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SEC unveils roadmap for stockmarket

Sarwar A Chowdhury
The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday announced a 10-year master plan for the capital market.
From now the stockmarket regulator will frame its own budget and will also set up a separate tribunal to fast track stockmarket-related cases.
Presently, the SEC gets money from the government's annual budget, and cannot expend without the government's approval.
Its own budget will enable the SEC to increase its manpower, give more benefits to its employees and thus increase the capacity of the commission.
The regulator came up with the plan to strengthen and stabilise the stockmarket, which has been facing severe volatility since the debacle in share prices in January last year, the SEC said in a statement after a meeting.
To implement the plan, the SEC has brought some changes to the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969 that were approved at a cabinet meeting on September 20.
According to the plan, the SEC will introduce a modern surveillance system to monitor the market and formulate the Financial Reporting Act to improve the auditing system.
The regulator will complete the demutualisation process of the
stock exchanges and set up a derivative market.
The SEC will also formulate a long-term guideline on initial public
offerings, establish a separate clearing corporation, and formulate a national policy on financial literacy.
In line with the scheme, the watchdog will try to bring more retail investors under institutional investment framework, maintain coordination with other regulators and expand the bond market.
An analyst, however, said the 10-year timeframe is long.
“Besides, the SEC will need the government's support to implement the plan,” said Faruq Ahmad Siddiqi, a former chairman of the SEC.
Without the government's assistance these plans cannot be implemented, he said.
"However, it would bring a good result for the market if all these can be done.”
At yesterday's meeting, the SEC also decided to bring down the ratio of share credit in phases.
The share credit ratio, commonly known as margin loan ratio, will remain at 1:2 until June next year.
The 1:2 loan ratio means, if an investor has Tk 1 in cash or stocks worth Tk 1, he or she will be able to receive another Tk 2 as credit against the money or securities.
The ratio will come down to 1:1.5 from July 2013 and will remain effective until December of the same year.
From January 2014 the ratio will be 1:1 andfromjuly2014itwillbe 1:0.5.