Finance Advisor Salehuddin to sit with stakeholders over stock market crisis

The meeting will focus on strategies for market recovery

Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed is set to meet with stakeholders to discuss solutions for the ongoing crisis in Bangladesh's stock market.

The meeting will take place at the Dhaka Stock Exchange, or DSE, office in the capital's Nikunja on Tuesday.

Earlier in October 2023, he met officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, to discuss the situation.

SEC spokesperson Md Rezaul Karim told bdnews24.com, “The finance advisor will discuss measures to improve the stock market with stakeholders at the meeting.”

The meeting, organised by the DSE board of directors, will be attended by representatives from different organisations, including the SEC, Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue, or NBR, Chittagong Stock Exchange, or CSE, DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association, Central Depository Bangladesh Limited, or CDBL, Central Counterparty Bangladesh Limited, or CCPBL, Investment Corporation of Bangladesh, or ICB, and the Financial Reporting Council.

Following the October meeting with the SEC, a decision was made to reduce the tax rate on capital gains from the stock market.

Salehuddin had previously announced plans to implement short-term, medium-term, and long-term measures to stabilise and strengthen the market.

While the market initially began to recover, with improvements in indices and trading volumes at the DSE, it faced another setback.

The downturn was triggered by the classification of 27 companies in the "Z" category, leading to investor protests demanding the reversal of the decision.

Daily trading volume has fallen to Tk 3-3.5 billion.

This has prompted the advisor to engage with stakeholders to devise recovery strategies.