Dhaka, June 12 (bdnews24.com)—Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith calling the capital market 'naughty' has sparked intense backlash from the main bourse and small investors on Tuesday.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) led raucous protests after Muhith, speaking on the supplementary budget in Parliament on Monday, had said ,"It is a naughty share market and I don't want to make any comment on it."
The Minister's cynical remarks came three days after he proposed the budget for 2012-13 fiscal, apparently expressing his frustration over failure to evoke a positive response from the market despite announcing a raft of measures.
Reacting to the remark, DSE President Rokibur Rahman said, "It seems to me that the honourable Finance Minister has grown impatient. He has announced incentives, but it needs to be watched whether those are being implemented."
Regarding use of the word 'naughty' to define the market, Rahman said, "This is the first time I have heard something like this."
During his speech, Minister Muhith had also observed that it would not impact on the economy if he did not think much about the market.
Referring to the observation, the DSE chief commented, "Economic development of the country will never be possible keeping away from the share market."
He also mentioned that banks were investing only 2 percent of their assets even though they can invest up to 10 percent.
Protesting the Minister's remark, DSE Senior Vice-President Ahmed Rashid Lali said, "This kind of comment coming from a responsible position like this tarnishes the image of the government. It is also bad for the country's economy."
A group of retail investors held a protest rally under the banner of Bangladesh Share Market Investors' Oikya Parishad in front of the DSE on Tuesday over the Minister's remark. They shouted slogans demanding his resignation.
The Finance Minister had faced massive criticism from individual investors and ruling party MPs last year during the market instability for his comments about the investors.
After that he declared at a meeting on June 19 last year, "I do not want to talk about this ... whenever I speak, the market falls."
The DSE traded only Tk 1.28 billion on Tuesday, the lowest in the last three months in the prime bourse.
The market has been experiencing a topsy-turvy trend since it reached its peak in December 2010 before taking a nosedive. Small investors lost confidence in the market even after intervention from the Prime Minister herself.
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