Foreign investors sold Tk283 crore worth of shares and bought Tk102 crore in October, with Prime Bank, City Bank and Square Pharmaceuticals seeing the biggest outflows.
People look at stock market data. File Photo: TBS
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People look at stock market data. File Photo: TBS
Foreign investors withdrew Tk181 crore more than they invested in the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in October 2026, as share sales across banking, pharmaceutical and multinational companies significantly outpaced purchases amid economic uncertainty and capital market volatility.
Foreign investors sold shares worth Tk283 crore and bought Tk102 crore during the month, according to DSE data. Their total turnover – the value of both buy and sell transactions – was reported at around Tk385 crore, leaving net foreign investment negative by Tk181 crore.
The sell-off was part of a broader retreat by overseas portfolio investors, which market insiders attribute to Bangladesh’s economic conditions and portfolio reshuffling by some foreign funds in response to global factors. Some investors are waiting to assess market and economic conditions before resuming purchases, despite the presence of stocks they consider attractively valued.
Prime Bank and City Bank recorded the largest foreign outflows in October, at Tk50 crore and Tk47 crore respectively. Prime Bank’s foreign shareholding fell 1.45 percentage points to 3.69%, from 5.14% at the end of September. City Bank’s foreign stake declined 0.95 percentage points to 7.08%.
Square Pharmaceuticals, a blue-chip stock and the country’s leading drugmaker, saw Tk46 crore withdrawn as foreign ownership dropped 0.24 percentage points to 13.89%. Marico Bangladesh, a multinational fast-moving consumer goods company, recorded a Tk7 crore outflow, with foreign holdings falling 0.09 percentage points to 0.65%. Renata saw a Tk4 crore outflow as its foreign stake declined 0.08 percentage points to 17.32%.
Other divestments included Tk1 crore from LafargeHolcim Cement, Tk0.40 crore from Paramount Textile and Tk0.09 crore from utility operator Desco. Foreign investors also made smaller disposals in IPDC Finance, LankaBangla Finance, NCC Bank and Paramount Insurance.
Together, Prime Bank, City Bank and Square Pharmaceuticals accounted for Tk143 crore in foreign selling. The remaining outflows were spread across consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, cement, textiles, utilities and financial institutions.
BRAC Bank bucked the trend, attracting Tk13.60 crore in foreign investment. Its foreign shareholding rose to 32.44% in October from 32.35% in September, an increase of 0.09 percentage points. The bank was the main destination for foreign inflows during the month.
Beacon Pharma also attracted foreign funds, with its overseas holding increasing 0.19 percentage points to 0.24%, representing an inflow of Tk3.5 crore. Envoy Textile recorded a smaller inflow of Tk0.13 crore.
Saiful Islam, a director at BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage and president of the DSE Brokers Association (DBA), said the increased selling was driven by one or two foreign funds liquidating their holdings for global reasons, while other investors were monitoring the market.
“The reason behind the increased foreign sell-off is due to share liquidation by one or two foreign funds. These funds withdrew their investments owing to global factors, while other investors are currently monitoring the market situation,” he said.
On investor sentiment, Islam said overseas investors were watching the market while retaining confidence in the government’s capital market reform plans. “As of now, they are not feeling shaky,” he said.
He said the market needed a stronger domestic institutional investor base to absorb foreign sell-offs and build capacity to attract overseas capital. “We will not be able to attract more foreign investors unless we first strengthen our local investor base,” he said.
Islam also said several stocks appeared significantly undervalued based on their price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, offering opportunities for good returns.
Foreign turnover on the DSE has declined from its FY22 peak, when it exceeded Tk5,500 crore. It fell to Tk2,444 crore in FY24 before recovering to Tk3,941 crore in FY25 and Tk4,185 crore in FY26.
The recovery followed the regime change and an increase in foreign fund injections after the February 2026 election, although turnover had been on a gradual downward trend since FY23.
In FY27, cumulative foreign turnover reached Tk1,228.7 crore through September, according to the DSE’s monthly review for that month.
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