DSE, brokers meet to tackle market volatility, restore investor confidence

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the DSE Brokers Association (DBA) held an urgent meeting on Tuesday to review the recent volatility in the capital market and discuss measures to restore stability and ease investor concerns.

The virtual meeting, held on September 8, also discussed the roles and responsibilities of the DSE and its member firms in ensuring normal and stable trading.

Participants discussed the operations of brokerage houses, ways to restore investor confidence, and the need to increase the supply of new initial public offerings (IPOs) and financial products.

They also called for clear and specific criteria for identifying abnormal transactions, arguing that trading a large number of shares at a particular time should not automatically be considered unusual or irregular. Instead, transactions should be assessed based on the nature of the trading, its impact on prices, the financial capacity of investors, and other relevant factors.

At the beginning of the meeting, DBA President Saiful Islam said such an exchange of views was timely to remove concerns and confusion among investors and market participants. He noted that most brokerage firms and other market-related institutions are currently facing various challenges.

“DSE, the regulator and all stakeholders must work together in a coordinated manner to restore confidence and normal operations in the market,” he said. He added that the objective should not be to suppress the market but to transform it into a compliant, vibrant, efficient and growing capital market.

DSE Chairman Mominul Islam said important initiatives had been taken in consultation with the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) regarding the Investor Protection Fund (IPF) to safeguard investors’ interests. He identified increasing the supply of new IPOs and financial products as one of the DSE’s key priorities.

“The lack of new IPOs for a long time and the limited presence of fixed-income securities are among the major weaknesses of the market,” Mominul Islam said. Against this backdrop, the listing fee for new bonds has been reduced. He also said a decision had been taken to waive 50 per cent of the first-year listing fee for companies applying for IPOs or direct listing until March 2027.