Ahsan Habib

Investor Abu Sayeed was eagerly buying stocks of Orion Infusion sitting inside a brokerage house in Dhaka last Thursday. The share of the company had almost tripled in the past three months.

The unit prices in the mutual fund sector have dropped over the past few weeks even though they disbursed handsome dividends in recent times as the National Board of Revenue (NBR) suggested deducting source tax from the cash dividend income. 

A number of directors of Prime Islami Life Insurance siphoned off more than Tk 300 crore funds by keeping the fixed deposits of the insurer as collateral to secure bank loans for another company, putting policyholders’ interests at risk, according to an audit. 

Most of the listed non-life insurance companies in Bangladesh posted lower profits in the first half of 2022 largely due to a decrease in premium incomes from their marine insurance segment as the country moved to curb imports.  

The government’s tax measures contradict its plan to turn the stock market into a destination for long-term investments, something apparent in the pace with which individuals and institutions trade shares simply to make a quick buck. 

That high inflationary pressure has been taking a toll on people over the last couple of months is apparently evident in supermarkets, where the same amount of money is being spent albeit for the purchase of a lower number and volume of goods. 

The number of beneficiary owner’s (BO) accounts, which are needed to trade stocks, has fallen over the past seven months due to the thin profits earned from initial public offerings (IPO) and a continuous bear run in the market, analysts say.

As the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, Bangladesh witnessed a huge deficit in the balance of payments which was the main cause for a recent dollar crisis in the country where speculation fuelled the dearth, says AKM Ismail Haq, president of the Money Changers’ Association of Bangladesh. 

Transactions through agent banking accounts rose 43 per cent year-on-year to Tk 5,64,844 crore in fiscal year 2021-22 as a growing number of people are now using the new banking window, showed Bangladesh Bank data.

Most of the listed banks in Bangladesh had to keep higher provisions in the first half of 2022 owing to the bearish trend in the share market and the removal of the relaxed loan classification policy that sent bad loans higher. 

The dream of establishing road connectivity between the southwestern part of Bangladesh and the capital city came true after the opening of long-waited Padma Bridge in June.

The government’s decision to impose an astronomic hike in fuel prices is irrational as it comes at a time when the general public is losing its purchasing power amid record inflation following the hardships brought on by Covid-19.

The emerging multi-polar world is now trying to reduce the use of the greenback in their trade after the US and EU imposed multilateral sanctions on Russia.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) is going to reorganise the boards of several non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) this month in a bid to improve their financial health.

Most of the non-bank financial institutions in Bangladesh delivered lower profits in the first half of 2022 due to the shrinkage of income from the ailing stock market. 

The stock market is being administered with a short-term cure, the floor price, to halt its bear run sacrificing long-term stability through the erosion of confidence among institutional and foreign investors. 

Profits of most multinational companies listed in Bangladesh dropped in the first half of 2022 due to the depreciation of the local currency and higher consumer prices. 

Bangladesh’s use of foreign assistance reached a new record high of $10 billion in fiscal year 2021-22, primarily behind vaccinations, one-time budget support, economic recovery from the pandemic and implementation of mega projects.

Low-performing stocks have kept dominating over blue-chip and sound shares in an unpromising sign that the stock market in Bangladesh is driven more by speculation instead of the health and performance of companies. 

Stocks of Bangladesh Monospool Paper Manufacturing Company have skyrocketed in the last one year just after it had been relisted from the over the counter (OTC) market to the main board, all throughout riding on rumours and speculations.