In the first six months after the Awami League (AL, now banned) government took office in 2009, roughly 50,000 investors left the stock market. After the fall of the Awami government in the July 2024 uprising, roughly 17,000 investors joined the market during the interim government’s tenure. Meanwhile, after the BNP government, which won this year’s election, took office in February, the number of new investors joining stands at roughly 8,500. By this measure, the number of investors joining under the BNP government in its first six months is 50 percent lower than under the interim government over the same span.
This picture emerges from an analysis of data on Beneficiary Owners (BO) accounts, which are required for stock market investment. The Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) is the institution that maintains BO accounts and share data for stock market investors.
According to CDBL data, the number of investors holding BO accounts stood at 1,468,518 on January 6, 2009. By the end of the first six months, on July 6, that number had fallen to 1,418,838. By this count, 49,680 investors left the stock market in the first six months after the Awami League government took office. During this period, 141,158 new BO accounts were opened. On the other hand, 190,838 BO accounts were closed.
Meanwhile, after fascist Hasina’s fall and flight to India following the student-public uprising on August 5, 2024, 16,960 investors newly joined the stock market in the first six months of the interim government led by Dr Muhammad Yunus. On August 8, 2024, the day the interim government was sworn in, the number of BO account holders in the stock market stood at 1,668,895. By the end of the first six months, on February 8, 2025, the number of BO account holders stood at 1,685,855. During this period, 39,172 new BO accounts were opened and 22,212 were closed. By this count, the number of BO accounts rose by 16,960 during the interim government’s tenure.
The BNP-led alliance won two-thirds of seats in the election held under the interim government. Following the election held on February 12 this year, the BNP government took office on February 17. On the day the government was formed, the number of investors in the country’s stock market stood at 1,647,916. Over the following six months, by August 16, that number had risen to 1,656,486. During this period, 55,814 new BO accounts were opened, against 47,244 that were closed. By this count, 8,570 people newly joined the stock market in the first six months of the BNP government. Compared with the interim government’s first six months, the growth in BO accounts under the BNP government over the same period is roughly 50 percent lower.
Those involved in the market say there may be a link between a change in government and the opening of BO accounts in the stock market. But this doesn’t depend on a change in government alone. Factors at play include the economic situation, the government’s fiscal policy, the financial condition of listed companies, approval of new IPOs, and who leads the capital market regulator. BO accounts also must be renewed every June, which requires paying a set fee; failing to pay the fee suspends the account. The first six months of both the Awami League and BNP governments’ tenures involved this June-closing issue. As a result, the June closing could also have had some effect on BO account numbers.
Although the BNP government took office, leadership at the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) changed roughly four months later. Corporate figure Masud Khan was appointed BSEC chairman on June 4. Along with the chairman, three commissioners were also appointed. Those involved in the market believe the delay in changing BSEC’s leadership after the government took office also had an effect.
Professor Al-Amin, a Dhaka University accounting department faculty member and former member of the taskforce formed for capital market reform, said what matters more than investors coming and going is how stable the market is. He said the number of BO accounts rises because of the IPO lottery system — the more applications, the greater the chance of winning an IPO lottery, and many people open BO accounts with that expectation. When that expectation isn’t met, or for various other reasons, some leave the market, while others come to the stock market anew with fresh hopes.
In 1996, under Awami League rule, the country’s stock market suffered an unprecedented scandal. Several hundred thousand investors lost their capital and were left destitute. But the masterminds behind the manipulation ring faced no punishment of any kind. When the Awami League returned to power in 2009, that painful memory resurfaced in ordinary investors’ minds. Many of those involved in the market believe that roughly 50,000 investors left the market in early 2009 in reaction to the 1996 stock market scandal under Awami League rule.
Although the number of BO accounts fell in the first six months, it gradually began rising after that. Ordinary people were lured into stock market investment in various ways, including lower bank interest rates, an increased limit on banks’ stock market investment, and assurances that 1996 would not repeat itself. Within just a year, the number of BO accounts reached roughly 3.28 million in 2010. Taking advantage of the huge influx of investors, the masterminds behind the manipulation ring used the stock market as a tool to loot money. An even bigger scandal and crash than in 1996 occurred in 2010. Several investors who lost their capital in the crash died by suicide. The market still hasn’t fully recovered from the fallout of that crash. In particular, margin loans have left not only ordinary investors but institutions facing major financial risk.
The white paper report on the state of Bangladesh’s economy, prepared under the leadership of economist Debapriya Bhattacharya, found that 100,000 crore taka was looted or embezzled from the stock market under Awami League rule. After fascist Hasina’s fall in the July uprising, the interim government formed the “Committee for Preparing a White Paper on Bangladesh’s Existing Economic Condition” to lay out the country’s overall economic state and the previous government’s various irregularities and corruption.