Muhammad Ayub Ali :
Over the past five years, more than 600,000 investors have exited Bangladesh’s stock market.
Of these, around 76,492 were non-resident Beneficiary Owners (BO) account holders, while approximately 548,475 were local BO account holders, according to data from the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL).
These investors had opened BO accounts with various brokerage houses and merchant banks at different times. However, after a long period without the expected returns, many have decided to leave the stock market.
Market experts suggest that while some of these investors were able to withdraw a portion of their investment, the majority walked away with little or no profit.
Analysts point to several practical reasons for the decline in the number of investors. They argue that the current stock market fails to meet the expectations of both domestic and non-resident investors.
Instead, many who invested their hard-earned money have had to endure continuous price declines, widespread manipulation, rumours, inadequate monitoring, and a severe lack of good governance.
Hamidur Rahman, a banker by profession, came to the stock market in 2020 with an investment of 4 lakh, but he has lost nearly three lakh due to the gambling. Now he has closed his account with a deep anger.
The failure to provide adequate feedback and return on investments has driven many investors out of the market, a troubling sign for the industry.
Md Saiful Islam, president of the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA), expressed concern, stating, “Investors enter the stock market to make a profit, but many end up losing their savings.”
He added, “The overall market scenario needs to change positively to attract investors back.”
CDBL data shows that the number of BO accounts held by non-resident investors was 123,457 as of October 7, 2020. By October 9, 2024, this number had decreased to 46,965, meaning nearly 62 per cent of non-resident investors have left the market in the last five years.
Similarly, the number of domestic BO accounts has also fallen. From 2,159,504, the figure dropped to 1,611,129, reflecting a 25.39 per cent decline in the total number of domestic investors over the same period.
