The government has increased the salary and allowances of the chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission more than threefold and substantially increased the remuneration of commissioners as part of efforts to attract competent professionals to the capital market regulator.

According to a recent government order, the monthly salary and allowances of the BSEC chairman have been raised to Tk 6 lakh from Tk 1.75 lakh previously.

Under the earlier structure, the chairman received a basic salary of Tk 86,000 and allowances amounting to Tk 89,000, bringing total monthly remuneration to Tk 1.75 lakh.

The salary and allowances of BSEC commissioners have also been increased to Tk 4 lakh a month from Tk 1.58 lakh previously.

The government said in its order that the revised remuneration package was approved considering inflationary pressures and the need to attract qualified and competent professionals to lead the capital market regulator.

In addition to the enhanced salary package, the chairman and commissioners will be entitled to official vehicles and drivers on a full-time basis.

The revision came shortly after the government reconstituted the securities regulator following a change in its top leadership.

On June 4, the Financial Institutions Division under the finance ministry appointed Masud Khan, group chief executive officer of Crown Cement and chairman of Unilever Consumer Care Limited, as chairman of the BSEC for a four-year term.

At the same time, Advocate Nahid Mahtab, a former deputy attorney general, Tanwir Habib Rahman, finance director of Asa International, and Md Nafeez Al Tarik, managing director of Dhaka Bank Securities Limited, were appointed commissioners for the same tenure.

The new appointments followed the resignation of former BSEC chairman Khondoker Rashed Maqsood and commissioners Md Saifuddin, Md Mohsin Chowdhury, Md Ali Akbar and Farzana Lalarukh, who submitted their resignation letters to the Financial Institutions Division on the same day.