Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has sought a five-year tenure extension of the Tk 200 crore fund that any bank can take as loan from Bangladesh Bank to invest in the capital market.
Moreover, the commission wants the loan amount to be increased to Tk 300 crore.
The BSEC made the demands for the special fund that the central bank started extending in 2020 for a five-year period in order to increase liquidity supply in the stock market.
BSEC Chairman Khondoker Rashed Maqsood placed the demand in a meeting with BB Governor Ahsan H Mansur at the central bank on Wednesday, as the existing tenure of such loans will end in February 2026.
However, banks were and still are allowed to invest 25 percent of their capital in the stock market in addition to this special funds.
Banks were slow in taking loans from this special facility initially, but later many stepped in.
Some banks bought Beximco’s green Sukuk Al Istisna by using the fund as the central bank allowed to invest in by issuing a circular in 2021 when people were reluctant to subscribe to the bond with their own funds.
In the meeting, Maqsood also stressed the need for taking supportive steps by the Bangladesh Bank for the listing of good companies in the stock market.
