12 Tech-startups to Enter Stock Market and Initiate Public Funding 

Several tech startup companies have shown interest and are set to raise funds by entering the stock market. The companies have already started the process of public funding discussion and how to proceed with the stock market regulator.

Multiple Tech-startups to Enter Stock Market and Initiate Public Funding

The small-cap board, called the DSE SME, was rolled out on April 30 of 2019 with a view to helping small and medium enterprises raise funds from the market. Companies of this size were previously shut out from the process due to their lower turnover.

DSE SME (Dhaka Stock Exchange,  Small and Medium Enterprises) has been in the works since 2019 to help small and medium enterprises raise public funds in the market. Because of lower turnover, firms of this multitude were eliminated from the process previously. But there is hope now if the companies can come up to meet the requirements set by the board.

The tech-based companies that will be entering the stock market are Chaldal, Divine IT, Landknock, Hellotask, Zantrik, Brain Station 23, CMED Health, Bondstein Technologies, Khaas Food, Sheba.xyz, AnnaNovas IT, and eCourier. Some of these tech-based companies are already major businesses and have been funded by serious investors.

The spokesperson of BSEC or the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, Rezaul Karim has stated, 

“We spoke with the startups to boost their confidence and show that we are eager to allow them faster listing on the SME board. The trading board is ready, rules and regulations are ready. Some other companies also asked to be listed but the regulator had to reject those for some unavoidable reasons. The tech startups are interested to go public so we met them. If the companies meet all the requirements, they could fast-track the listing process.

Selected investors are allowed for trading through the SME board. The minimal requirement for a small company to gain a spot in the stock market listing is to have a paid-up capital of Tk 5 Crore. After stock market listing, it is paid and accounted for capital should be at least Tk 10 Crore. Banks, Asset management companies, Merchant bankers, Mutual funds, Portfolio managers, Stock dealers, Collective investment schemes (CIS), Insurance companies, Financial institutions, etc. are approved by the board to participate.

A qualified individual investor, Arif Hossain has said regarding this matter,

“Startup companies have huge potential to grow so it is a good initiative for the market to invest in them. However, the companies should have good intentions, tech-giants like Microsoft and Apple were once startups.”

The CEO of Chaldal, Waseem Alim said, also regarding the issue of the requirement of a company having to keep the steady profit for 3 years to have a listing in the main market, 

“We are keen to be listed in the stock market but some requirements might not be fit for all startups. As per requirements, the paid-up capital should not be higher than Tk 50 crore but many of us have higher capital than needed to run the business. So, the ceiling should be more than Tk 50 crore. As many startups remain in loss for many years, we cannot take part in the main market. However, this is definitely a good step from the regulator as many startups have partners abroad, talks with the BSEC are still in the primary stage.” 

BSEC should consider and provide opportunities to facilitate public listings of startups that have good potential and may contribute in a good way to the national economy.