Affected Investors
Application deadline for stock scheme extended to Dec 15
The supervision committee for the Tk 900-crore government refinance scheme for the small-scale investors affected by the 2010-11 stock market crash has decided to extend the deadline for receiving applications from merchant banks and brokerage houses to December 15.
The five-member committee made the decision at a meeting on Thursday, a Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission’s news release said on Sunday.
The BSEC release said, ‘The timeframe for filing applications by merchant banks and brokerage houses for loans under the scheme on behalf of the affected small-scale investors has been extended to December 15.’
Earlier the supervision committee, as per the government’s guideline, set November 30 as the deadline [cut off date] for filing applications with the loan approval committee for loans.
As per the guideline, merchant banks and brokerage houses have to apply applications against the affected small-scale investors under their organisations.
The committee made Thursday’s decision after merchant banks and brokerage houses appealed for a time extension, BSEC executive director Saifur Rahnam told New Age.
Merchant banks and brokerage houses at a meeting with the BSEC on Wednesday requested the capital market regulator to extend the timeline.
They also requested the BSEC that the regulator should take steps in obtaining a directive from the National Board of Revenue allowing the amount of loans waived for the affected small-scale investors as allowable expenses.
The stock market intermediaries also requested to waive some conditions out of the 18 conditions set by the government to apply for the loans.
‘As the conditions were set by the government, that’s why it would be settled as per the government’s instruction,’ said Saifur, also the head of the committee.
As per a BSEC report sent to the finance ministry in April this year, only 7,413 small-scale investors out of the 9,53,849 affected by the 2010-2011 stock market crash got interest waiver under the government-announced compensation package.
The Bangladesh Bank on August 26 released Tk 300 crore as the first phase of the Tk 900-crore refinance scheme.
-With New Age input
