The Appellate Division upheld the previous order by suspending the appeal made by BSEC on the issue of Tk 20 lakhs, as a result, investors can invest only 20 lakh takas in the case of trading in the DSE-SME (Small & Medium Enterprises) market. At the same time, the High Court has been directed to dispose of the writ in the next two months so that ordinary investors can transact in the SME as well as in Dhaka Stock Exchange.
The Appellate Division gave this order on Monday (January 16). This information is known from the related sources.
Prior, on November 13, a resident of Dilkusha in Dhaka, Advocate Md. Mustafa Kamal of the Supreme Court, A writ (Writ No: 13749) was filed on behalf of Raju Hasan. Business News Portal published the news from Orthosongbad that headlined ‘Falling prices in SMEs, investors fear loss of capital’ and attached as a source in the writ petition.
After filing a writ petition, the High Court asked the capital market regulatory body Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) to know the reasons for the investment limit in the SME market. On November 16, the High Court suspended the condition of investing 30 lakh takas in SMEs for three months. BSEC appealed to the High Court against the order of the High Court. However, the Appellate Division stayed the company’s appeal.
Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, the stock market regulatory body, canceled the OTC market of two stock exchanges (DSE and CSE) on September 16 last year. On that day, the commission decided to delist 29 companies and transfer 41 companies to SMEs and ATB (Alternative Trading Board). Later, on September 30 of the same year, trading started on the SME platform of the Dhaka Stock Exchange. On that day, transactions were initially launched on DSE’s SME platform with six companies. Currently, there are 15 companies listed in SME. Out of this, the shares of 13 companies are being traded regularly.
The investment amount for the latest SME platform investment was determined on September 22 this year. In an order signed by BSEC Chairman Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, it is said that to be an eligible investor in the SME transaction, there should be a minimum investment of 30 lakh takas in the stock market. However, as the Appellate Division suspended the BSEC’s appeal, the investors will be able to trade in the SME market with an investment of Tk 20 lakh. And whether ordinary investors can transact in SMEs like the DSE, it will be known only after the order of the High Court.
