Written by The Banking Post
Bangladesh’s capital market continues to bleed investors, with 62,000 accounts becoming inactive in just nine months of this year, according to data from the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL).
At the end of December 2023, the market had 1.68 million beneficiary owners’ (BO) accounts. By 30 September this year, the number dropped to 1.63 million — a net decline of 30,225 active accounts. During the same period, BO accounts with zero shares increased by 31,885, bringing the total number of inactive investors to 62,110.
CDBL data shows that as of September, only 1.21 million BO accounts held shares, compared to 1.27 million at the end of last year. These accounts contained 10.26 billion shares and units worth Tk 316,042 crore, slightly higher in value than Tk 309,373 crore in December despite fewer accounts.
Meanwhile, BO accounts with no shares rose to 375,859 in September, from 343,974 nine months earlier.
A brokerage house CEO said, “Investors are suffering from prolonged uncertainty. The regulator has not taken sufficient steps to restore confidence, while no major IPOs have entered the market in a long time. As a result, many investors are leaving.”
Despite the grim trend, optimism remains in some quarters. Saiful Islam, president of the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA), said, “The annual BO account maintenance fee has been reduced, which will help retain investors. The regulator is also introducing several measures to improve the market. Once these take effect, investor confidence will gradually recover.”
The data also reveals a gender-wise breakdown: male BO accounts fell by 19,722 to 1.24 million in the first nine months of 2024, while female accounts dropped by 10,735 to 393,020.
Domestic investors accounted for most of the decline, with their BO accounts falling by 27,567 to 1.59 million. Accounts held by foreign and non-resident Bangladeshis dropped by 2,890 to 43,801 during the same period.
