BSEC chief vows to enforce strict rules for large company listings

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) will strictly enforce securities laws to push large companies and multinational firms to list on the stock market, the regulatory body’s Chairman, Masud Khan, said today (10 October).

Speaking at a capital market conclave organised by IDLC Investments, he said existing laws empower the regulator to require companies to list on the stock exchange.

He said the commission would take action under the law if large companies or multinational firms failed to enter the capital market voluntarily.

Addressing the longstanding challenge of bringing privately held and family-owned conglomerates into the market, Masud said remaining unlisted could limit companies’ long-term growth and succession planning.

He added that tax automation and digital banking transactions were making opaque financial practices increasingly difficult, strengthening the case for companies to go public to improve transparency, ensure proper valuation, and support sustainable expansion.

The conclave also discussed structural reforms, including plans to route corporate bond approvals through the stock exchange’s main board instead of the inactive Alternative Trading Board (ATB).

With authorities recently processing corporate bonds worth around Tk3,500 crore, they expect the bond market to become more active in the coming months.

The BSEC chief also said efforts were underway to revive Central Counterparty Bangladesh Limited (CCBL) to streamline settlement systems and facilitate modern trading mechanisms, including derivatives and short-selling.

To address delays in initial public offering (IPO) approvals, the BSEC has restructured verification procedures by placing greater accountability on statutory auditors, he said.

The BSEC has also revised its valuation process by removing impractical requirements for institutional consensus and moving towards a more transparent price-discovery system based on Dutch auctions, he added.