the Stock brokers in a tight corner

Our Chairman, the honorable Mr. Md. Rakibur Rahman, speaking to the Daily Star regarding the current status of the equity brokerage industry.

Most stock brokers have been incurring losses for many years owing to low turnover in the market and a lack of product diversity. This led many stock brokers to lay off many of their executives to cut cost during the years while the remuneration of the officials has not increased significantly. The top 100 brokers are logging profits whereas at least 150 stock brokers are incurring loss, according to a top official of a stock broker.

Rakibur Rahman, one of the directors of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), said many stock brokers are in a tight position and their condition would not improve until the turnover of the stock market rises.
Daily turnover on the DSE averaged Tk 534 crore so far this year, slightly down from Tk 552.03 crore from last year and much lower than Tk 874.83 crore in 2017, data from the bourse’s showed.
“If the stock brokers remain weak, the market will not be strong,” Rahman said, urging the regulator to keep alive the stock brokers by increasing turnover. Rahman, also the managing director of Midway Securities, recommends bringing good stocks to the market and following the rules and regulations strictly to boost the turnover. The stock brokers will face further competition as the regulator is set to open the licencing of brokerage houses after many years.

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