The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday initiated an investigation into Bangladesh Jute and Commodity Exchange Limited, a private company which has taken a project to run commodity exchange without taking permission from the stock market regulator, BSEC sources said.
A BSEC senior official said Saifur Rahman, an executive director of the commission, was assigned the task of investigating the matter and asked to submit a report on it.
The BSEC was astonished when it came to know that BJCE is going to launch its business soon as a commodity exchange without taking permission from the commission, he said.
‘Allowing any company or firm to conduct the commodity exchange operation is exclusively under the BSEC’s jurisdiction. But the BSEC even know noting about it. So far as I know, the commission has received no application seeking permission for commodity exchange operation from any company by that name,’ he added.
Asked by New Age Saifur said, ‘The commission is yet
to form any committee to investigate the matter. But, I am asked to collect information about Bangladesh Jute and Commodity Exchange Limited.’
BJCE chief investment officer Rahman Habib told New Age on Sunday that the exchange would start its business soon.
‘The exchange will conduct the pilot project. We have already got approval from the jute ministry in this regard,’ Habib said.
He said farmers from five districts of the country would be able to sell jute through their agents while Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation would buy the products from Dhaka online.
Initially the exchange will allow only trading of jute online, not any other products, he said.
‘We have a plan to start a full-fledged commodity exchange after evaluating success of the pilot
project and getting approval from proper authority,’ he said.
Another BJCE official said on Sunday that they had tried to get approval from the BSEC several times, but the regulator replied that it was
not prepared yet for approving a commodity exchange. (source)