Bangladesh capital market regulator holds summit in Dubai to woo expatriate investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission or SEC has organised an investor summit on the potentials of Bangladesh's capital market in Dubai. 

News Deskbdnews24.com
Published : 11 Feb 2021, 02:14 AM
Updated : 11 Feb 2021, 02:14 AM

It held a road-show titled ‘The Rise of Bengal Tiger: Potentials of Bangladesh Capital Markets’ on Tuesday with the aim to reach out to non-resident Bangladeshi investors and attract foreign investment in Bangladesh.

The summit, sponsored by UCB Stock Brokerage Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of United Commercial Bank Limited, will continue at the Creek ballroom of Park Hyatt, Dubai until Friday.

Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, chairman of SEC, chaired the road-show. He highlighted the important role of the capital market in raising long term funds through bond and Sharia-complaint bond or Sukuk to solve the maturity mismatch problem long prevailing in Bangladesh’s banking sector.

He spoke about the risky nature of the market and focused on the importance of research and professional investing approach for sustained return from the capital market.

Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury was present as chief guest. He shared his personal experience to explain the risky nature of the capital market, emphasising the need for proper research and disciplined investment approach.

State Minister for Youth and Sports Md Zahid Ahsan Russell, who attended the event as special guest, thanked the NRBs for the windfall remittances which helped Bangladesh to absorb the economic shock of the pandemic.

UCB Chairman Anisuzzaman Chowdhury thanked the government as well as the commission for their relentless efforts in achieving stricter implementation of regulations in the capital market.

Arif Khan, CEO of IDLC Finance, was the keynote speaker of the first session. He gave an overview of the economy and the capital market of Bangladesh, and highlighted the need to avoid speculation and invest in companies with better corporate governance and fundamentals.

Mohammad Rahmat Pasha, CEO of UCB Stock Brokerage Limited, explained the investment procedure and incentives available for the expatriate Bangladeshi investors.

He also announced that UCB Stock Brokerage will open a ‘digital booth’ in Dubai on Friday.

Prof Md Masudur Rahman, director, DSE and Mohammed Mahtabur Rahman, chairman of Al Haramain Group and president of NRB Association, also spoke at the event.

Mahbubul Alam, executive director of SEC, Sayedur Rahman, president of BMBA, M Shaifur Rahman Mazumder, COO of DSE, Ashequr Rahman, MD of Midway Securities, Khandoker Saffat Reza, CEO and director of Lanka Bangla Securities, attended as panellists in the first question-answer session.

The SEC chairman also launched an online account-opening portal at the programme and announced that NRBs will now be able to open their BO account online.

He along with other guests handed over a certificate of appreciation to the first NRB account holder in the online portal.

Top officials of SEC, including Commissioner Khondoker Kamaluzzaman, Iqbal Hossain Khan, the consul general in Dubai, Nahid Hossain, joint secretary of finance, UCB directors Asifuzzaman Chowdhury, Md Jonaid Shafiq and Bashir Ahmed; UCB Asset Management Limited CEO Shekh Mohammad Rashedul Hasan; and UCB Investment Limited CEO Tanzim Alamgir, among others, were present.

A separate session was held for the foreign investors where the SEC chairman highlighted the story of Bangladesh to global fund managers, asset managers and bank executives operating in Dubai and the Gulf areas.