Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) on Tuesday elected Md Hanif Bhuiyan and Sharif Ataur Rahman as its shareholder directors.
Four candidates -- Md Hanif Bhuiyan, managing director of Rapid Securities, Md Mizanur Rahman Khan, managing director of Dhanmondi Securities, Khwaja Asif Ahmed, managing director of Country Stock (Bangladesh) and Sharif Ataur Rahman, managing director of SAR Securities contested for the post of two directorship posts.
Of the total 245 voters, 222 cast their votes on the DSE premises in Motijheel on Tuesday.
Four votes were declared invalid.
Managing director of Rapid Securities Md Hanif Bhuiyan bagged 149 votes and Sharif Ataur Rahman, managing director of SAR Securities bagged 114 votes.
A former judge of the Supreme Court Justice Md Abdus Samad acted as the chairman of the DSE’s election commission.
This year, Mohammad Shahjahan, managing director of Jahan Securities and Khwaja Ghulam Rasul, managing director of Khwaja Equity Services, will retire from the DSE board.
The newly elected directors will join the board at the DSE’s annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled on March 23.
The demutualised DSE board consists of seven independent directors, four shareholder directors, one from the strategic investors’ category and the bourse’s chief executive officer, who have voting rights only for election of the chairman.
However, a director post from strategic investors’ category remains vacant as the bourse is yet to find strategic investors.
The demutualisation scheme was approved by Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission in 2013.
In 2012, a law on demutualisation was passed in parliament with a promise to bring transparency to the stockmarket.
Demutualisation is a way of separating management of the bourses from ownership.
It transforms a stock exchange into a profit-oriented company, owned by shareholders and ensures alternative business models and operational efficiency.
Prior to demutualisation, Bangladesh’s stock exchanges were non-profit cooperative organisations, owned by the exchange members who are usually stockbrokers.
BBN/SK/AD