 | ICB to seek approval from SEC for Bangladesh Fund
28 March, 2011
State-run Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) will submit the Bangladesh Fund to the Securities and Exchange Commission this week for approval, in an effort to boost investor confidence.
"After getting the green light from the SEC the fund will be invested in the market," said Md Fayekuzzaman, managing director of ICB and also the organiser and manager of the fund.
He said Agrani Bank will sponsor Tk 250 crore and Jiban Bima Corporation Tk 50 crore, but they are yet to disburse their shares of the fund. If Jiban Bima does not sponsor, Sonali will sponsor the portion of Jiban Bima, Fayekuzzaman said.
Eight state-owned financial institutions including ICB, five commercial banks and two insurers announced the Tk 5,000 crore fund on March 6 to buy shares to halt a bearish trend of the capital market.
Among the eight state-owned sponsors of the fund six have gotten approval from their board meetings and decided to sponsor Tk 1,200. ICB will give Tk 500 crore, Sonali Bank Tk 200 crore, Janata Bank Tk 200 crore, Rupali Bank Tk 100 crore, Bangladesh Development Bank Ltd (BDBL) Tk 100 crore and state owned insurance Shadharan Bima Corporation Tk 100 crore each to form the fund to stabilise the capital market. The primary size of the fund is Tk 1,500 crore than it will be increased as per the market condition.
ICB discussed submitting the fund with the SEC on Thursday, said a source on SEC.
To make the open-ended mutual fund investor-friendly the government would offer tax exemption and other benefits.
The individual and institutional investors shall be able to whiten their undisclosed money by investing in the fund after paying 10 percent flat in taxes, said government officials.
Bangladeshis living abroad also should be able to invest in the fund, said ICB.
Bangladesh Fund is an open-ended mutual fund and there is no uncertainty about the fund though a multinational organisation said it will fail to make a positive impact on capital market, said a source of ICB.
An open-ended mutual fund is a professionally managed collective investment scheme that has unlimited lifetime and size. The fund manager pools money from many sponsors or investors through its selling agents and invests it in stocks, bonds and short-term money market instruments and pays out dividends to the unit holders annually.
Release link:http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=179400
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