Former Commerce Minister and founder chairman of Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury addressed a round table discussion at DSE Multipurpose Hall in the city today. Photo : BSS

DHAKA, Feb 26, 2025 (BSS) – Former Commerce Minister and Founding Chairman of the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury today laid emphasis on ensuring transparency in the capital market to bring back confidence of the common people.

“If the capital market runs transparently, then the common people will also think that they can invest here. Everyone will invest for the future savings of their families.

There are many job opportunities for educated children in every brokerage house involved in the capital market,” he added.

 Khasru, also BNP standing committee member, said this while speaking as the chief guest at a roundtable discussion on “The Current State of the Bangladesh Capital Market and Way Forward” at DSE multipurpose hall in the city. 

Former Chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Faruq Ahmed Siddiqi attended the roundtable as the guest of honour while President of the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DAB) Saiful Islam presided over it.

Mentioning the capital market as the main driving force of the economy, Amir Khasru said, the previous government did not realise that the capital market can play a very big role in running the economy. 

“We saw, how the capital market was used as a political tool in the last 15 years,” he added.

Khasru said, “There has been an internal discussion in BNP on how we will deregulate the capital market”.

“We are even giving serious importance to the issue. Because, it is not possible to restore transparency in the capital market without deregulation,” he added.

Demanding that those who looted the capital market should be identified to take action according to the law, the former BNP minister said, if action is not taken against these looters, they will again engage in the game of destroying the capital market.
 
He said many families have become bankrupt due to looting in the capital market.

“Many have lost everything and chosen the path of suicide. Therefore, the DBA must also play a role in bringing the looters under the law,” he added.

Faruq Ahmed Siddiqi said the crisis of the money market of the banking system has reached the capital market. 

“If the economy is not healthy, the capital market will not be healthy either. Inflation has arisen. A less discussed major problem is that our revenue income is very low. Our budget cannot be enlarged.

 Our tax-GDP ratio is less than 8 percent, which is the lowest in South Asia and the world,” he added.