Bangladesh's Dhaka Stock Exchange. (Photo: Yuan Jirong/People's Daily)

DHAKA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese consortium, comprising the Shenzhen Stock Exchange(SZSE) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange(SSE), on Monday signed an agreement with Bangladesh's Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) to acquire 25 percent stake in the country's premier  bourse and became its strategic investor.

Wang Jianjun, President and Chief Executive Officer of Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Pan Xuexian, Chair of Shanghai Stock Exchange's Supervisory Board, and K.A.M. Majedur Rahman, DSE managing director, signed the agreement.

Bangladeshi Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Chairman of BSEC (Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commissions) M Khairul Hossain, Chairman of DSE Abul Hashem and Li Guangjun, the economic and commercial counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Dhaka, among others, were present at the signing ceremony.

BSEC on May 3 approved the DSE proposal to sell its 25 percent stake to the Chinese consortium. 

The BSEC approved the DSE's strategic partnership, fixing each of 450,944,125 shares at a price of 21 taka ($0.25), the regulator said on its website. DSE's hunt for a strategic partner came as it turned into a demutualized stock exchange on Nov. 21, 2013.

SZSE and SSE received DSE’s tender invitation in July 2017. 

A DSE official had earlier told Xinhua that in consideration of all the aspects the proposal of the Chinese consortium was the best offer in terms of value and technical support. In a bidding process also involving Indian, US and Turkish exchanges, the Chinese consortium emerged as the winner. According to a statement released by the Shenzhen bourse, the Chinese consortium's bid to become strategic partner of DSE will support the development of the Belt and Road Initiative and cooperation along the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

It said the Chinese bourses will cooperate with the Dhaka Stock Exchange on trading technology, market and product development. Founded in 1954, the Dhaka Stock Exchange is Bangladesh's premier bourse and had 303 listed companies with a market capitalization of $44 billion by year-end 2017.