Stocks
BSEC Chairman Invites German Investors to Fuel Bangladesh’s Economic Growth
In a recent development, Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, the Chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), has extended an invitation to German investors and businesses to participate in Bangladesh’s journey towards economic development. This call was made during the “Investment Flash Mob: Networking Launch” event held at the ‘J.W. Marriott Hotel Frankfurt’ in Frankfurt, Germany on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. The event was organized jointly by BSEC and the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
In pursuit of attracting global investors and promoting investment opportunities in Bangladesh, the ‘Bangladesh Investment Summit’ is being organized consecutively in various countries around the world. The most recent summit took place in Frankfurt, Germany, with the primary agenda being the expansion of trade and commerce and encouraging German investors and businesspersons to consider Bangladesh as an attractive, accessible, and profitable destination for foreign investments.
The event in Frankfurt commenced at 10:00 AM local time, with opening remarks from Md. Nojibur Rahman, Chairman of the Capital Market Stabilization Fund (CMSF) and former Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. After the welcoming speech, an audio-visual presentation highlighted Bangladesh’s economic development. During the event, Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, Chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), presented a talk titled ‘Fifty Years of Bangladesh: The Rise of the Bengal Tiger,’ emphasizing the long-standing bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Germany, commercial ties, and mutual cooperation. He also highlighted Bangladesh’s position as Europe’s largest trading partner.
Furthermore, Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam praised the notable achievements of German companies, German NGOs, and institutions in Bangladesh and commended Bangladesh’s strategic position in South Asia. He underscored the potential and opportunities for investment in Bangladesh, advocating for Germany to take an active part in Bangladesh’s developmental journey.
In the context of recent global economic indicators, such as high GDP growth, poverty reduction, declining child mortality, increased food production, female participation in the workforce, expanding domestic markets, demographic dividend, skilled labor force, and political stability, the Chairman of BSEC painted a positive picture of Bangladesh’s economic growth and its various facets. He also emphasized that over the past 15 years, Bangladesh had transformed its economy from a $70 billion to a $465 billion one.
Moreover, he encouraged German investors to explore business expansion and investment in various promising sectors of Bangladesh, and he called upon them to play a significant role in the socioeconomic development of Bangladesh.
At the event, speeches were delivered by Shaikh Yusuf Harun, the Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), and Martin Geskes, the Managing Director of Planquadrat GMbH, as well as Lokman Hossen Mia, the Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA). In addition, Mokammel Hossen, the Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, Hanns Christoph Siebold, Vice President of the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Ali Reza Majid, a member of the Board of Investment Promotion Zone Authority (BEPZA) and Additional Secretary, also spoke at the event. The event featured a question-and-answer session based on the opinions and questions of the attendees.
This successful event in Frankfurt, Germany is expected to boost the participation of foreign and expatriate investors in Bangladesh’s capital markets, leading to a substantial influx of foreign investments into Bangladesh, according to experts present, who expressed optimism about the outcomes.
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.
