Thousands of angry small investors staged demonstrations, fought pitched battle with police, vandalised motor vehicles and blocked traffic movement for about four hours in the business district of Motijheel and its adjoining areas in Dhaka Monday as stock prices plummeted at a record speed, surpassing the previous day's fall in just 50 minutes.
The general index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), styled as DGEN, shed 660 points or 9.25 per cent between 11 am and 11.50 am when, on instruction from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the DSE authorities halted share transactions. The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) which also witnessed similar fall in stock prices suspended trading at 11.50am. On Sunday last, the DGEN declined by 600 points.
Investors took to the streets in different areas of the Dhaka city, including Mirpur and Gulshan and in some other cities and towns, including Chittagong, Khulna, Barisal, Bogra, Rangpur, Kushtia and Comilla, protesting the continuous fall in stock prices for the last few days.
In Dhaka, police lobbed two teargas canisters, in a bid to disperse the agitating investors. At least nine persons, including four newsmen, were injured during the clash between the investors and the police.
The streets of Motijheel and Dilkusha scattered with brickbats and burning tires wore the look of battlefields. Vehicular movement remained suspended for more than four hours, leading to serious traffic jams in the adjoining roads, lanes and by-lanes.
Police also picked up two persons named Helal Uddin and Ismail Hossain. However, Ismail was freed later.
The trading at the bourses is expected to resume today (Tuesday).
The benchmark DSE general index has suffered a series of falls in the last three weeks. The benchmark index of DSE lost more than 1800 points in the last six trading sessions and was down by 27 per cent from its all-time high of 8918.51 points as on December 5, 2010.
The agitating investors chanted slogans against top bosses of the premier bourse and market regulator and demanded resignation of the central bank governor. They also chanted slogan against Finance Minister AMA Muhith.
The benchmark index had climbed by 80 per cent in 2010, but has lost more than 27 per cent since early December last year.
"Halting share trading following the fall in share prices is not the solution," said Professor Abu Ahmed, who teaches Economics at Dhaka University.
The big investors like banks and non-banking financial institutions will have to implement the SEC decision to save the market, he said.
Yawer Sayeed, managing director of AIMS Bangladesh said, "SEC should investigate whether any vested quarters or market manipulators were behind the recent free fall of stock prices."
He also said the SEC should review the over-priced IPOs or stocks with high price-earning (PE) ratio to help sustain the market over a long period. He felt that SEC needed to issue new licenses for opening merchant banks to increase the flow fresh fund into the market.
"Increasing the margin loan ratio is not also a solution at this moment, so SEC should give licenses to the new merchant banks to help increase fresh fund flow," said Sayeed, also chief executive officer of AIMS Bangladesh, an asset management company.
Sanjoy Baul, an investor of DSE said that the value of his portfolio has been reduced by half within the last six trading sessions.
"I came to the market with a hope but, in the last six trading sessions, half of my savings has been wiped off, said Sanjoy.
Another investor, Kamal said that he has also lost half of his investment in few sessions.
Our Correspondent adds: Angry investors in the port city clashed with the police within half an hour after the market regulator ordered shut down of transactions in the Chittagong Stock Exchange.
Several hundred investors took to the main street of the Sheikh Mujib Road in Agrabad leading to the seaport, airport and export processing zone on Monday noon demanding resignation of the finance minister, central bank governor and the SEC chairman.
Investors were also protesting at the brokerage houses in different parts of the city and in front of Chittagong Press Club, eyewitnesses said.
Severe traffic congestions ensued in the city following the investors' demonstrating.
At one stage there were incidents of chases and counter chases between the investors and the police, who later convinced the protesters to free the EPZ and Airport Road and submit their demands to the bourse authority.
Assistant commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) Double Mooring Zone SM Tanvir Arafat said the investors lay seize on the main thoroughfare at around 12.15 pm and the police tried to quell them from the road to ease traffic congestion.
At around 1.15 pm a group of protesters numbering around 15 met with chief executive officer of the CSE Dr. Abdullah Mamun and handed him a memorandum of 10 points that includes the demand of resignation of the BB Governor and the SEC chairman.
Other demands include suspension of all kinds of activities of all multilevel marketing (MLM) companies operating in the country including the UniPay2u and SpeakAsia.
Our Kushtia correspondent writes: A huge number angry investors brought out a procession in the town on Monday in the district and staged demonstration in front of BRB securities Limited, the brokerage house, protesting the continuous fall in stock prices for the five days.
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