People must understand distinction between Sukuk and traditional bonds: CA’s special assistant

Chief Adviser's Special Assistant Dr Anisuzzaman Chowdhury on Monday stressed the importance of raising public awareness about the difference between Sukuk and traditional bonds.

“Sukuk generates profit, while bonds pay interest. People must understand this distinction," he said while speaking as the special guest at a seminar titled "Unlocking Bangladesh's Bond and Sukuk Markets: Fiscal Space, Infrastructure Delivery and Islamic Money Market Development" at the DSE Tower in the city.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) jointly organised the seminar.

Anisuzzaman Chowdhury emphasised the need for regulatory strengthening and reform, noting that Bangladesh has repeatedly failed to learn from past mistakes.

"We made mistakes in creating investment tools to keep funds within the country. We repeated these mistakes again and again," he said.

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed attended the seminar as the chief guest while Independent Director of the DSE Syeda Zakeerin Bakht Nasir presided over it.

Among others, Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur, BSEC Chairman Khondoker Rashed Maqsood, Financial Institutions Division Secretary Najma Mobarek and DBA President Saiful Islam were present.

Delivering the keynote presentation, Professor at the University of New Orleans Kabir Hassan pointed out large-scale misappropriation and corruption in the banking sector, singling out conglomerates such as Beximco and S Alam for weakening the sector.

He alleged that S Alam Group was mainly responsible for damaging Islami Bank and the broader Islamic banking system.

Hassan further noted that corporate bonds remain severely underdeveloped in Bangladesh due to the dominance of bank loans, stressing the importance of financial literacy, stronger legal frameworks, and a shift toward long-term financing through bonds and sukuk.