Banking News – Nepal Securities Board Chairman Gopal Bhatt has pledged to address an eight-point reform agenda aimed at improving Nepal’s capital market following discussions with five investor associations.

The commitment came during a meeting between SEBON and representatives of the Nepal Securities Investors Association, Nepal Shareholders Association, Nepal Investors Association, Nepal Share Market Investors Association, and the General Investors Association, where the current state of the capital market and measures for its reform were discussed.

During the meeting held on Monday, Bhatt expressed commitment to implementing the following key reforms to enhance transparency and efficiency in the capital market:

• Preparation of a vision paper: SEBON is preparing a comprehensive vision paper to guide capital market reforms and make the market more transparent and systematic.
• Review of IPO approvals: The board is seriously studying measures to immediately halt initial public offerings (IPOs) of companies with negative net worth, while also reviewing the issuance of premium-priced and book-building IPOs.
• Improved grievance handling: SEBON aims to establish a mechanism within a week that will enable investors’ grievances to be addressed efficiently without requiring them to visit the board’s office.
• Stakeholder consultation in policymaking: The board pledged to formulate policies only after holding consultations with relevant stakeholders.
• Stronger market regulation: SEBON said it would strengthen oversight against those spreading misleading rumors about the stock market, manipulating public sentiment through social media, or misusing technical analysis to engage in insider trading.
• Action against pre-IPO irregularities: The regulator committed to immediately curb irregularities related to pre-IPO investments and take necessary legal action against those involved.
• Monitoring market institutions: The board will monitor whether market makers, dealers, and mutual funds are operating in line with their intended objectives and will keep broker licensing open.
• Tax and regulatory coordination: SEBON will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to review the capital gains tax structure for short-, medium-, and long-term investments. It will also seek a review of Demat depository participant (DP) charges and study the possibility of maintaining a 51:49 promoter-to-public shareholding ratio for companies.

The investor groups urged SEBON to expedite reforms to improve transparency, strengthen investor confidence, and support the long-term development of Nepal’s capital market.