Market intermediaries agree to inject fresh funds into the capital market
Market intermediaries – such as broker-dealers, merchant banks and asset management companies – have agreed to inject fresh money into the stock market to give it momentum, said the securities regulator after a meeting with the industry representatives on Wednesday.
"The meeting agreed on the need to increase the number of institutional investors in the market alongside the financial strengthening of the market intermediaries," said Rezaul Karim, executive director and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).
The regulator supported the Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association's (BMBA) proposal to build a Tk10,000 crore fund to strengthen the intermediary industries and the market as well.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"The initiative for the fund will be taken," Karim said.
Merchant banks collectively would pump in Tk200-300 crore in their investment portfolios in the upcoming holy month of Ramadan that begins next week with the sighting of the crescent moon, BMBA President Sayadur Rahman assured the meeting.
DSE Brokers' Association (DBA) of Bangladesh President Richard D' Rozario said each of its members would invest at least Tk1 crore in the next one month through their stock dealer accounts, offering over Tk250 crore in fund injection, according to the BSEC spokesperson.
Association of Asset Management Companies and Mutual Funds President Hasan Imam informed the meeting that his industry's increasing investment helped the market get its strength moderately back in the recent days since it nosedived with Russia's Ukraine invasion in late February.
Asset management firms would invest more both from their accounts and from the mutual funds they manage.
The Capital Market Stabilization Fund is going to give Tk100 crore to the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) for stock investing, Rezaul Karim said.
The meeting expected with the increasing participation of institutional investors the bourses would have a vibrant month this Ramadan compared to a year ago.
