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Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday reaffirmed the government’s commitment to restoring stability in Bangladesh’s capital market, saying a series of reform measures aimed at improving transparency, governance and investor protection are beginning to yield positive results.
“The condition of the capital market is gradually improving and it is now doing well. The government is fully committed to restoring stability in the capital market and rebuilding investors’ confidence,” the prime minister told Parliament during the question-and-answer session chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad.
He was responding to a question raised by Patuakhali-4 lawmaker Alhaj ABM Mosharraf Hossain on behalf of Khulna-4 MP SK Azizul Bari.
The prime minister said the government has undertaken a comprehensive reform agenda to build a stronger and more sustainable capital market by ensuring good governance, transparency and accountability, diversifying investment products, deepening the market and expanding investor education.
He said investigations by experts, investor organisations and relevant agencies found that the prolonged downturn in the stock market during the previous Awami League government’s tenure stemmed from widespread market manipulation, artificial price inflation, irregularities in IPOs and bond issuances, weak regulatory oversight, poor corporate governance, lack of transparency, limited participation by institutional investors, inconsistent policies and the absence of investor-friendly tax measures.
The prime minister said the government is determined to identify all those responsible for the market collapse that caused heavy financial losses for thousands of investors and bring them to justice.
He noted that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has already investigated several major stock market irregularities, identified a number of individuals and initiated legal proceedings, while further investigations are underway to determine whether additional people or organisations were involved.
According to the prime minister, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has imposed fines totaling Tk 1,497 crore on individuals and institutions found guilty of market manipulation, financial irregularities and corruption.
He added that reports prepared by various investigation committees have also been forwarded to the ACC for further legal action.
Highlighting recent reforms, Tarique Rahman said the government appointed a new BSEC chairman and three commissioners with extensive capital market expertise on June 4, marking the beginning of a new reform drive.
He said the new commission withdrew the floor price shortly after taking office and is working to facilitate the direct listing of profitable state-owned enterprises, multinational corporations and other large companies to broaden the market.
The government also plans to encourage more fundamentally strong companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to enter the market while strengthening whistleblower protection, reforming auditing practices, attracting foreign portfolio investment and establishing specialised capital market tribunals.
Other planned initiatives include forming reform and investigation commissions, introducing blockchain technology and AI-based market surveillance, digitalising BO account services, adopting investor-friendly tax policies and strengthening legal safeguards for investors.
The prime minister expressed confidence that the ongoing reforms would help restore investor trust and lay the foundation for a transparent, resilient and sustainable capital market in Bangladesh.
