The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has approved a draft regulation allowing qualifying companies to get listed on stock exchanges directly, without going through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), by offloading a portion of existing shareholders' holdings.

The decision was taken at the 1,027th commission meeting held on Tuesday at the BSEC office, chaired by its Chairman Masud Khan.

Under the draft “Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Direct Listing of Securities by Stock Exchange) Rules, 2026”, companies will be able to list through direct listing by offloading at least 10 to 20 percent of shares held by existing shareholders, instead of raising fresh capital through an IPO.

Eligible companies include those wholly or majority owned by the government; companies where the government holds at least 10 percent of paid-up capital directly or indirectly; companies majority owned by foreign shareholders; BTRC-approved telecom and ICT service or infrastructure companies with a minimum paid-up capital of Tk 300 crore; scheduled banks, financial institutions and insurance companies with at least three years of commercial operation; and companies with an annual turnover or total assets of at least Tk 500 crore.

Companies will also need to fulfil additional conditions set by the respective stock exchange, depository and central counterparty as prescribed by the commission.

The draft rules will be published in newspapers and on the BSEC website shortly for public opinion, the commission said in a press release.