Capital market not given due importance in the budget: Stakeholders

The proposed budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 has not given due importance to the country's capital market, although it has been made friendlier for industrialisation, stakeholders said.

"The government paid less attention to the sector while formulating the budget. We had seven pre-budget proposals, of which it considered only one," said Dhaka Stock Exchange Chairman Eunusur Rahman at a post-budget seminar organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Capital Market (BICM) at its office in the capital on Tuesday. 

"Although the budget cut corporate tax for listed companies by 2.5% to 20%, it imposed several conditions such as they must come to the market offloading 10% share through initial public offering and have to maintain bank channels for transaction over Tk12 lakh, which ultimately make availing the facility very tough," he added. 

BICM Executive President Professor Mahmuda Akhter, Chattogram Stock Exchange Chairman Asif Ibrahim, Dhaka University Professor Mohammed Helal Uddin, and Capital Market Journalists' Forum President Ziaur Rahman, among others, were present at the event titled "Budget FY 2022-22 implications for the capital market".

Emphasising infrastructural reformation of the capital market, Asif Ibrahim said profit-making state-run companies should be enlisted in the market for making it sustainable in the long run. 

He urged the government to cut taxes on brokerage house transactions. 

"Lack of faith, owing to manipulation and absence of good governance, causes a worse situation in the capital market. The regulator must function properly to overcome that," said Professor Helal Uddin.

Mentioning that no notice was served despite a surge in share prices of several companies by three to four-folds a few days ago, he added that there were some irregularities. "Currently, companies are served notices if their share prices go up 2-3 times. The number of transactions has decreased, as a result," the professor said. 

On the opportunity of undisclosed money investment, Helal Uddin said it failed to draw a substantial amount of money to the capital market. "So, there is no difference whether the facility exists or not."