Foreign investors scurry off from DSE
Foreign stock investor are retreating from Bangladesh's capital market as the bear run in the bourse is chipping away their portfolio value.
So low have their holdings been in the last few months that the Dhaka Stock Exchange decided not to provide breakdown of their net investment going forward.
In the past two months, their net investment in the capital market have been in the negative: Tk 110 crore in December last year and Tk 129 crore in January this year.
A number of foreign investors says they sold shares as they fear devaluation of the local currency against the greenback in the coming months. However, the government has time and again ruled out the possibility of such a scenario.
But the foreign investors believe that economic indicators of Bangladesh are taking a turn for the worse, which will ultimately force devaluation.
If local currency devalues, their investment would face some losses, so they sold off their shares.
Moreover, the protracted tussle between Grameenphone, the stock of choice of foreign investors, and the telecom regulator has dented their confidence in the Bangladesh market.
On the other hand, a sudden decision change of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission to extend tenure of closed-end mutual funds also impacted their investment. So, they sold-off their stocks.
Comments