Stocks
Women Participation reducing on Stock Market
The number of women investors in Bangladesh’s stock market has been lessening for the past few years. Even though more than half of the total population of Bangladesh are women, the participation of women in the stock market investment is less than 1 percent.
The regulatory body says that women are being encouraged or motivated by the commission to move toward the stock market. And the market people think that if the participation of women can be increased, a huge amount of money will be added to Bangladesh’s capital market.
The data of Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) says that the number of women investors in the capital market of the country has decreased in the last 5 years.
According to the sources of CDBL, in January 2018, the total number of BO accounts in the capital market was 27 lakhs 10 thousand 586. Among them, the amount of BO accounts of women investors was 7 lahks 21 thousand 606. 26.62 percent of the total BO accounts in the country were women investors that year. The participation of women investors in the capital market has changed in a span of 5 years. At the end of 2022, against the total of 18 lakh 44 thousand 914 BO calculations, women’s BO calculation was 4 lakh 44 thousand 24 or 24.66 percent.
Previous 4 years, women investors have been reducing in the country’s stock market. In 2019, women accounted for 26.74 percent of total investors. In 2020, the number of women investors decreased to 26.01 percent. And in 2021, the number of women’s birth count decreased to 25.12 percent and at the end of 2022, it decreased to 24.66 percent. Currently, it has further dropped to 24.64 percent.
According to the 2022 census preliminary report, the total number of women in the country is 81.7 million 12 thousand 824, which is more than men. On the contrary, the participation of women in the country’s stock market is only 0.54 percent.
There is no accurate information about the number of women workers in the capital market-related institutions of the country. However, the regulatory body Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and two stock exchanges tried to find out about the participation of women workers.
It is known that for the first time in the capital market regulatory body, the professor of the law department of Dhaka University has been appointed as a female commissioner. Dr. Rumana Islam. She was appointed as the commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 8, 2022. Presently there are 37 women officers and employees including one commissioner. The BSEC spokesperson claimed that the figure was more than 30 percent as a percentage.
On the other hand, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), has 367 employees. Among them, a woman has been appointed as a director on the board of directors of DSE. Just Recently BSEC appointed Rubaba Dowla, the country director of Oracle Bangladesh, as the director of DSE. There are 50 women or 13.62 percent of the total workforce in the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Another capital market Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) has 13 or 16.88 percent of 77 employees.
When asked, the executive director and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Md. Rezaul Karim told Orthosongbad, said. Rezaul Karim told Orthosongbad that there are various awareness programs for women investors in the capital market. Every year on International Women’s Day, BSEC organizes various programs for the participation of women.
Md. Rezaul Karim said that the participation of women in the capital market in the developed countries of the world is significant. There are about 8 crore women investors in the capital market of our neighboring country India. More than half of the total population of our country is women. But compared to that, the participation of women in the country’s capital market is very less. We are encouraging housewives, women students and women entrepreneurs by organizing various awareness programs to increase the participation of women in the capital market.
Rezaul Karim said about the job opportunities of women in the capital market, the commission is trying to increase the participation of women in the institutions centered on the capital market. There are quotas set by the government for women in recruitment to various institutions including BSEC, DSE, CSE and CDBL. Also, the commission always encourages all concerned to have significant participation of women in other capital market-oriented institutions.
Dhaka Stock Market DSE, Bourse on the last working day of the week, 12th September, ended with a mixed performance in Indices and hike in Turnover from the previous working session. This information is known from DSE sources.
733 crore 39 lakh taka shares were traded on this day. 108 crore 23 lakh more tradings were done in DSE today compared to the previous workday, 11th September, Shares worth Tk 625 crores 15 lakh shares were traded last time, Wednesday.
The benchmark DSEX added 12.55 points or 5,726 The Shariah-based index DSES gained 4.76 points or 1,245 and the blue-chip index DS30 decreased by 7.05 points or 2,100.
Of the issues traded, 158 advanced, 181 declined and 58 remained unchanged.
Paper Processing & Packaging Limited ranked top gainer on DSE, the share price increased by Tk 12.80 paisa or 9.98 percent. On this day, the share was last traded at Tk 141.00 paisa.
Confidence Cement PLC ranked top loser on the DSE, the share price dropped by Tk -5.00 paisa or 6.82 percent. On this day, the share was last traded at Tk 68.30 paisa.
DSE topped on trade is Linde Bangladesh Limited 61 crore 65 lakh takas of company shares have been traded.
A total of 31 companies’ shares were traded in the Block on Dhaka Stock Exchange. A total of 41 lakh 19 thousand 413 shares of the companies were traded. The financial value of which is 54 crore 78 lakh taka.
The Financial Institutions Division (FID) under the Ministry of Finance has decided to terminate ATM Tariquzzaman from his role as commissioner at the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC). According to an official FID order issued on Wednesday (11 September), he will receive a three-month notice before his dismissal, with his tenure ending on 10 December.
Tariquzzaman had only been appointed as BSEC commissioner on 8 May, following his resignation as Executive Director of the commission. In September 2023, he briefly served as Managing Director of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) before stepping down to take the BSEC role.
The development comes in the wake of the fall of the Hasina-led government on 5 August, after which BSEC Chairman Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, along with Commissioners Shaikh Shamsuddin Ahmed and Rubana Islam, resigned. However, Tariquzzaman and fellow Commissioner Mohsin Chowdhury chose not to relinquish their positions.
In response, the interim government appointed Khondoker Rashed Maqsood as BSEC chairman, with Ali Akbar and Farzana Lalarukh joining as commissioners.
The political transition also triggered upheaval in the Dhaka Stock Exchange. According to BSEC and DSE sources, seven independent directors of the DSE resigned following the fall of the previous government, creating legal complications for the commission in selecting replacements. The BSEC disregarded the DSE’s recommendations and on 1 September appointed independent directors unilaterally, sparking discontent among DSE shareholders who viewed the decision as arbitrary.
Sources indicated that ATM Tariquzzaman had played a significant role in BSEC’s decision-making, which included appointing independent directors KAM Majedur Rahman, Helal Uddin, and Nahid Hossain—all of whom faced allegations of conflicts of interest. Majedur and Helal were accused of having ties to brokerage houses, while Nahid Hossain, as Additional Secretary of the Financial Institutions Division, was deemed ineligible under the law to serve as an independent director. Majedur Rahman has since refused the position.
The DSE Brokers Association expressed concerns in a letter dated 5 September, accusing the BSEC of making “anti-investor, non-transparent, and self-serving” decisions, leading to instability in the capital market. The association called for a revision of the selection process for appointing independent directors, urging the invocation of Clause 24 of the Demutualisation Act 2013 to form a Nomination and Remuneration Committee with four elected DSE directors to recommend candidates for BSEC’s approval.
Dhaka Stock Market DSE, Bourse on the fourth working day of the week, 11th September, ended with a mixed performance in Indices and hike in Turnover from the previous working session. This information is known from DSE sources.
625 crore 15 lakh taka shares were traded on this day. 62 crore 43 lakh more tradings were done in DSE today compared to the previous workday, 10th September, Shares worth Tk 562 crores 72 lakh shares were traded last time, Wednesday.
The benchmark DSEX added 11.12 points or 5,713 The Shariah-based index DSES gained 5.56 points or 1,240 and the blue-chip index DS30 decreased by 6.92 points or 2,107.
Of the issues traded, 64 advanced, 289 declined and 44 remained unchanged.
Shinepukur Ceramics Limited ranked top gainer on DSE, the share price increased by Tk 1.60 paisa or 10.00 percent. On this day, the share was last traded at Tk 17.60 paisa.
Prime Textile Spinning Mills Limited ranked top loser on the DSE, the share price dropped by Tk 1.50 paisa or 9.32 percent. On this day, the share was last traded at Tk 14.80 paisa.
DSE topped on trade is Agni Systems Limited 32 crore takas of company shares have been traded.
A total of 33 companies’ shares were traded in the Block on Dhaka Stock Exchange. A total of 1 crore 10 lakh 62 thousand 781 shares of the companies were traded. The financial value of which is 36 crore 38 lakh taka.
