PM rolls out master plan to revamp stock market

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday unveiled a comprehensive, wide-ranging reform agenda aimed at restoring stability to the country’s capital market, rebuilding shattered investor confidence, and bringing market manipulators to justice.

The Premier firmly declared the government’s mandate to identify and prosecute those responsible for the prolonged market declines that left thousands of retail investors financially ruined.

Replying to a question during the 21st sitting of the first budget session of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad, chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, the Prime Minister detailed decisive actions against past irregularities.

He stated that initial probes into major stock market scandals have already been mobilized through the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), resulting in the identification of several key perpetrators and the filing of formal corruption cases. Investigations remain active to smoke out any further institutional or individual involvement.

According to official findings from investigative bodies, the principal causes behind the market’s persistent downturn during the previous Awami League regime included artificial price inflation, Initial Public Offering (IPO) and bond irregularities, weak regulatory enforcement, and poor corporate governance.

To penalize this malpractice, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has slapped historic fines totaling Tk 1497 crore on corrupt entities, with dossiers forwarded directly to the ACC.

To drive market depth and transparency, the Prime Minister announced a robust series of priority interventions.

“The government appointed a highly experienced BSEC chairman and three commissioners on June 4 to reinforce the regulator. Immediately upon taking office, the new commission decisively withdrew the long-standing floor price mechanism,” he noted.

The strategy focuses heavily on supply-side quality, looking to aggressively incentivize profitable state-owned enterprises (SOEs), multinational corporations (MNCs), and fundamentally strong large-cap and SME companies to list on the local stock exchanges.

To break the culture of impunity, the state will introduce legal protections and financial incentives for whistleblowers exposing market fraud. Additionally, securities laws will be amended to allow direct case filings before special capital market tribunals.

Two high-powered bodies the Capital Market Reform Commission and the Special Investigation Commission will be established to oversee structural overhauls.

The futuristic roadmap relies heavily on digital disruption, incorporating blockchain infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence-powered market surveillance, and electronic Know-Your-Customer (e-KYC) protocols for mobile BO account setups.

Furthermore, investor-friendly tax revisions including reducing capital gains tax and abolishing double taxation on dividend income will be coupled with secondary market trading of government Treasury bonds and Sukuk to safely diversify retail investment portfolios.