Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka Unite to Boost Capital Markets

The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), and Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) have decided to join forces through a new partnership which is aiming at enhancing efficiency and promoting growth in their markets. On Thursday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, they all signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that outlines their plans for joint initiatives in technology upgrades, staff training, product innovation, regulatory alignment, and investor education.

At the signing event, representatives from all three exchanges were present, including DSE Chairman Mominul Islam, CSE Chairman Dilshan Wirasekara, and Akif Saeed, the Chairman of Pakistan’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP), along with other senior officials. The agreement focuses on pooling resources and expertise to help overcome the shared challenges that smaller South Asian markets face.

At the event, DSE Chairman Mominul Islam said “South Asian stock exchanges, apart from India, usually struggle with limited resources due to their size. This really holds back markets that have significant potential from reaching their goals.” He said that collaboration through knowledge sharing and technology investments could help strengthen and enhance the competitiveness of capital markets in the region.

As part of this initiative, Islam joined a panel discussion that focused on enhancing regulations and exchange operations in frontier markets. DSE delegates also had separate discussions with Pakistani regulators and CSE officials to go over detailed strategies.