Four directors elected to new DSE board

From left, Shakil Rizvi, managing director of Shakil Rizvi Stock; Khwaja Ghulam Rasul, managing director of Khwaja Equity Services; Md Shahjahan, managing director of Jahan Securities; and Sharif Anwar Hossain, managing director of Md Shahidullah Securities, were elected directors to the demutualised Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday. 525 px

Four shareholders were elected directors to the first board of the demutualised Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday.
Md Shakil Rizvi of Shakil Rizvi Stock bagged the highest number of votes: 184 out of 213 valid votes.  
Md Shahjahan of Jahan Securities won the second highest—152 votes—followed by Khwaja Ghulam Rasul of Khwaja Equity Services with 147 and Sharif Anwar Hossain of Md Shahidullah Securities with 140.
The two other contenders for the post were Ahmad Rashid of Rashid Investment Services and Lailun Nahar Ekram of ASENZ Securities.
Md Shamsul Hoque, chairman of the election commission for the DSE polls and a retired district and sessions judge, named the winners.
Of the total 242 votes, 217 were cast. The election commission had cancelled four ballots.
The new directors were elected from the bourse's existing shareholders in line with the demutualisation scheme, which was approved by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on September 26 last year.
An annual general meeting will be held today to adopt the newly-elected directors and hand over duties to the newly-formed DSE board.
A 13-member new board including the four elected directors will be formed for the demutualised stock exchange.
The remaining nine directors will include seven independent directors, one from strategic investors' category and the bourse's chief executive officer, who would have voting rights. One independent director will be selected as chairman of the board.
A law on demutualisation was passed in parliament on April 29 last year with a promise to bring transparency to the stockmarket.
Demutualisation is a way of separating the management of the bourses from ownership. It transforms a stock exchange into a profit-oriented company owned by shareholders and ensures alternative business models and operational efficiency.
Bangladesh's stock exchanges were non-profit cooperative organisations owned by the exchange members who are usually stockbrokers.