The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Tuesday urged the government to consider its 6-point proposal on the budget for the fiscal year 2023-24, to encourage investment. DSE Board of Directors Chairman, Professor Hafiz Hasan Babu made the call from a 'post-budget press conference' at a hotel in the capital on Tuesday. The proposals are tax-exemption for earned interest on bonds, to reduce the tax gap between listed and non-listed companies to 10 percent, reduce VAT from 15 percent to 10 percent for companies in the capital market, reduce the tax gap to 10 percent for stock exchange SME companies, and reduce tax at source on broker houses’ transactions. Also Read: DSE seeks inclusion of four points to facilitate investors  In a written speech at the press conference, DSE Chairman said that currently, the size of the corporate bond market is very small which creates limitations in the capital market as well as in the financial market. Also Read: DSE market capitalisation increased by Tk4.5 lakh crore in 2022 “A well-functioning bond market can help the economy in several ways. Exemption of tax on interest in all types of bonds would encourage creating a strong bond market," he said.    

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Wednesday approved bonds of NRBC Bank worth Tk500 crore. The decision came at 840th meeting of the commission held in Dhaka, BSEC Executive Director and spokesperson Mohammad Rezaul Karim told UNB. NRBC would raise Tk500 crore by issuing non-convertible, unsecured, fully redeemable, floating rate subordinated bonds. The bonds would be issued through private placement. Read: NRBC Bank conferred with Krishi Padak The face value of each bond is Tk1 crore, and the coupon rate is 7 to 9 percent. With the bond proceeds, the lender would strengthen its Tier-2 capital base. The trustee of the bonds is City Bank Capital Resources, and UCB Investment is the lead arranger, Rezaul said.

Agricultural and food processing company Pran Agro has completed the transaction of Tk2,100 million non-convertible and redeemable bond with a 100% on-demand credit guarantee from GuarantCo and full subscription from MetLife Bangladesh on May 19. GuarantCo is rated AA- by Fitch and A1 by Moody's. MetLife Bangladesh is the sole investor of the bond. The subscription will further diversify MetLife's investment portfolio in Bangladesh. The 7-year fixed coupon bond is the first-ever instrument of its kind in Bangladesh and is expected to play a transformational role in supporting alternate sources of infrastructure financing in Bangladesh.  READ: Pran Drinking Water gives food to the needy in Ramadan Pran Agro is working with 100,000 registered contract farmers. The bond proceeds will be used to develop critical infrastructure in the agricultural supply chain and support the company's expansion plans in the local and export markets. The bond is backed by an on-demand guarantee by GuarantCo, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, and funded by the governments of the UK, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, and France. READ: PRAN-RFL donates safety equipment to health workers Green Delta Company Limited acted as the bond trustee and security agent to the issue. Riverstone Capital Limited, an independent merchant bank based in Bangladesh, acted as financial advisor to Pran Agro and arranger to the issue.

Asian stock markets followed Wall Street lower for a second day Thursday after unexpectedly strong U.S. consumer price increases fueled worries inflation might drag on an economic recovery. Market benchmarks in Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia retreated. Overnight, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index recorded its biggest one-day drop since February after consumer prices rose in April at their fastest year-on-year pace since 2008. Rising prices reflect growing industrial and consumer activity after last year’s global shutdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic. But investors worry surging inflation might disrupt the recovery or prompt central banks to withdraw stimulus and near-zero interest rates. Read:Asian shares mixed as vaccine wait tempers Wall St optimism The market reaction was “mild, reflecting the belief that this jump in inflation will eventually calm,” Tai Hui of JP Morgan Asset Management said in a report. The Federal Reserve says this surge should be temporary, but “if inflation does not calm,” the challenge to the U.S. central bank’s credibility “could be disruptive,” Hui said. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.6% to 3,441.37 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo tumbled 1.8% to 28,628.73. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.8% to 28,010.86. The Kospi in Seoul sank 0.1% to 3,158.88 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 was 0.4% lower at 7,018.00. New Zealand also retreated. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 lost 2.1% to 4,063.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2% to 33,587.66 in its biggest decline since January. The Nasdaq gave up 2.7% in its largest pullback since March. Apple, Microsoft and Amazon all fell more than 2%. Tesla fell 4.4%, bringing its pullback this month to nearly 17%. Read:Asia stocks mixed after Wall St falls on Biden tax report Bond yields, or the difference between market price and the payout at maturity, snapped higher as prices fell. Bond prices fall if investors worry the value of that payout will be eroded by higher inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.69% from Tuesday’s 1.62%, a big move. In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude fell 46 cents to $65.62 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 80 cents on Wednesday to $66.08. Brent crude, used to price international oils, sank 53 cents to $68.79 per barrel in London. It rose 77 cents the previous session to $69.32 a barrel. The dollar gained to 109.67 yen from Wednesday’s 109.60 yen. The euro edged up to $1.2083 from $1.2080.