All the existing companies will not be allowed to operate in the OTC (over-the-counter) markets of the country's two bourses after one month.
Some of the companies will be shifted to the exchanges' SME Board and Alternative Trading Board (ATB), while others will be allowed to exit the OTC platform.
To this effect, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) issued an order on Thursday, asking both the bourses to execute the regulatory order within one month.
"We have taken the decision to ensure objectives of the investors' investments," said Shaikh Shamsuddin Ahmed, a BSEC commissioner.
Presently, there are 70 companies in the OTC market of the stock exchanges.
Of the 70 companies, 23 companies will be shifted to the exchanges' SME Board, while 18 will be shifted to ATB. The remaining 29 companies will be allowed to exit the market.
The 29 companies, which will be asked to exit the OTC market, will have to return money invested by the general shareholders.
The OTC means the facilities provided by an exchange for the purpose of buying or selling of securities, unlisted or delisted from the stock exchange.
The OTC market started its operations in the bourses on October 01, 2009 with 51 companies, which were delisted from the exchanges' main board.
The BSEC commissioner said there is no benefit of the regulatory supervision in the OTC market, as most of the companies do exist only in name.
"There is no address of many OTC companies. The exchanges are unable to find out their offices. That's why, we have moved to settle the issue."
The BSEC commissioner said the work of the companies' shifting to SME board and ATB would have to be completed within one month.
"The companies, which will be shifted to SME Board and ATB, have been given one month time to complete the demat of their shares."
Asked, whether the OTC platform will exist after relocation of the existing companies, the commissioner said they would talk about the issue later.
Of the 23 companies, which will be shifted to SME Board and ATB, seven are in operations, and the remaining 16 are out of operations.
The seven companies, which are in operations, are: Apex Weaving, Bangladesh Hotels, Bengal Biscuits, Gachihata Aquaculture, Himadri Ltd, Wonderland Toys and Yousuf Flower Mills.
The 16 companies, which will be shifted to SME Board, are: Al-Amin Chemical Industries, Alpha Tobacco, Aman Sea Food, Ashraf Textile Mills, Bangladesh Electricity Meter, Bangladesh Leaf Tobacco, Bengal Fine Chemicals, Bionic Sea Food Exports, Dhaka Fisheries, Excelsior Shoes, Lexco, Meghna Shipping Culture, Raspit Data Management, Rangamati Food Products, Therapeutics (Bangladesh) and Jago Corporation.
The 18 companies, which will be shifted to ATB, include Bangla Process Industries, Dandy Dyeing, Dynamic Textile Industries, Metalex Corporation, Mita Textile and Modern Cement.
Earlier, some of the OTC companies were brought back to the exchanges' main board.
Four OTC companies resumed trading on the exchanges' main board in June. The companies are - Bangladesh Monospool Paper Manufacturing Company, Paper Processing and Packaging, Tamijuddin Textile Mills, and Monno Fabrics.
After resuming trading on the main board, the companies saw abnormal price hike. Of the four companies, the share price of Paper Processing and Packaging rose above 1,200 per cent since the company resumed trading.
