Stocks
IFC Seeks $4b Bond to Issue in Local Market
International Finance Corporation (IFC) seeks to issue taka-denominated bonds worth $4 billion, among local investors to lend the proceeds to projects in Bangladesh.
IFC has already issued local currency bonds among domestic investors in the Philippines and India, where the funds were lent to priority sectors.
Prior, the IFC successfully issued a three-year Tk 80 crore taka-denominated bond, coined “Bangla Bond”, at London Stock Exchange.
Its iconic bell ringing ceremony was held in November 2019 and the proceeds were used to support food safety with an agribusiness client in Bangladesh.
The Bourses analysts welcome the move, saying it would inspire local stock investors to make new investments in the bond market.
The World Bank Group member sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance last year requesting approvals required under its “Articles of Agreement”.
In response, the ministry sent a dsiclosure to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) asking whether the stock market regulator has any objection.
The BSEC replied it had none. “Hence, the IFC will have to apply and take approval to issue bonds from the BSEC following the securities rules and regulations,” it added.
The IFC is keen to expand its financing in taka for clients in Bangladesh who do not generate USD as a part of their daily operations, the IFC said in its letter.
The bonds will help support the growing financing needs of various priority sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, those related to climate change, microfinance and lenders focusing on small and medium enterprises and women-owned enterprises.
It will also support the government’s efforts to develop and grow the domestic capital market in Bangladesh.
BSEC Chairman Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam agreed that the bond would give new impetus to the development of the country’s bond market.
The BSEC is trying to make the bond market vibrant as the market can give a good source of funds to entrepreneurs, he said.
It has already made treasury bills and bonds tradable on the stock exchanges with the help of Bangladesh Bank and the National Board of Revenue.
There are about 270 treasury bonds worth more than Tk 2.5 lakh crore and with tenures ranging from two years to 20 years, showed data from Bangladesh Bank.
Of them, 222 were listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) as of August, with a combined value of Tk 59,359 crore.
But they were not traded like shares and mutual fund units, which require availing a beneficiary owner’s account first.
Rather they could be bought and sold straight over the counter, much like savings certificates.
“The IFC wants to issue bonds worth $4 billion and the IFC is not alone. Asian Development Bank (ADB) also wants to issue bonds in the Bangladesh stock market. It would be better for our stock market,” added Islam.
Reviewing the U.S. Stock Markets, the Nasdaq Composite, recorded a decent loss of 1,023 points, reaching a closing value of 16,690 points by the end of the week. Similarly, the S&P 500 index showed a positive trend, losing 240 points to settle at 5,408 points. Meanwhile, DJIA Index experienced a notable hike, adding 1,218 points during the week and concluding at 40,345 points after a week of gaining.
In contrast, Russell 3000 Index saw a loss in week performance, with a slight drop of 141 point to reach 3,077 points by the end of the week.
Moving to Russell 2000 Index, demonstrated a notable lost of 126 points, ending the week at 2,091 points.
In the Outgoing week, the European stock market displayed a mixed performance.
Here is the data on the weekly performance of the European Stock Market, The STOXX Europe 600 index, which is considered a leading benchmark for the European market and covers approximately 90 percent of the market capitalization across 17 countries, reported a loss of 18.49 points to close at 506.56.
The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100, one of the most widely followed indices in Europe, also showed a significant drop, losing 195 points or finishing the session at 8,181.
In Germany, the DAX 30 index, added by 605 points to reach 18,301, while France’s CAC 40 decreased by 278 points to stop at 7,352 at the end of the trading day.
Italy’s FTSE MIB, which covers the top 40 stocks traded on the Milan Stock Exchange, decreased by 1,081 points to 33,291. However, Spain’s IBEX 35, lost by 228 points, to close at 11,173.
A review of South Asian stock markets shows that India’s Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index BSE Sensex has lost 1,182 points during the week. At the end of the week, the index stood at 82,365 points. On the other hand, the Nifty-50 index of the country’s National Stock Exchange dropped by 383 points last week. At the end of the week, the index stood at 24,852 points.
Pakistan Stock Exchange Index ‘KSE 100’, added 459 points last week. After a week of losing, the index settled at 79,002 points.
On the other hand, The Sri Lankan stock market index loss, and the Colombo Stock Exchange index ‘ASPI’ decreased by 94 points in a week. After a week the index settled at 10,775 points.
Bhutan’s stock market index ‘BSI’ dropped by 9 points hence the index stood at 1,500 points throughout the whole week. Nepal’s ‘NEPSE’ lost 22 points, therefore the index stands at 2,727 points.
Hence Dhaka Stock Exchange: The benchmark index ‘DSEX’ lost by 75.77 points or 1.31 percent, in the outgoing week. At the end of the week, the index stands at 5,728 points.
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