Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu said government is planning to bring additional shares of the state-owned companies in the stock markets to strengthen the markets, reports BSS.

“The government has almost finalised the process of bringing additional shares of a number of state-owned companies in the stock markets,” he said, speaking at a seminar on “Importance of Capital Market as Source of Long Term Finance: Bangladesh Perspective” at Westin Hotel in the capital.

Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA) organised the seminar for creating awareness among the investors about capital market and its importance in the country’s economy.

Among others, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Chairman Dr M Khairul Hossain and Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC) President Azam J Chowdhury spoke on the occasion.

Under the direction of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Amu said, the government is working relentlessly to develop a strong and transparent capital market for accelerating the country’s economy through industrialisation and investment.

“Demutualisation activities have been implemented in 2013 for ensuring the highest transparency in the capital market. The government has also changed the rules of public issue,” he added.

Amu said the government has also passed the Financial Reporting Act-2015 and formed the Financial Reporting Council to create integrity in the capital market.

“The government has also reformed the rules of Initial Public Offering (IPO) and introduced book building method for IPO,” he added.