Kathmandu. Point 322 of the new budget (2082/083) states, “The institutional capacity of the Securities Board will be strengthened to protect the interests of the citizens in the capital market.” Institutional capacity will be enhanced by restructuring the Nepal Stock Exchange. “It is mentioned.
The 92-page budget statement does not mention the concept of a new stock exchange anywhere. The report of the High Level Economic Suggestion Commission states that the Nepal Stock Exchange should be restructured and its capital should be increased and the private sector should participate in the shares. The commission led by former finance secretary Rameshwor Khanal has made it clear that it does not need new stocks.
A three-member working group formed to study the report has also approved the suggestion and approved it in the meeting of the Council of Ministers held on May 15. Revenue Secretary Dinesh Ghimire, then Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office Chudamani Poudel and then Commerce Secretary Govinda Bahadur Karki were part of the taskforce. The three secretaries have clearly stressed the need to restructure NEPSE instead of the new stock exchange.
Securities Board Chairman Santosh Narayan Shrestha has called a board meeting on Thursday to distribute licenses to the new stock exchange. Chairman Shrestha has called the board meeting with only one agenda of the new stock. At a time when the Ministry of Finance and the government as a whole are backing out of the plan to distribute new stock licenses, the task of preventing one of the biggest policy corruption has reached the hands of new Governor Bishwanath Poudel.
Nepal Rastra Bank(NRB) had 34 per cent stake in NEPSE in the initial phase. It has now come down to 9.51 per cent. The main question has arisen whether the Rastra Bank will decide whether the company owned by it will lose its income. Because there is now an executive director in the securities board as a board member. Rastra Bank’s Executive Director Rewati Nepal is currently represented on the board of directors.
Governor Adhikari will be examined on what instructions Governor Poudel will give on the same board members in thursday’s meeting. Governor Poudel has a clear update on how the new stock is being born. He has successfully served as the Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission. Thousands of economics students have been educated in various national and international universities. It remains to be seen what decision Governor Poudel, who has earned national and international fame, will take.
The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), an umbrella body of private organisations, has made it clear that it will not participate in the decision that shows policy corruption. The Federation has openly opposed the decision to feed limited business houses and fatten middlemen.
Big Corporate War
The government collapsed when the process of appointing the chairman of the Securities Board did not work out. The middlemen have used all powers to get the license of the new stock exchange by keeping the board chairman in their favor. In the meantime, the biggest corporate war is going on so far.
Three files have been filed to get the license for the new stock. Communication entrepreneur and Captain Rameshwor Thapa has set up a file in the name of Annapurna Stock Exchange. National Stock Exchange led by businessman Upendra Mahato and Himalayan Stock Exchange under the leadership of businessman Deepak Bhatta have been formed.
Controversy has erupted after all three corporate houses portrayed the new stock exchange as a money printing machine. According to sources, corporate houses have agreed to pay a premium of Rs 300 for shares worth Rs 100 to get licenses for new stocks. In this way, the company with a paid-up capital of Rs 3 billion is planning to raise more than Rs 5 billion.
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