B Mirror Report: The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has proposed major changes to IPO rules to increase share allocations for retail investors, remove the separate quota for wealthy investors and introduce a hybrid listing method combining new share issuance with existing shareholders’ share sales.

Under the proposed amendments to the Public Offer of Equity Securities Rules, 2025, retail investors’ allocation would rise from 60% to 65% under the fixed-price method and from 35% to 40% under the book-building method. The draft also proposes increasing allocations for company employees and non-resident Bangladeshis.

The proposed rules would introduce price-based share allocation under book building, require independent auditors to verify company information before IPO applications and ease minimum share-offering requirements for large companies.

The BSEC has also proposed raising the maximum share of IPO proceeds that can be used to repay eligible bank loans from 30% to 50%, subject to specified conditions.

The draft amendments, approved by BSEC Chairman Masud Khan, have been opened for public comments and recommendations until November 2, 2026.

The commission expects the proposed changes to improve transparency in IPO pricing and share allocation while encouraging more companies to list on the stock market.