Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury stated on Sunday that the landscape of Bangladesh’s capital market will undergo a complete transformation within the next twelve months, emerging far stronger than today.
“If there is no accident and the capital market keeps running the way it is now, a huge positive change will come in the market within the next year,” Khosru said at World Investor Week 2026, an event organised by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) at Khamarbari in the capital.
The minister highlighted that the capital market currently occupies a far more robust position than in previous years, with investors steadily regaining their confidence.
He further noted that numerous large foreign corporations have expressed interest in investing in Bangladesh’s stock exchange.
“I was not confident about how I could approach big foreign companies with the capital market in this state. But when I talked to them, they expressed interest. They are constantly keeping track of Bangladesh. They trust the current leadership of Bangladesh. They will come to the Bangladesh market soon,” he said.
Urging all parties to move past past events in the capital market and focus on progress, Khosru said, “If we want integrity and transparency, we must become self-regulated. Every institution, including brokers, exchanges, investors and financial entities, must play the role of a self-regulator. I do not believe in regulatory bodies.”
Stressing the importance of integrating the capital market into the broader economic ecosystem, he observed that the NBR, Bangladesh Bank and the capital market had previously functioned as isolated islands. “Now we have built an ecosystem where everyone will work together.”
The minister also cautioned that businesses reliant on high-interest bank loans will struggle to survive competitive pressures.
He noted that both government and private institutions tend to borrow from banks at high interest rates at the slightest need, an approach that cannot sustain enterprises in the global market.
“Money must be raised from the market, and the best avenue for that is the capital market. We are also working to strengthen the bond market,” he said.
Khosru stated that Bangladesh can never achieve its trillion-dollar economy target by 2034 by borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
“I have cancelled my meeting with the IMF. I have told them plainly that the government is not bound to accept their conditions. We need $50 billion every year. How much will the IMF give us? And then we would have to accept conditions again. All that is out from now on. We will raise money from the market and do business,” he said.
Declaring that the government would not finance the operational needs of state enterprises, the minister asked, “Why should the government pay to buy aircraft? It cannot be that the government provides taxpayers’ money and enterprises do business with it.”
He added that the country’s financial architecture is being overhauled and the economy will shift towards a market-based system in the near future.
The depth of the capital market will be expanded to make the economy more market-oriented, he concluded.
Also Read
- U.S. Marine Arrested in Japan Over Alleged Murder of Woman as Tokyo Files Formal Protest
- JPMorgan Ranks Its Top October Stock Picks
- Bangladesh Finance Minister Foresees Landmark Capital Market Transformation Within a Year
- Israeli Airstrike Targeting Senior Hamas Figure in Gaza Likely Unsuccessful, Media Reports Say