Discussants have said the country's stock market, insurers and pension funds need to play a significant role in achieving the target of sustainable development goal (SDG).
Their suggestions came Monday at a virtual seminar titled 'Sustainable Finance in Bangladesh: Strategies and Options for Implementation'.
"Bangladesh has a target to achieve the SDG within a certain period. We will have to depend on the stock market, insurers and pension fund as the banking sector cannot supply the long-term finance," said Prof. Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, chairman of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).
President of Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC) arranged the seminar to observe World Investor Week 2021.
BAPLC president Azam J Chowdhury chaired the programme attended by business leaders and top officials of both the bourses.
The BSEC chairman Mr. Islam said the securities regulator is working for making the bond market, mutual funds and secondary stock market vibrant.
In his speech, the BSEC commissioner Shaikh Shamsuddin Ahmed emphasised proper audit of the listed companies' financial statements.
"We need the listing of more companies to expand the size of the country's capital market. And proper audit of the companies' financial statements is also important for the market," Mr. Ahmed said.
He said the companies' listing should be five times to turn the market cap to GDP ratio into 100 per cent within next 5-7 years.
"The stakeholders especially the issue managers should work to bring more companies having good fundamentals," said the BSEC commissioner Mr. Ahmed.
More than 5200 companies are listed with Indian Stock Exchange while the number is 750 in Vietnam. On the other hand, the number of companies listed with the country's stock exchanges is only 388, including 37 mutual funds.
BSEC commissioner Mr. Ahmed also said the listed companies are required to publish authentic price sensitive information in an effort to restore investors' confidence and increase good governance.
The chairman of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) Md. Eunusur Rahman said the country needs around Tk 78.920 trillion within 2030 to fulfill the target of SDG.
"The banking sector is facing difficulties with high non-performing loans. In that case, the stock market can play an important role to meet demand of the SDG," Mr. Rahman said.
In his speech, the chairman of Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Asif Ibrahim laid importance on the role of money market and stock market to address environmental, social and corporate governance issues through their financing.
The chairman of ACI Ltd. Anis Ud Dowla said green bonds can ease the target of SDG.
Md. Jasim Uddin, FBCCI president, Ms. Nihad Kabir, MCCI president, among others, also were present at the programme.
