Bangladesh Finance Minister Mustafa Kamal has directed 28 insurance companies, which are non-listed companies, to get enlisted with the stock exchanges by offloading shares by three months. Mustafa also warned that stern actions will be taken in case of failure to get enlisted with the bourses by three months. He further informed that a temporary ban would be imposed on unwilling companies at an initial stage before taking the tough action.
There are 75 insurance companies in Bangladesh, out of which 47 are listed and 28 are non-listed. Mustafa said that the insurance sector was getting stronger day by day as the government had brought the much needed impetus in the sector. He noted that both insurance and stock market were fundamental components of the economy.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Insurance Association warned its member insurance companies against giving more than 15% of insurance premiums as commission to agents for collecting the premiums. BIA president Sheikh Kabir Hossain said that the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority of Bangladesh and the BIA jointly took a number of steps to recover the country’s insurance sector from its current fragile state.
