It is very heartening to see that the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded country’s maiden commodity exchange licence to the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), opening up new windows of opportunities in our economy.
Commodity exchange is a legal entity that will be responsible for establishing and enforcing rules for trading standardised commodity contracts and investment products. In simpler terms, this is some kind of market which will be facilitating the purchase and sale of enforceable contracts to deliver a commodity.
Considering the long-term implications of this, it can be said that this is a very good initiative which will be beneficial to our economy in multi-faceted ways. At a time when the whole country, especially those belonging to the lowest rungs of the social ladder, are bearing the brunt of sky-rocketing prices of commodities - the reason for which is mostly attributed to the nexus of the syndicates, this step can usher in a new era. Once commodity exchange is established, everyone will then have a clear view of the rising and falling prices of commodities in both international and domestic markets. It can help rein in the prices of essentials.
Commodity exchange will also help address the issue of manipulating the market by under- and over-invoicing. This will result in another benefit for our economy. As many dishonest businessmen resort to trade-based methods for siphoning off money, this can prevent them from doing so. Through a misrepresentation of the price of goods or services, many traders launder money out of the country. Once commodity exchange gets operational, the scope for this kind of money laundering will decrease significantly while curbing capital flight.
However, it is imperative that the regulators tread on this path carefully as it does not take much time for a good initiative to go wrong in our country. To iron out any potential threat, regulators should plan very diligently with scrupulous attention to every detail. They can take help from our neighbouring countries such as India and Nepal who are already reaping benefits of such a system.
In the meantime, we appreciate the fact that the ABG Limited of Bashundhara Group has been facilitating this process under an agreement with the CSE as its strategic partner. More such partnerships that will help explore untapped potential and expedite our economic growth are needed in our context.