2016 will be a year of progress for capital market: regulator

The next year will be a period of progress for the capital market, but for that a steady atmosphere is a must, M Khairul Hossain, chairman of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, said yesterday.

“We are continuously working for the development of the capital market, and the task becomes easier as the twin stock exchanges are with us,” he said.

The development of the capital market in the coming year depends mostly on stability on the political front, he said while inaugurating a two-day capital market fair in Chittagong.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange is organising the event at the port city's GEC Convention Centre to spread financial literacy among investors.

Bangladesh can join the ranks of rich nations by 2031 if the full potential of the capital markets can be utilised, Hossain said.

Investors must have proper knowledge about capital market investment and they should have the ability to conduct a risk analysis, he said.

More attention needs to be paid to higher education, he said, citing a study that found if the rate of educated people increases by 1 percent, economic growth accelerates 3 percent. BSEC Commissioner Helal Uddin Nizami, CSE Chairman Abdul Mazid, Central Depository of Bangladesh Chairman Sheikh Kabir Hossain and CSE Managing Director Wali-ul-Maroof Matin also spoke at the inaugural function.

Stockbrokers, stock dealers, merchant banks, asset managers, banks, non-bank financial institutions and insurance companies are participating in the fair, which will remain open from 10am to 8pm. Some 200 market experts are available at the venue to respond to queries made by investors.

A total of 98 stalls have been set up at the event. Four seminars are focusing on exchange traded funds, personal portfolio management, initial public offerings and capital market reforms.