The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) is maintaining active communication with the Bangladesh Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Institutions Division and other government agencies to prevent losses for investors of the five recently merged Shariah-based banks, DSE Chairman Mominul Islam said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a meeting on the draft Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Public Offer of Equity Securities) Rules, 2025 held at the DSE Tower, Mominul said the exchange had strongly urged the authorities to address the concerns of capital market investors in EXIM Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, Union Bank and Social Islami Bank.
“All regulators and supervisors share responsibility for the current situation of these five banks. Bangladesh Bank is looking after the interests of depositors, while we have also placed investors’ concerns before them,” he said.
“We are raising our voice to safeguard investors’ interests. The DSE is working to ensure that the issues seen previously with these banks are not repeated,” the DSE chairman added.
Commenting on the wider market situation, he said several long-standing problems continue to hinder the capital market, resulting in many good companies remaining outside the listing process.
He stressed the need for identifying and addressing these issues even before the new rules take effect.
“The number of good companies in the market is very low. Listing quality firms should be given the highest priority. There is considerable scope for improvement in this area, and the rules must be framed in a way that encourages strong companies to enter the market,” he said.
Mominul also underlined the need for more high-quality IPOs to enhance market depth.
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Speaking at the event, Saiful Islam, president of the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA), said ensuring quality IPOs cannot be the responsibility of the DSE alone.
“As a regulator, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission must also take responsibility,” he said.
Saiful recommended enabling large private-sector conglomerates to list through the direct listing method.