan is implemented properly, it would be possible to avert problems in the future.
Sheikh Hasina said the government is in the process of implementing a special package to protect the interests of the small investors of the share market.
‘They’re being given tax-waiving facilities and 20 per cent quota while issuing new IPOs,’ she said.
Referring to the creation of a Tk 5,000-crore open-ended mutual fund, ‘Bangladesh Fund’, she said, the face value of the share of all companies and mutual fund had been made Tk 10.
The prime minister said the delivery of the dividends and bonus shares had been made mandatory within 30 days of the approval of the board.
Hasina said the country’s economy had got a firm footing over the last five years due to relentless efforts of her government. ‘The macro economy is now very much stable and its every index is progressing very positively.’
She said Bangladesh’s economy maintained average annual economic growth of over 6 per cent over the last five years despite the whole world was reeling on economic crisis. ‘Our export earnings will cross $30 billion at the end of this fiscal year.’
The prime minister said her government had taken all necessary steps for interrupted export of readymade garments despite many obstacles and conspiracy at home and abroad. ‘Our remittance is on the rise and reserve of the foreign exchange rose to $17 billion,’ she said.
She said the size of the country’s annual budget grew up to Tk 2,22,491 crore from Tk 89,000 crore in 2008 while local and foreign investments in both public and private sectors increased substantially.
Hasina said steps had already been taken for the demutualisation of the Dhaka Stock Exchange to separate its management from ownership aimed at making its activities transparent and accountable.
A tribunal has been constituted for the speedy disposal of the cases relating to capital market with setting up surveillance system, she said.
‘These steps have helped make the capital market stable, brightening its prospect in the global arena,’ the premier observed.
-With New Age input
