Chinese Consortium Wins Bid For Dhaka Exchange

Bangladesh has agreed to sell a large stake in its stock exchange to a Chinese consortium, an official said on Tuesday, rebuffing a rival bid from India that raised political sensitivities.

The Dhaka Stock Exchange on February 10 had approved the Chinese offer to buy a quarter of the bourse's 1.8 billion shares, but Bangladesh's financial regulator asked it to "further scrutinise" the decision.

"The board has reconfirmed its decision about approving the Chinese consortium's bid as it is higher than its nearest competitor's," said stock exchange spokesman Shafiqur Rahman after the meeting Monday evening.

The Mumbai-based National Stock Exchange had offered 15 taka (HK$1.4) per share during the tender process this month.

Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges made a joint higher bid of 22 taka per share, and offered additional technical support worth nearly US$37 million.

The intervention by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission in the sale sparked allegations in local media that it was trying to favour India.

The Bangladesh office of Transparency International, the Berlin-based corruption watchdog, issued a statement "strongly condemning" what it called unethical and illegal meddling.

The regulator – which at the time defended its final authority to override decisions made by the stock exchange – was not immediately available for comment. (AFP)