Dhaka, Sept. 1 -- The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has approved a draft regulation allowing qualifying companies to get listed on stock exchanges directly, without going through an Initial Public Offering (IPO), by offloading a portion of existing shareholders' holdings.

The decision was taken at the 1,027th commission meeting held on Tuesday at the BSEC office, chaired by its Chairman Masud Khan.

Under the draft "Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Direct Listing of Securities by Stock Exchange) Rules, 2026", companies will be able to list through direct listing by offloading at least 10 to 20 percent of shares held by existing shareholders, instead of raising fresh capital through an IPO.

Eligible c...