BBN file photo
Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Some 0.23 million (234,503) beneficiary owners' (BO) accounts were closed in last 12 months since January 23, 2019 due to non-payment of maintenance fees, regulatory move and depressed capital market outlook.
The number of active BO accounts came down to 2,578,283 as of January 23, 2020 from 2,812,785, just a year ago, according to the Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd (CDBL).
Some 234,503 BO accounts were closed between January 23, 2019 and January 23, 2020, while DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), lost 1,411 points or 23.82 per cent during the period under review.
To trade in the secondary market and apply for primary shares, an investor has to open a BO account with the CDBL through a depository participant, which is usually a stockbroker or a merchant bank.
Of the total number of active BO accounts right now, male investors own 1,879,579 accounts while female investors 685,519 and company 13,185 as of January 23, 2020, the CDBL data shows.
There are currently 1,633,213 individual accounts and 931,885 joint accounts.
The non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) own 145,420 accounts opened to conduct share transactions or to apply for IPO (initial public offering) shares.
However, half the active BO accounts exist in name only.
Those accounts have no role in daily share transactions as they have either zero balance or have never been used in share trading.
This has been happening over the last five years, according to a CDBL official.
The number of BO accounts reached its peak at around 3.4 million in the fiscal year 2010-11, the year of market bubble-burst, as people, lured by the booming share prices, then had rushed to open accounts with different brokerage houses.
BBN/SSR/AD