New Fruit on “Belt & Road” Capital Market Construction SSE & SZSE Consortium Signed Equity Acquisition Agreement with Dhaka Stock Exchange

On May 14, 2018, Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange Consortium (the Consortium) and the Dhaka Stock Exchange of Bangladesh (DSE) held the signing ceremony of equity acquisition agreement in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Mr. Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, Finance Minister of Bangladesh, Dr. M. Khairul Hossain, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Bangladesh, Mr. Li Guangjun, Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, Mr. Wang Jianjun, President of Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), Mr. Pan Xuexian, Chair of Supervisory Board of Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), and representatives from Bangladesh’s financial community, SSE and SZSE attended the signing ceremony.

Mr. Wang Jianjun, President of the SZSE, and Mr. Pan Xuexian, Chair of Supervisory Board of the SSE, signed an agreement with Mr. Rahman, CEO of the DSE. According to the agreement, the Consortium acquired 450 million shares of the DSE, accounting for 25% of its total capital, with a transaction amount at 9.47 billion taka (about $120 million).

In July 2017, the Consortium received a letter from the DSE to participate in a bidding for 25% of its equity. Based on the principles of candidness, pragmatism and win-win cooperation, the Consortium conducted a four-month due diligence investigation, made eight on-site visits to Bangladesh and received three visits from Dhaka Stock Exchange delegation before the acquisition. After in-depth research and active communication, the Chinese Consortium drew a comprehensive bidding plan which elaborated the vision and path to deepen the collaboration in business and technology between the two parties. The bidding plan took full consideration of both the Bangladesh’s needs for development and the Consortium’s strengths and characteristics.

The B&R Initiative is vital to the new vision of Chinese economy as well as to promote the common wealth of the countries and regions along the Belt and Road. The connectivity of finance is critical support for the B&R Initiative among the connectivity in five fields. In October, 2017, the SSE released "SSE Vision and Action Plan for Supporting B&R Construction (2018-2020)". The overall purpose is to build and enhance cooperation among the capital markets along the Belt and Road, broaden direct financing channels for the B&R Construction, mobilize the participation of the funds and enterprises in and out of China and construct a community of shared future and interests for the capital markets along the Belt and Road. For the next step, the SSE will continue to assist in linking the connectivity of finance and explore multilateral cooperation mechanism with exchanges along the Belt and Road under the leadership of the CSRC. The SSE is dedicated to building more smooth communication channels and a sound financial cooperation system with relevant parties.