‘Transparency in IPO needed to revive share market’
CMJF President Hasan Imam Rubel said merchant banks have contributed to bringing good IPOs in the market
A transparent Initial Public Offering (IPO) process is needed to bring stability in the share market upon overcoming the current turmoil.
Also, the existing IPO timeframe has to be brought down and companies' audit reports have to be transparent as well to boost investors' trust.
These are the points that came up at an opinion exchange meeting between the leaders of Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA) and the executive committee of the Capital Market Journalist Forum (CMJF), an organisation of share market reporters.
The meeting was held at the BMBA office in the capital's Bijoy Nagar area today.
CMJF President Hasan Imam Rubel, General Secretary Monir Hossain, and BMBA President Md Sayadur Rahman, General Secretary Riyad Matin, Senior Vice President Moniruzzaman, Finance Secretary air commodore (retd) Abu Bakar, and Executive Members Mahbub Hossain Mazumder and Md Obaidur Rahman were present at the meeting.
Sayadur Rahman said a turmoil now exists in the share market.
"The general people are scared of investing in the market. The IPO process is mainly responsible for this. Transparency in the system has to be emphasized," he said.
Admitting lack of experience, Sayadur mentioned the closure of the forced sale after 2010.
"The closure led to a negative equity of Tk15,000 crore," he said, adding that the share market suffered a lot for this.
Hasan Imam said merchant banks have contributed to bringing good IPOs in the market.
"This is because they evaluate the primary qualifications to bring a company in the share market. The institutions should be more careful about bringing a company in the market," he said.
Hasan criticised those who emphasise the secondary market in favour of closing IPOs.