Pay attention to bringing investible companies

Foreign investors and stakeholders yesterday urged authorities to take initiatives to bring healthy companies to the market to make the stock market vibrant and sustainable.

“From an equity market perspective, we believe Bangladesh is about two to three years behind Pakistan and more than three years behind Sri Lanka,” said Mattias Martinsson, chief investment officer at Tundra Fonder, a Swedish asset manager.

“I think the major hurdle right now is, of course, the elections,” he also said at a conference on the economy, politics, and capital market ahead of the parliamentary election scheduled for February 12. BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Ltd organised the event at Sheraton Dhaka.

He said there are a few quality banks and pharmaceutical companies that attract some interest.

Another disincentive is the high capital gains tax. “And the depth of Bangladesh’s market is thin,” said Martinsson, suggesting mandatory annual briefings by all listed companies to improve transparency and enhance investor interest.

BNP Standing Committee Member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, also a former commerce minister, said not only state-owned firms, companies with strong financials should be listed to improve the depth of the capital market.

To make it easy, all stakeholders such as brokers, investors, and merchant bankers will have to act responsibly, and all vital institutions will have to play their due roles professionally, he added.

“There are many government projects for which funds can be raised from the capital market. Many foreign investors are eager to invest here, but they are waiting for the election,” he said.

On the country’s economic situation, he said, “Bangladesh is at a low level of equilibrium. Lifting the economy from there will be the main challenge for the next government.”

For this, his party will focus on further liberalisation, transparency, accountability, and deregulation, he said.

Mohammad Abdur Razzaque, chairman of Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), said three critical transitions are reshaping Bangladesh’s macro-political horizon: political transition, macroeconomic transition, and graduation from least developed country status.

“How these are managed will define the opportunity for Bangladesh in the coming days,” he said.

He noted that the transition is occurring amid a rapidly changing global environment, marked by trade fragmentation, geopolitical competition, aid retrenchment, and reconfigured supply chains.

“If navigated well, this convergence can expand Bangladesh’s opportunity space, strengthen resilience, and open new pathways for investors and exporters,” he added.

Mashrur Arefin, chairman of the Association of Bankers Bangladesh, expressed hope that the banking sector will revive in the coming years.

He said some banks are still in good shape, with non-performing loan ratios below 4 percent, and their returns on assets are high.

Answering a question about whether Jamaat-e-Islami will follow a Shariah-based economic model, Atiqur Rahman, secretary general of Bangladesh Shramik Kalyan Federation, said they will not change the discourse overnight.

“Their policy is to make the economy helpful for the poor and reduce inequality,” he added.