They made this call at the seminar on 'investment in share market' organised by Chittagong Stock Exchange in the north-western town with a view to creating an overall awareness among the people eager to utilise their money, according to a CSE press release.

The speakers underscored the need for good corporate governance through promoting new ideas for market development besides maintaining transparency between the brokers and the investors.

While addressing the seminar as chief guest, CSE President MKM Mohiuddin said the second premier bourse in the port city is committed to spreading its trading network abroad besides across the country.

He said CSE's trading facility is no more a city-based one, any investor from any corner of the world can get into this facility.

"Our share market now continues to progress significantly for the last few months after overcoming a shallow market."

Fakhor Uddin Ali, CSE vice president and a Sylhet- based member of the bourse, said, "Investors in Sylhet are day by day becoming very professional on stock business. It is our great opportunity to do business from this region."

He hoped that the CSE's awareness programme would help the promising investors who lack knowledge about investment-decision.

Yameer Sayeed, managing director and CEO, AIMS of Bangladesh Ltd, presented a keynote paper on "Prospects and Future of Investment in Bangladesh Capital Market".

He said, "With an annual growth of 6.7 per percent, per capita income of US$482, annual export over $10.25 billion, import over $12.9 billion, remittances from expatriate workers over $4.8 billion and a foreign exchange reserve of over $3.4 billion, Bangladesh is now advancing to be one of the top 20 economies by 2025."

He stressed tapping the better potential of the present investment scenario, as the GDP investment ratio posts 24.97 per cent, of which public investment constitutes 6.3 per cent and the rest 18.67 per cent private investment.

Bangladesh capital market is quite small compared to other regional markets, he said, adding that the country's market capital contributed only 5.08 per cent to the gross domestic product in FY 2005-06.

He lamented that out of over 40,000 small and medium private companies, only 255 are listed companies.

In the seminar, chaired by Md. Siddiqur Rahman, managing director of SR Capital Ltd, a Sylhet- based CSE member, Arif Khan, general manager of IDLC Bangladesh Ltd, presented another keynote paper on "Investment Instruments, Process, Techniques and Management of Portfolios".

A B Siddique, chief executive officer of Chittagong Stock Exchange, and AKM Shahroze Alam, deputy manger of CSE, also spoke at the seminar.

About 500 people from different professions, including businessmen, university students and teachers, participated in the seminar.