Treasury Bond Trading on DSE Rises 55% in 2024

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has halted the Tk 5 crore fundraising by Doer Services Ltd following media reports on problematic client agreements and profitability. The regulator will form a committee with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) to investigate the issues.

Trading in Treasury bonds on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) surged 55% year-on-year to Tk 1.31 billion last year, driven by higher interest rates and eased transaction processes through brokerage firms. Despite this growth, the market size has surpassed Tk 3 trillion, highlighting its potential.

In FY 2023-24, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) faced operating losses due to reduced trading, fewer IPOs, and increased costs. The DSE's core revenue of Tk 125 crore fell short of expenses, causing a Tk 20 crore loss, while the CSE incurred a Tk 10 crore loss with Tk 31 crore in core revenue.

Bangladesh's stock market underperformed in 2024, with the DSEX index plunging 16.49% and market capitalization shrinking by over Tk1 lakh crore, as per LankaBangla Securities' Capital Market Review. This starkly contrasts with peer nations like Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which posted 72.49% and 48.80% gains, respectively.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has extended the deadline for brokerage firms to install uniform, un-editable back-office software from approved vendors until April 2025. The new deadline follows a request from the Dhaka Stock Exchange Brokers Association and allows brokers an additional four months to comply. Failure to install the software by May 1, 2025, will result in the suspension of operations, punitive actions, and the loss of dividends, IPO quotas, and branch expansion privileges.

Writing off bad debts behind negative equity is crucial to resolving a decade-long issue affecting market growth. Despite repeated time extensions, market intermediaries have failed to meet provisioning requirements against unrealized losses in margin accounts.