Government treasury bonds have overtaken equities as the dominant component of market capitalisation on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) for the first time in its history.
As per fiscal year 2024–25 data, treasury bonds now account for 49.77% of the DSE’s total market capitalisation, slightly surpassing equities, which have declined to 49.34%.
This marks a significant shift from the previous fiscal year, when equities held a commanding share of 54.36% compared to 44.51% for government bonds.
The change reflects a deliberate government push to deepen the domestic debt market and bring greater transparency to public borrowing.
The Bangladesh Bank’s initiative to list a larger volume of treasury securities on the DSE platform has played a key role in reshaping the capital market’s structure.
In contrast, other instruments continue to make up a marginal portion of total capitalisation.
Mutual funds represented just 0.43% of total market value, corporate bonds stood at 0.45%, and debentures remained unchanged at 0.01%.
Analysts view the growing share of fixed-income securities as a double-edged development.
While the rise of treasury bonds diversifies the product mix and offers safer investment options, the declining equity share raises concerns about investor confidence and the lack of new quality listings.
They note that the fall in equity dominance from over 54% to under 50% within a year signals stagnation in equity market development.
Still, experts argue that a more balanced representation of both equity and debt instruments is essential for building a robust and resilient capital market.
They emphasise that sustainable growth in the equity segment will be necessary to support private sector financing and long-term economic development.