Indian and Chinese companies have locked horns over a 25 per cent stake in Bangladesh’s main stock exchange, with the proposed investment threatening to descend into a geopolitical clash.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange has accepted an offer from a consortium of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges to buy the shares for Tk22 ($0.26) each — significantly higher than the Tk15 per share offered by India’s National Stock Exchange — valuing the stake at Tk9.9bn.
But now the Indian company is lobbying Bangladeshi regulators, who must approve the deal, to persuade the DSE to reconsider, arguing that China wants to use the investment to further its growing political power in south Asia.