Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the DSE Salahuddin Ahmed Khan blamed the debacle on a major bug attack in the systems since introduction of electronic transactions on August 10, 1998. The DSE witnessed technical troubles of such a magnitude only in the initial period of the system's introduction.

Hundreds of brokers and thousands of investors kept waiting on the DSE premises hoping for trade to resume, but officials could only restore the system in the evening.

The DSE CEO said the system was generating 'text file errors' in the pre-opening session in the morning.

"We immediately contact the maintenance company. The site engineer of the company and other technical officers started frantic efforts to restore the system but failed to put it up again during the trading hours," he said.

"So we abandon trading. After online consultation with the maintenance company we could restore the system in the evening and trading will resume tomorrow," he said.

A high official of the Securities and Exchange Commission said the premier bourse should have backup arrangements in case of any technical trouble in the trading engine.

"Usually people tend to liquidate shares ahead of the Eid. But if trading stops in such a way, it will dishearten investors," he told The Daily Star.

Since introduction of automated trading in 1998, US company Tandem Computers Ltd provided maintenance service. But the service deal expired on Sunday (October 31 this year).

Some DSE insiders, however, said some high officials of the bourse in collaboration with previous maintenance service providers had manipulated the system so that it collapses following the expiry of the maintenance contract.

They said it was done in order to ensure continuation of the contract with the previous vendors in exchange for handsome kickbacks to the stalwarts.

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