TBT Desk:
Chittagong Stock Exchange PLC (CSE) organised a workshop on 6 February at the multipurpose hall of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) titled "Establishment of Commodity Exchange - Bangladesh Perspective."
The event brought together senior officials from the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries, Ministry of Finance (Finance Division and FID), the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Bangladesh Bank, BSEC, and CSE.
The workshop was inaugurated by BSEC Commissioner Farzana Lalarukh and presided over by CSE Chairman AKM Habib Rahman according to a press release.
Among those in attendance were CSE Directors Major (Retd) Emdadul Islam, Farida Yasmin, Prof Dr Md Saiful Islam, and Managing Director M Saifur Rahman Majumdar, FCA, FCMA. Senior officials from CSE delivered presentations on the regulatory, business, and technological aspects of setting up a commodity exchange in Bangladesh.
During the workshop, progress on the implementation of Bangladesh's first commodity exchange was outlined, with an emphasis on regulatory compliance and infrastructure development. It was expressed that the project's swift execution would require the full cooperation of relevant ministries and regulatory bodies.
CSE Chairman AKM Habib Rahman said that while the initial proposal included six commodity products, the exchange would likely commence operations with one or two products in the first phase, gradually expanding its scope in alignment with market demand.
He highlighted that the establishment of the commodity exchange by CSE would mark a significant milestone in the country's financial landscape.
BSEC Commissioner Farzana Lalarukh, in her opening remarks, lauded CSE for taking a bold step towards launching Bangladesh's first commodity exchange. She urged all stakeholders to extend their full cooperation and emphasised the importance of completing regulatory procedures promptly.
She further stressed that all relevant entities must actively contribute to ensure the successful establishment of the exchange, which is expected to have a profound impact on the country's economy.
CSE secured its licence from BSEC in 2024 to establish the commodity exchange. Since then, the stock exchange has been working consistently to deploy the necessary technological framework, which is currently in its testing phase. CSE anticipates initiating mock trading by the end of March 2025, setting the stage for full-scale operations shortly.