BANGLADESH

The prices of shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) have continued to fall in the first hour of the week's first trading day.

Of the 212 issues traded until 12:02pm on Sunday, 168 declined, only 29 gained and 15 remained unchanged.

The DSE general index lost 36.34 points or 0.60 percent to 5930.17 points.

The turnover at the premier bourse was Tk 755 million.

The DSE got 10 trading days after it opened following Eid-ul-Fitr vacation but seven days experienced downtrend.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held several meetings with the stakeholders since the downtrend had begun.

Merchant banks were assured that they would get more time to adjust single-party exposure, a Bangladesh Bank effort to stabilise the sagging capital market.

SEC on Thursday suspended sectoral and individual investment ceiling for mutual funds until Dec 31, 2011 in order to resolve liquidity crisis in the market.

According to existing rules, a mutual fund cannot invest more than 10 percent of its fund in a single company and not more than 25 percent in a single sector.

The stock market regulator on Saturday formally announced its decision to keep face value for each share at Tk 10 effective from Dec 4.

But the steps have apparently failed as there is no indication of gaining hope.