Govt working on a strong stock market: Kamal

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said, on Thursday, the government is working in earnest to put the capital market on a strong footing, with a view to securing the interest of investors.

“The country’s economy is now doing well, but I do not understand the reason why the stock market is not going in the right direction,” said Kamal, while briefing the media in his office at the secretariat, upon his return from Luxembourg where he met Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Jin Liqun.

The finance minister said, the capital market is dominated by individual investors who want short-term gain. Instead, they should go for long-term investment to actually benefit from the market. 

In its effort to make the stock market vibrant, the government has made different provisions for providing incentives and policy support in this fiscal year’s budget. 

Regarding implementation of these provisions in the budget in due time, Kamal said the finance ministry will meet with stakeholders to this end. 

Meanwhile, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has shedded 771 points in the last 6 months, which is the lowest in last 30 months. 

Investors in Dhaka have been protesting over the last couple of weeks against persistent and continuous fall of key indices of the stock market.