Special Correspondent:
With commodity chaos continues in kitchen markets here, year after year, Bangladesh has advanced a big step in establishing the first commodity exchange in the country of 170 million consumers.
The Bangladesh Security Exchange Commission on Wednesday formally handed over the license to Commodity Exchange to the Chittagong Stock Exchange.
At the ceremony, the State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu suggested businessmen to trade Potato, Edible Oil and Sugar in the first phase of operation of the commodity exchange.
“As a stock market stakeholder I was dreaming of the commodity exchange years back but the idea was straight rejected by bureaucracy in twenty years back’ he said at the ceremony arranged by the BSEC on the sideline celebrating Bangabandhu’s Birth Anniversary.
He praised BSEC and its Chairman for arranging legal frameworks and supporting entrepreneurs for establishing country’s first commodity exchange speedily.
The minister said this future market would help and facilitate supplies of commodity of domestic and international sources.
“I see potato, edible oil and sugar as very potential products for trading on the commodity exchange at its starting phase” he said. “Gold is a potential non-food item to be traded at the initial phase”
The minister, who has once served as the President of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, advised asset management companies to develop relevant investment products in line with the commodity exchange.
Asif Ibrahim Chairman of the Chittagong Stock Exchange told the function that his organization is installing IT and other infrastructures now and hope that the commodity exchange would be able to start trading sometime in the current year.
The BSEC Chairman Professor Shibly Rubayat Ul Islam hopes that commodity trading and imports will be easier in the country after the commodity exchange here goes into operation. He also advised stock market payers to design products and portfolios in line with the modern commodity market.
Sheikh Kabir Hossain, a renowned business leader and President of the Bangladesh Insurance Association also praised BSEC and CSE to initiate and implement the maiden commodity exchange project in the country.
Professor Sheikh Shamsuddin Ahmed, Commissioner of the BSEC, Tariquzzaman, Managing Director of the DSE, Col. Emdad, Major (retd.), Chowdury Nafiz Shararafat, Reaz Islam, Naquib Khan attended among others at the ceremony.
