Robi to get enlisted soon, says BSEC chief
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High corporate tax rate, minimum tax criteria major barriers to listing: Robi top official
Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Chairman M Khairul Hossain said on Monday that mobile phone operator Robi expressed its intention to get listed on the country’s stock market.
Speaking as chief guest of the inauguration ceremony of “The World Investor Week 2019” at the Securities Commission building in the capital.
“Robi has expressed its intention to come to the capital market through the book building method of initial public offering (IPO), but we recommended the fix price method so that the general investors can be benefited,’ the BSEC chairman said.
Khairul also said that Robi and Grameenphone’s problems would be solved soon.
Meanwhile, Robi’s Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer Shahed Alam said: “We are always keen on diversifying our source of fund to grow our business. In this regard, we have recently had a fruitful discussion with the BSEC on the possibility of floating corporate bond in the market.
“While we are very keen on getting enlisted on the stock market, the exorbitantly high corporate tax rate and the minimum tax are causing tremendous strain on our business. We don’t think that such taxation structure is conducive for us come to the stock market," Alam added.
The BSEC chairman said at the ceremony, “A number of state-owned companies will be listed soon and the government will take all measures to boost the capital market.”
Khairul also said that Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) would be brought to book. The ICB was found to invest 50% of capital in the stock market and the rest was provided as debenture loans.
"The ICB cannot lend funds raised for the purpose of investing in the capital to other sector like garment companies," he reiterated.
The capital market would be reformed and mobilized which might take a year, he said, claiming that the investors' confidence would be restored after these reforms.
In the ceremony, the stock market regulator BSEC launched a web platform named “Customer Complaint Address Module (CCAM)”, which investors can use to file complaints with the commission online.
The investors will need a beneficiary owner’s account number, email address and mobile number to file objections.
Investors will be provided a complaint ID and they will be able to check the status of complaints anytime.
The BSEC will send the complaints to the related office through emails setting specific timeframes for responses and solutions.
BSEC Commissioner Helal Uddin Nizami, Swapan Kumar Bala and Khondoker Kamaluzzaman and higher officials also were present.
The World Investor Week is being observed in accordance with a declaration of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), a global cooperative of securities regulatory bodies. The seven-day programme ending on October 6 will feature seminars and workshops.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and the Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd (CDBL) will also arrange different programs in Dhaka to mark the week.
In 2017, the BSEC for the first time observed World Investor Week on a broader scale.
Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com