BSEC seeks revised proposal from Chinese consortium

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday sought a revised proposal from the Chinese consortium for 25 percent stakes of the Dhaka Stock Exchange to accommodate all the amendments the stock market regulator had suggested.

As per the BSEC’s recommendations, the consortium of Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange has agreed to withdraw most of its terms and conditions as they contradicted the laws of the land and were not in the best interest of the DSE general shareholders.

The stock market regulator now wants them on the official document that would be signed.

“We will do everything to abide by the regulators’ instructions,” said KAM Majedur Rahman, managing director of the DSE.

The Dhaka bourse will hold a board meeting and an extraordinary general meeting soon on the matter, he added.

The Chinese consortium proposed to purchase 45 crore shares of the DSE for Tk 22 each and become its strategic partner. It also offered technical support worth $37 million (about Tk 300 crore).

In exchange, it sought for a seat at the DSE board and assured that it will not ask for any return on its investment for 10 years.

The proposal trumped the other on the table from a consortium led by the National Stock Exchange of India despite some last-minute fervent lobbying by Vikram Limaye, managing director and chief executive of the NSE. The Indian consortium offered to purchase the same number of shares but for Tk 15 each. It also offered technical support but did not give a monetary value.

In exchange, it wanted two seats at the DSE board.

The hunt for a strategic partner of the DSE has been going on for more than two years; the episode saw the DSE at loggerheads with the BSEC over the selection of the strategic partner.

Yesterday’s development left investors jittery, dragging the DSEX, the benchmark general index of the DSE, down by 57.93 points.

Source: The Daily Star.