The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has asked the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) to offload shares in the stock market.
The regulatory order came in line with the exchanges’ demutualisation scheme having a provision of offloading 35 per cent shares.
The regulator on Monday instructed the bourses to submit detailed proposals of listing in compliance with the demutualisation act and scheme and other securities laws by January 10, 2022.
As per the regulatory instructions, the bourses will have to frame guidelines on their listing in line with the demutualisation scheme.
The regulator has also decided to conduct a special audit to assess the exchanges’ compliance condition before offloading shares in the stock market.
The officials of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) said their board has already decided to offload 35 per cent shares and the management has also been instructed in this regard.
Both the stock exchanges became demutualised in 2013.
As per the demutualisation act, 40 per cent shares of the DSE was credited to the shareholders’ accounts, while the remaining 60 per cent was kept in a blocked account from which 35 per cent is required to offload in the market.
A Chinese consortium comprising Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange on September 4, 2018 joined the DSE as its strategic partner purchasing 25 per cent shares for Tk 9.47 billion at Tk 21 each.
The bourses were supposed to submit proposals to the commission about selling 35 per cent of shares to the institutional and general investors after three years of the demutualisation.
The CSE has not yet found any strategic investor to sell its 25 per cent shares as per its demutualisation scheme.
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