A Chinese consortium has become the Dhaka Stock Exchange's (DSE) strategic partner. We hope the partnership, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, will bring about a fundamental change in the manner in which the market is operated—free of manipulation of syndicates. The Chinese exchanges, i.e. Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchanges both of which are listed in the top 10 stock exchanges in the world now own 25 percent stake in DSE. Even after so many years, the DSE remains in a somewhat nascent stage of development. It is hoped that the new tie-up will bring about modernisation and halt the insider trading that has become synonymous with the way DSE has operated for decades.

We are told that the consortium will develop the capacity of DSE and most importantly, will improve the surveillance and trading system which are much needed steps to restore confidence of investors, particularly the small investors. Repeated stock market scams over the years have wiped out the savings of millions of people and unless internal controls are tightened, it will not restore confidence of stock holders in the market.

The entry of these two international bourses also opens up DSE to the prospect of foreign institutional investors. We hope that institutional reform is undertaken seriously. DSE now has the unique opportunity to upgrade itself to international standards and we are looking forward to major technology transfer that will go into upgrading systems and training human resources that will take DSE out of the clutches of market manipulators.