Investors' body demands stock market reform promises in election manifestos

Ahead of the national election, a leading investors' platform has called on political parties to clearly outline capital market reform agendas in their election manifestos, warning that Bangladesh's stock market remains in deep crisis.

The Bangladesh Capital Market Investors Unity Council made the call at a press conference in the capital today (1 January), where its General Secretary Md Sazzadul Haque alleged that the stock market was pushed into "ICU" on 6 December 2010, during the Awami League government, and continued to suffer until the government's fall on 5 August 2024, with no meaningful recovery under the current interim administration.

Sazzadul accused the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) of turning investors into victims of what he described as "economic genocide" in the name of reforms. "The current market situation reflects the severe consequences of these actions," he said.

The press conference was presided over by the council's president, Kazi Md Nazrul, and attended by other council leaders.

According to Sazzadul, after the interim government assumed office on 11 August 2024, the benchmark DSEX index stood at 6,015 points. By 18 December 2025, it had fallen to 4,850 points – a decline of more than 1,150 points in 17 months. Average daily turnover also dropped sharply from Tk1,400-1,500 crore to around Tk350 crore. He noted that the market's price-to-earnings ratio has fallen below 9, which he described as unprecedented globally.

Sazzadul warned that had the authorities performed their duties properly, investors would not have faced such a dire situation.

"Without restoring confidence among local and foreign investors, even injecting Tk10,000 crore or Tk1 million crore into the market would not produce results," he said, adding that such measures would only embarrass the government further.

The council alleged that over the past 17 months, the BSEC, the Bangladesh Bank, and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) have failed to introduce any meaningful incentive measures for the capital market. Instead, they have repeatedly taken discouraging steps.

As an example, the council cited the merger of five banks without following international merger rules, which placed depositors and shareholders in severe distress. It also claimed that not a single attractive or credible company has been brought to the market through an IPO during this period. 

To revive Bangladesh's capital market, the council presented a 10-point proposal aimed at restoring investor confidence and ensuring sustainable growth. Key recommendations include incorporating clear capital market reform agendas in political parties' election manifestos, banning netting using the same shares in daily trading, ensuring parity between the Bangladesh Bank governor and the BSEC chairman, providing fair compensation to shareholders affected by the five-bank merger, and listing major profitable entities – including the Padma Bridge project and multinational companies – on the stock exchange.

The proposals also call for companies seeking to raise over Tk50 crore to do so through the capital market instead of bank loans, freezing directors' shares and restructuring boards of companies that declare negligible or no dividends despite strong financials, forming a strong advisory committee to enhance BSEC transparency, appointing leadership through a merit-based search committee, and allocating fresh funds from the Investor Protection Fund to compensate investors who have suffered losses since 2010. 

The council emphasised that implementing these measures is crucial to creating a stable and dynamic stock market.