Economist Debapriya Bhattacharya on Saturday said that political elites had long manipulated the country鈥檚 capital market and political interference devastated the small- and medium-scale investors.
He made the remarks while presenting the keynote at a discussion titled 鈥楥apital market in political discourse of Bangladesh: philosophy and practice鈥�, organised by the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh at the DSE Tower at Nikunja in the capital Dhaka.
Debapriya, also a distinguished fellow of local think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue, said that cases against wrongdoers were not filed properly under laws, rather those were politically motivated.
Many non-operational companies were listed on the market and share prices were inflated through manipulation, he said, adding that the failure to punish manipulators was the root problem.
The capital market shock has weakened the economy and the market cannot be mended with quick fixes, Debapriya said, referring to the dire situation on the market.
鈥楾o fix the market, urgent reforms are needed, and we must break the deadlock,鈥� he said, adding that if the market still did not recover, it meant that the problems were deeper.
Speaking as a special guest, BNP standing committee member Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury assured that the BNP would take responsibility of the capital market in future.
Khasru emphasised that investment was the only path forward for the country.
鈥楾he capital market remains disconnected from the broader economy. Political ownership is essential to re-establishing the capital market ownership,鈥� he said.
Referring to the government and private sector borrowing, including that from the International Monetary Fund, he said, 鈥業f the government truly wants, it can raise both public and private loans from the capital market. But instead, we鈥檙e chasing after a $4 billion IMF loan.鈥�
On market regulation, Khasru said, 鈥楾o run the market efficiently, we must move to a delegated self-regulatory process. Both the Dhaka and Chattogram stock exchanges should be given autonomy, under the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission鈥檚 oversight.鈥�
The event was also attended by BSEC commissioner Md Mohsin Chowdhury, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Md Mobarak Hossain, National Citizen Party leader Tasnuva Jabin, Policy Exchange Bangladesh chairman Masrur Reaz, and Institute of Cost and Management Accountants president Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, among others.