Stock mkt trading in B8217;desh suspended

Witnesses said several hundred investors greeted the suspension with a street protest.

Trading in the country8217;s stock market was suspended today until further order following fears of a negative impact after a government decision about investments by public servants in the stock exchange sparked off confusion.

8220;DSE Dhaka Stock Exchange Board for the interest of the capital market and investors has decided to keep the market closed today,8221; read a notification on the DSE website.

DSE8217;s chief executive Mosharraf Hossain later told newsmen that the main bourse decided to suspend the trading fearing the government order may have a negative impact on trading.

He added: 8220;We have decided to suspend trading until further order8221;.

The country8217;s second bourse Chitagong Stock Exchange also halted the trading that came as the state-run BSS yesterday reported the cabinet decided to 8220;make the government employees aware about the existing rules and procedures that they should follow in purchasing share from the stock market8221;.

A senior cabinet division official later clarified saying the government has actually put no direct bar on government employees purchasing shares from the primary or secondary market.

Cabinet Division joint secretary Ishtiaque Ahmed,however,quoted the Government Employees Code of Conduct that stipulated that 8220;a government employee must not habituate in any kind of speculative Fatka business which may cause of huge loss due to price volatility8221;.

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Witnesses said several hundred investors greeted the suspension with a street protest in front of the DSE complex at Motijheel business district,shouting slogans against the government and disrupting traffic movement.

Today8217;s protests came after the benchmark DGEN index declined 3.33 per cent to 4,864.30 points yesterday,the first time it has declined below 5,000 points this year.

DSE today urged the government to relax provisions for public servants to allow their involvement in profit-making activities including stock business.

8220;Yesterday8217;s cabinet decision might have negative impact on the share market. So,we decided to keep trading suspended today,8221; Hussain said while briefing the media about the existing situation at the DSE Bhaban at Motijheel.

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The DSE8217;s chief executive said the stock market was already facing troubles as a revenue board decision banning illegally earned money from being invested in the market weighed on the Dhaka exchange,which fell 37 per cent last year,its worst performance since 1997 when it slumped 67 per cent.

The government is the country8217;s biggest employer with a million-plus staff and an armed force of 160,000 personnel on its payroll.