The Central Depository System (CDS) will start functioning in Bangladesh in June or July next covering both securities listed in the stock exchanges as well as treasury bills, says a press release.

This way announced by AKM Shamsuddin, chairman of Central Depository Bangladesh Limited, at the second annual general meeting of the company held in Dhaka recently.

CDS is a significant capital market infrastructure, being established as a part and parcel of the overall financial sector reforms initiatives spearheaded by the Ministry of Finance with the financial and technical assistance of the Asian Development Bank.

With the start-up of the CDS, dematerialisation of listed securities i.e. the process of eliminating physical certificate as record of security ownership by substituting it as an accounting record in the CDS, will commence eliminating delays in delivery and transfer and doing away with risk of loss, forgery and duplication of share certificates.

CDS will restore investors' confidence and breathe new life in the share market as well as in general trade, commerce and industry.

The coming of the CDS will rejuvenate the country's capital market significantly and speedily introduce a vibrant secondary market in treasury bills.