The share market has seen the highest price drop in three and a half years.
The main price index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) DSEX lost 149.20 points to 4965.39 points as most of the companies’ share prices fell on Sunday. The index decline rate is 2.91 percent.
Considering the rate of decline, today’s decline is the highest on April 4, 2021 or in the last three and a half years. On that day, the DSEX index of the Dhaka stock market lost 181 points or 3.44 percent and fell to 5089 points.
However, in terms of points, this decline in the index is the highest since March 7, 2022. The index of the Dhaka stock market lost 182 points and fell to 6456 points in the price drop of that day. However, the rate of decline of the index on that day was 2.74 percent.
Today, out of 397 shares and mutual funds of 397 companies listed in the Dhaka stock market, 394 were traded. Of these, 339 lost bids. 159 shares lost price from minimum 5 percent to maximum 16 and a half percent.
The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), the second stock market of the country, has also seen a huge price drop.
In a recent press release, the Ministry of Finance attributed the fall in prices to the massive irregularities and corruption of the previous government in 15 years of listing companies with weak fundamentals.
The ministry notification also said that the share price was also increased through constant manipulation. The fall was held back by various artificial measures including floor prices to prevent the fall in prices.
After the popular uprising, the interim government took responsibility and started working with the promise of returning good governance to the stock market. The regulatory body has installed new leadership at BSEC.
After the new leadership took over, the previous artificial system has been removed and the market has been taken to normal pace. At the same time, some individuals and institutions have been fined for previous manipulations. Investigating to take action against those more responsible for rigging irregularities. At the same time, a special task force has been formed for the necessary reforms to stop irregularities and corruption. However, in the last 15 years, listed companies have been falling in value due to the exposure of their poor condition
Stock market people are not denying this fact. They say that apart from this, the previous government imposed a 25 percent tax on capital gains of big investors in the budget. In fact, if the investor is wealthy, their fees go up to 40 and a half percent.
With such a huge tax burden, many big investors are not willing to invest in risky markets, so they leave the market
Again, Bangladesh Bank has been increasing the policy interest rate to control inflation. Even though the inflation has never been brought under control in this method in Bangladesh, the stock market is suffering.
Investors are getting up to 10-12 percent interest by depositing risk-free bank deposits. Then the investment is withdrawn from the stock market or new investment is not coming. In this situation, neither the government nor the regulatory body or any other organization has taken any step to control the falling prices. As a result, the price is gradually increasing.
In the last two-and-a-half months, investors have lost thousands of crores of rupees. In such a situation, those in charge are not taking any responsibility, nor are they saying anything. In this situation, several hundred investors protested in front of the old office of DSE in Motijheel in the capital. They demanded the resignation of BSEC chairman Khandaker Rashid Maqsood, claiming he was incompetent.
However, the regulatory agency BSEC has said that this organization is trying hard to restore good governance in the stock market transactions. As some investors are claiming, the commission is causing the price to fall, it is not true. The present commission is working towards establishing a transparent and accountable stock market free from manipulation.
The fall is accelerating as investors sell shares in panic. BSEC officials say that when the overall economy of the country is on the good side, investors have nothing to panic.
