Chief Adviser's Special Assistant Dr Anisuzzaman Chowdhury. File Photo

DHAKA, Sept 22, 2025 (BSS) - Chief Adviser's Special Assistant Dr Anisuzzaman Chowdhury today 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.