Aamir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, a BNP leader and the founding president of the Chattogram Stock Exchange (CSE), has called on the nation’s banks to spearhead the creation of Bangladesh’s first commodity exchange, emphasizing that the capital market has not yet realized its full potential.

According to him, Bangladesh has to implement new financial products like bonds and commodities in order to speed up economic development.Khosru made the call at a discussion titled “Launching Commodity Exchange in Bangladesh”, organised by the CSE last Wednesday at Hotel Sheraton in Dhaka, attended by the chairmen and managing directors of several major banks. The session was chaired by CSE Chairman AKM Habibur Rahman, while CSE Managing Director Saifur Rahman Mozumdar presented the keynote paper.

Speakers at the event said the proposed commodity exchange will introduce a new asset class to Bangladesh for the first time, contributing positively to the capital market and the broader economy through investment diversification, price discovery, and hedging opportunities. They emphasised the importance of strong governance, transparency, and effective risk management.

Dhaka Bank Chairman Abdul Hai Sarker noted that earlier attempts to establish a commodity exchange had failed, but said the current push is a bold initiative that deserves support.

CSE Director Nasir Uddin Chowdhury added that banks must play a leading role for the commodity exchange to succeed, saying it could significantly help expand and diversify their business alongside their own brokerage subsidiaries.