The suggestion was made during a meeting of Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC) with senior officials of SEC yesterday.

The delegation led by its President Samson H Chowdhury observed that special incentives should be introduced to lure private companies to go public.

Many companies have investments in other companies, but they hardly share such investment with their shareholders, Chowdhury observed.

"But if the SEC allows distribution of such investments to the shareholders, the capital market and the secondary market as a whole will be benefited," the BAPLC president said.

Responding to the suggestion, SEC Chairman Mirza Azizul Islam said the SEC will review the suggestion and do whatever is necessary for the development of the market.

Presently only two types of dividends are allowed in Bangladesh -- cash and stock dividends.

Citing example of Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a senior SEC official said the company declared its investment in Sqaure Textile as specie dividend few years back with SEC approval.

The listed companies also said that the current cost in floating initial public offerings (IPOs) is high.

But SEC officials observed that the commission had already reduced the underwriting cost by 50 percent and is now contemplating to bring down cost in other heads.

The owners of the PLCs also demanded that a person holding post of managing director in one PLC should be allowed to work as MD in other companies also.

According to the Companies Act, a person holding the position of MD in a publicly listed company can hold the same position in only one company. In case of more companies the person requires approval from the commerce ministry, another source said.

But getting permission of the commerce ministry is cumbersome and lengthy process, the PLCs said seeking SEC move to abolish this provision.

The SEC chairman assured the delegation that he will review all the suggestions and make recommendations to the authorities concerned for implementation of the association's suggestions.

Other members of BAPLC delegation were Syed Manzur Elahi, vice-president, M Haider Chowdhury, member of executive committee, M Sekander Ali, adviser, and KM Abdul Hai, secretary general.

Among others, Abbas Uddin Khan, member of SEC, Mansur Alam, M Abdul Hannan Zoarder and Anwarul Kabir Bhuiyan, executive directors, were present.