The port city bourse currently has 153 TREC holders.
TBS Report
13 October, 2026, 09:40 pm
Last modified: 13 October, 2026, 09:46 pm
The Chittagong Stock Exchange has decided to issue 30 new Trading Right Entitlement Certificates (TRECs) to eligible domestic and foreign corporate entities to expand its commercial operations and broaden market participation.
The port city bourse currently has 153 TREC holders. The move is part of its broader business expansion plan, particularly as it prepares to operationalise the country's first commodity exchange, for which it received a licence from the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Bsec) on 19 March 2024.
According to an official notice, interested applicants, including large conglomerates, foreign institutions and commodity value chain participants, must submit applications in sealed envelopes to the bourse offices in Chattogram or Dhaka by 4pm on 15 November.
A non-refundable application fee of Tk1 lakh must be paid through a pay order or demand draft.
The issuance will comply with the Exchanges Demutualization Act, 2013 and the bourse's demutualisation scheme.
Under the eligibility criteria, locally owned companies must have a minimum paid-up capital of Tk5 crore. The requirement rises to Tk8 crore for companies jointly owned by local and foreign shareholders and Tk10 crore for wholly foreign-owned entities.
Applicants must also maintain an audited net worth of at least 75% of their paid-up capital at all times.
Selected firms will be required to maintain security deposits of Tk3 crore for local entities, Tk4 crore for joint ventures and Tk5 crore for foreign-owned companies.
The exchange has barred loan defaulters, convicted individuals and firms whose directors have previously been expelled by any stock exchange. Applicants seeking to operate Shariah-compliant businesses must maintain a dedicated Shariah board and appoint a qualified adviser.
The expansion drive comes as the Chattogram bourse faces mounting operating losses and declining profitability amid subdued trading activity.
The exchange's operating loss widened 13.54% year-on-year to Tk16.58 crore in FY26, up from Tk14.60 crore in FY25, while net profit after tax fell 28.35% to Tk20.59 crore from Tk28.74 crore.
Consequently, earnings per share declined to Tk0.32 from Tk0.45, according to disclosures approved by the board on 8 October.
An official said the exchange remained profitable mainly because of interest income from fixed deposit receipts held with different banks. However, a shortage of listed products and low trading turnover continued to drive operating losses.
Despite the decline in net profit, the board recommended a 3.25% cash dividend for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2026.
The recommendation is subject to shareholders' approval at the annual general meeting, scheduled for 10 December at the conference hall of the Chittagong Stock Exchange Building in Agrabad, Chattogram. The record date for dividend entitlement is 8 November.