"Presently, the number of securities with strong fundamental is not adequate and it is one of the major problems," he said in a pre-budget interview with The Daily Star.

Offloading the government's stakes in different prospective companies can be a short-term solution, he suggested.

"If the government offloads the shares of its portion in different multinational and local companies, other companies will be inspired to raise funds from the capital market by issuing initial public offering," the DSE president felt.

A total of 251 companies are listed with the prime bourse of which only 30 percent are doing well, he said adding that most of the issues listed with the DSE are poor performers and investors have limited options to invest their hard-earned money.

The government should offer attractive incentives for the listed companies to woo big corporate houses and multinational companies in the capital market, said Khan. "The government should also take other fiscal measures to make the capital market vibrant."

The financial position of the country's capital market is not strong yet, as the market capitalisation is less than four percent of GDP.

Citing examples of the existing high cost of capital for investment, Khan noted raising fund from the stock market is much cheaper than that from other sources.

The members of the DSE may be extended loan facility at bank rate, he said explaining that it can help save the market from sudden debacle.

Referring to some ongoing expansion programmes, the president said the DSE is now in the process of updating its present capacity in order to extend its electronic trading network across the country.

On completion of the expansion works, the members will be able to extend their services at district-level and it will increase the daily turnover, he hoped.

Around 70 percent of the companies listed with the DSE have already joined the central depository system (CDS) and the investors are now enjoying many facilities following the introduction of CDS, Khan said.