- Tilak Koirala
The stock market, which has been closed since the Genji people’s movement, should now be opened only after the appointment of the interim finance minister. Before that, the Securities Board of Nepal and Nepal Rastra Bank must do the following:
1. Point No. 35 of the report submitted by the study committee formed to study the capital and money market on December 19, 2018: In order to protect the interests of ordinary investors, the lockin period of promoter shares held by the founders of real sector corporates is yet to be reviewed in a way that is in line with the provisions made by the regulatory bodies of other financial sectors. To approve the issuance of primary shares of the companies that have filed an application with the Board and to postpone the process of accepting new applications until further arrangement. Companies that do not have 51 percent promoter stake will be prohibited from issuing right shares.
2. Banks and financial institutions will be allowed to buy up to 10% of their primary capital and maximum 1% shares of listed companies having more than 10 million units of ordinary shares, have positive net worth, have distributed dividends in the previous years and sell them after 90 days.
3. Allow listed investment companies to invest 50% of their portfolio in secondary markets as per point 330 of the budget statement and remove restrictions on sale of shares for six months by mutual funds.
4. Stock dealers and subsidiary brokers of commercial banks will start margin trading and encourage other brokers to ensure the availability of transaction money to the investors.
5. For companies having less than 10 million units of ordinary shares, the maximum limit of increasing and decreasing circuit breaker will be reduced to 5 percent, for companies larger than that, the limit of decreasing and increasing will be kept unchanged to 5 percent.
Without this, there will be no permission to open the stock market. This is the mandate of millions of investors involved in the Genji movement. Market reform, expansion and the welfare of investors are our responsibility.
