Subscription of country’s first Orange Bond begins

The electronic subscription of “SAJIDA Orange Zero Coupon Bond,” the first of its kind in Bangladesh, started on Monday to raise Tk 1.58 billion from eligible investors through the Electronic Subscription System (ESS) platform.

The subscription will continue until May 23, says a press release.

In this regard, the Dhaka Stock Exchange and BRAC EPL Investments have signed an agreement to facilitate the electronic subscription of Bangladesh’s first Orange Bond.

The agreement was signed at the DSE office in Nikunja on Monday in the presence of senior officials from the concerned organisations.

Among others, the signing ceremony was attended by Nuzhat Anwar, managing director of DSE, Md Fazlul Hoque, deputy CEO of Sajida Foundation, and Syed Rashed Hossain, chief executive officer of BRAC EPL Investments.

Speaking at the event, Nuzhat Anwar said building innovative and inclusive financing frameworks is crucial to harnessing the country’s demographic dividend. She said innovative instruments such as Orange Bonds are creating new opportunities for alternative financing in the capital market.

Syed Rashed Hossain said the Sajida Orange Bond would help lay the foundation for an internationally aligned thematic bond market in Bangladesh.

“This initiative will create a strong impact investment platform for both local and foreign investors, ensuring financial returns alongside measurable social impact,” he said.

He also expressed hope that the bond launched through the DSE platform would pave the way for more such thematic bond issuances in the future.

Md Fazlul Hoque said implementing the investment-focused Orange Zero Coupon Bond for women is a significant initiative. He noted that Sajida Foundation has been working for more than three decades to empower women, create employment opportunities and increase income generation.

The total face value of the Sajida Orange Zero Coupon Bond issued by Sajida Foundation, one of the country’s leading development-oriented microfinance institutions, is Tk 1.58 billion.

Of the total, bonds worth Tk 757.3 million in face value have been offered to eligible investors through DSE’s ESS platform.

The bond has been structured as a zero-coupon instrument with tenures of one year, two years and three years, allowing investors to choose investment durations according to their preferences.

In March this year, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the issuance of an Orange bond, the first of its kind in the country, by SAJIDA Foundation to raise Tk 1.58 billion to finance women’s economic empowerment and accelerate progress towards gender equality.

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