The government on Sunday appointed Prof Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, dean of the Faculty of Business Studies at Dhaka University, as the new chairman of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) for the next four years.

The Ministry of Finance issued a notification in this regard on the same day.

Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam talking to said there had been many reform initiatives in the stock market in the last few years. I would try to implement those reforms. If these are implemented, the stock market would be sustainable for a long time, he hoped.

He also said, "Our stock market has remained only equity-based. I will focus on launching bond, debenture, Sukuk and alternative investment fund in the market".

The market has remained only equity-based for the last 60 years of its history. Many initiatives were taken to introduce new products in the market to increase its depth and ease volatility, but all steps became futile due to several drawbacks, market insider said.

Shibli Rubayat also informed that he joined BSEC as chairman today (Sunday).

"We will establish the concept that capital market is the main source of fund for industrialization" he added.

His field of specializations comprises law and practice of banking, retail and e-banking, foreign exchange and international banking, corporate governance and legal aspects of business.

The notification says Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam has been made chairman as per section 5 and 6 of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Rules-1993.

It says the appointment will come into effect from the date of his joining the office.

Professor Shibli Rubayat is also the Chairman of Sadharan Bima Corporation. He has been in the field of finance and banking education for more than last two decades.

On Thursday, the tenure of the longest serving chairman of the BSEC  Professor M Khairul Hossain ended.

Khairul has returned to his original position of a professor at Dhaka University. He is a professor at the Department of Finance.

Meanwhile, the BSEC has been facing quorum crisis in its commission meeting since May 4.

The commission consists of a chairman and four commissioners. The quorum of the commission meeting requires the presence of the chairman and two commissioners. BSEC have a commissioner till Sunday.

Professor Helal Uddin Nizami completed his tenure as a commissioner on May 3. Before, Swapan Kumar Bala completed his four-year tenure as a commissioner on April 15, 2020 and returned to his original position of a professor at Dhaka University.

Analysts and market insiders pointed out lack of good companies in the market as the primary reason behind the falling market index. Another major reason cited by them is investors' confidence crisis.

Coronavirus outbreak, liquidity crunch, money market volatility, rising non-performing loan and interest rates, poor tax revenue collection and heavy government bank borrowing added further concerns to the waning investors’ confidence.

There were different kinds of policy supports and massive reforms from the government, regulators and stock exchanges only to go vain to the utter frustration of stakeholders.

A string of policy interventions and regulatory measures aimed at salvaging the moribund stock market failed to fix the capital market, frustrating investors and regulators alike.

On January 24, DSEX, broad index of DSE touched the highest peak with 5,950 points but as of March 18, 2020 the stock market lost 2,347 points.

sunbd/sks