BSEC Approves Draft Rules for Direct Listing in Capital Market
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission has approved draft rules to open direct listing in the capital market. Government, private, and foreign-owned companies can now bypass initial public offerings.
The capital market regulator, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), is officially opening the doors for direct listing in the share market. According to the newly approved framework, various entities will now have the distinct opportunity to bypass the traditional initial public offering, commonly known as an IPO, to enter the public trading arena.
This major regulatory development took place today, Tuesday, in Dhaka during a crucial commission meeting held by the country's securities regulator. During this official session, the governing body formally approved the comprehensive draft rules designed to govern and facilitate this alternative market entry pathway for prospective corporate issuers.
Under the newly sanctioned provisions, a wide variety of corporate entities—including government-owned enterprises, private establishments, and foreign-owned companies—will be legally permitted to list directly on the stock exchange if they choose to do so, avoiding the conventional and often lengthy IPO process that has historically been mandatory.
To qualify for this direct market entry under the new regulatory framework, companies must meet specific structural and financial benchmarks. These criteria include stipulations that a minimum of 10 to 20 percent of shares must be released to the market, and a minimum of 10 percent must remain under direct and indirect government ownership.
Furthermore, the eligible entities encompass telecommunication and information technology sector companies with 300 crore taka in capital, banks, insurance companies, and financial institutions with a minimum of three years of operational history, as well as general companies boasting 500 crore taka in assets or transactions.
Following today's formal approval at the commission meeting, the regulatory authority has announced that the newly drafted rules will very soon be published and released to the general public and relevant stakeholders for the purpose of collecting official feedback and conducting public consultation.
