Masrur Reaz Appointed Chairman Of BSEC

Dr M Masrur Reaz, a prominent economist and public policy expert, has been appointed as the chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) for a four-year term with immediate effect.

The Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance issued a notification in this regard on Tuesday.

Mr Reaz will replace Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul Islam, who stepped down on Saturday -- five days after the fall of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the wake of a mass uprising.

Dr Reaz is the chairman & CEO of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, a private think tank. He worked as a Senior Economist in the Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice of the World Bank Group (WBG) where he served for ten years during 2010-2020.

As part of WBG work, he was based in WBG’s Singapore hub office in 2019-2020 and led on competitiveness initiatives in the East Asia and Pacific, and South Asia regions.

He also served as the Programme Manager/Head of the Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF), a flagship initiative of the World Bank Group that helps strengthen the economic competitiveness of Bangladesh.

Masrur task-led WBG’s support to the Government of India on reform efforts related to Ease of Doing Business over the period 2015-2017. He led the World Bank Group’s investment climate programme in Nepal in 2013-2014 and led a strategy team in 2013 to develop Trade & Competitiveness strategy in Sri Lanka.

Prior to joining the World Bank Group, Masrur worked as an Adviser in the Economic Growth team of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) where he led programmes on financial infrastructure, tax reform, privatisation, and business enabling environment. Masrur earlier worked in academia as an Assistant Professor of Finance, and in the private sector as an analyst. He has published several research publications in international and regional journals, and authored a number of knowledge pieces within the World Bank Group.

Masrur is a commonwealth scholar and holds a PhD in Development Economics from the University Of Manchester, UK, and an MBA from the University of New Orleans, USA. Dr Reaz is the founder and Chairman of Policy Exchange of Bangladesh, a private sector think-tank focusing on applied public policy and market solutions for economic growth.