November sees 1.5 lakh new BO accounts  

Attracted by a positive market over the last few months, investors opened around 1.5 lakh new beneficiary owner (BO) accounts in November alone.

Market insiders said the initial public offering (IPO) market has made a turnaround in the last few months and investors are receiving profit from the primary market during this period.

Moreover, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has approved IPOs of some branded firms – including Walton Hi-Tech Industries and Robi Axiata Limited.

As a result, the rate of BO account opening has increased in the brokerage firms.  

In October this year, the number of active BO accounts was 23.64 lakh, which stood at 25.10 lakh at the end of November, according to the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL).

Of the new BO accounts, 1.10 lakh are held by males and 38,000 by females.

And of the new account holders, 1.25 lakh are residential Bangladeshis and the rest 23,000 are non-resident Bangladeshis.

In the last fiscal year, around 2.5 lakh BO accounts were closed.

There were 23 lakh active BO accounts in the capital market, which was the lowest number in a decade.

But in the last four months, the rate of BO account opening has increased, with brokerage firms adding almost two lakh new accounts.

There were 25.71 lakh active BO accounts in 2010 and in 2015, the number reached 31.96 lakh, which was the highest in the last decade.