IPO funding policy in Bangladesh

The initial public offering of stock by a company serves as an important capital market instrument to provide largescale direct funding for corporate development within an economy. One major function of stock markets is to provide investors with an opportunity to participate in the capital market. The lack of willingness on the part of privately held companies to initially float their stock is a major hurdle for the development of a capital market in Bangladesh. Only a handful of the privately held companies in Bangladesh have taken the step of going to the public with an offering their stock. To facilitate the transition from privately-held to publicly-held, the Bangladesh central bank directed the country's 28 non-banking financial institutions to make initial public offerings by 31 December 2005. While most institutions have commenced the process only nine have floated initial public offerings. The deadline set has had to be extended to 30 June 2007. This paper considers why the promise of equity funding from initial public offerings in Bangladesh has largely failed to meet expectations.