Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) has requested the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow the corporation's eight mutual funds to trade in the stockmarket until 2017.

The mutual funds have no maturity period and were instructed by the SEC in December last year to pull out from the market by 2011.

The ICB made the appeal considering the investors' interest, the mutual funds' growth and popularity as those pay out hefty dividends everyyear.

The SEC said it has received an appeal to this effect from the ICB on April 29.

"We will take decision on the issue after scrutinising the mutual funds' rules and regulations," said Ziaul Haque Khondker, chairman of the stock market regulator.

A mutual fund is a professionally managed collective investment scheme that pools money from many investors and invests it in stocks, bonds, and short-term money market instruments.

However the ICB in its letter of appeal to the SEC said its mutual funds were floated between 1980 and 1996 under now-defunct 'Controller of Capital Issues' of the finance

ministry.

The SEC in 2007 asked the ICB to bring its mutual funds under 'SEC (Mutual Fund) Rules, 2001' so the regulatory agency can control the funds under a unique set of rules to ensure the investors' interest.

Upon a request from the ICB, the SEC then waived the eight mutual funds from its rules, and also gave no directions or conditions about their maturity period, according to the ICB letter signed by its Managing Director Humayun Kabir. Since then the ICB has been operating its eight mutual funds.

But the SEC in December last year issued a notification instructing the mutual funds, having no maturity period and that have passed 10 years after listing, to pull out from the market byDecember2011.

As all other mutual funds were brought under the mutual fund rules in 2007, the ICB now urges the SEC to allow its funds to be in the market for 10 years from 2007.

Now 24 mutual funds trade on bourses with their combined issued capital of aroundTk 1,000 crore.