DSE mobile app users vanish in large numbers as market return evaporates

The number of active users of the DSE mobile app dropped to an eight-year low due to the prolonged depressed market trend and the imposition of service charge on app users.

The number of mobile app users was 26,067 at the end of FY25, a 21 per cent fall from the year before. The figure was at its peak at 77,949 in FY22, when the market was bullish. Since then app users started declining amid lingering macroeconomic challenges.

Md Saiful Islam, president of the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh, said many investors had discontinued using the app as the market underwent massive correction.

"The market saw a bear run for a long time and there was hardly any capital gain from investments. So, they [investors] felt discouraged," he said.

The prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) slid more than 9 per cent or 490 points in the year through June. The daily average turnover also plummeted 26 per cent to Tk 4.72 billion in the year.

Mr Saiful Islam said he did not think investors were not using the app for the imposition of service charge. "If investors could make profits, the service charge is not a big deal."

The DSE mobile app, which was launched in March 2016 for tech savvy investors, was completely free until June 2023.

The prime bourse began to charge newly registered users an annual fee of Tk 1,500 in July 2023 while old users came under subscription fee in January 2024.

Md Sajedul Islam, managing director of Shyamol Equity Management, said many users had stopped using the app for the service charge as profits from both the secondary and primary markets evaporated.

"New investors are not showing interest in the app, while many existing investors are leaving the market due to the prolonged bear run.

"It is logical that investors will not want to spend extra money to keep their app functional when they have no return from the market."

However, Mr Sajedul Islam said the number of mobile app users will rise when the market will rebound and when investors will see good return on investments.

A leading merchant banker said on condition of anonymity that mostly the younger generation and professionals prefer to invest through apps. "But the prolonged gloomy market scenario is leaving the investors with no choice but to leave the market."

So, not only the number of mobile app users, but also the number of beneficiary owner's (BO) accounts fell significantly.

More than 0.1 million BO accounts were closed in FY25. That indicates that a good number of investors exited the market.

In the absence of new listings and amid poor performance of many listed companies, investors have been leaving the market in large numbers.

The economy has long been struggling to make a comeback from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and then the Russia-Ukraine war.

In the meantime, rising interest on government securities drove away funds from the capital market.

Investors had seen a glimmer of hope after the August political changeover last year. Their enthusiasm fizzled out quickly when political uncertainty loomed again.

Meanwhile, some top-tier brokerage houses built their own trading apps and system platforms, spending huge sums out of their pockets for client hunting.

Among them are LankaBangla Securities, City Brokerage, BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage, Shanta Securities, Sheltech Brokerage, and Royal Capital.

"So, their clients do not need to use any other app, which is another reason for the sharp decline in DSE mobile app users," said the head of a leading brokerage firm.

The brokerage firms have their own apps that their clients can use for free of cost from any corner of the world to trade in stocks.

Alongside the decline in app users, transactions through the mobile app also dropped by more than 24 per cent year-on-year to Tk 161 billion in FY25.

A DSE official said trading through mobile apps had plunged as overall market turnover declined.

The overall market turnover on the Dhaka bourse decreased 26 per cent year-on-year to Tk 1.11 trillion in FY25.

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