Multinationals should be listed: Tofail

Multinational companies should be brought to the stockmarket to strengthen the bourses by increasing the flow of high-quality securities, said Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday.

He said the finance ministry should take steps so large global companies operating in the country get listed to boost the market's depth.

“We will, however, have to be careful about the new companies so that they don't incur huge losses,” said Ahmed.

The minister made the comments at the inaugural session of the Bangladesh Capital Market Expo 2017 at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka. Online business newspaper arthosuchak.com has organised the three-day event.

Many investors were affected by the stock debacle of 2010 but they have been able to recoup their losses in the last few years, according to the commerce minister.

Md Abdur Razzaque, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the finance ministry, however, said the stockmarket has still been suffering from a lack of confidence. He said investors lost confidence in the market following the debacles in 1996 and 2010 and the market is still struggling to win back the trust.

“As a result, the growth of the market has not been as much as we have expected,” Razzaque said.

The stockmarket did not grow much because of higher deposit rates, according to the former food minister. 

The ruling party lawmaker said the government reformed the stockmarket through amendments to rules and regulations, but still there are some problems.

He advised people to invest in stocks after gaining in-depth knowledge about the market. Razzaque said multinational companies are not legally compelled to be listed on the stockmarket in Bangladesh but it is mandatory in India.

M Khairul Hossain, chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, said the market is now stable and it is high time to attract foreign investment.

He also said the BSEC would take action if any irregularity is found in setting stock price through book building method. Some 40 institutions related to the capital market are participating in the fair.

Investors are getting opportunity to open beneficiary owner's accounts free of cost during the fair, according to Ziaur Rahman, editor of the news site.

The exposition is open from 10am to 8pm.