KATHMANDU, Jan 24:  The government has formed a committee to study the need for a new stock exchange.

According to Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Prakash Jwala, a study committee was formed under the coordination of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)’s former deputy governor Chintamani Siwakoti by the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

According to sources, there is a chartered accountant and a legal practitioner in the said committee. However, the names of the members have not been disclosed.

There was a controversy last year after the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) started the process of granting license to a new stock exchange on 18 September 2022.

On 9 May 2023, the Cabinet meeting instructed SEBON to stop the license process of the stock exchange after the applications of the interested companies for new licenses were requested.

However, even before that, the Supreme Court had dismissed a writ petition to stop the license process and the Public Accounts Committee of parliament had also given instructions to proceed with the licensing process, so the board wanted to proceed with this process.

However, the Ministry of Finance had written a letter to SEBON asking for clarity on the need for further study on this issue. The Board had replied that there was no need to study this matter further.

The Ministry of Finance sent a proposal to the Cabinet along with the Board's letter saying that since the Cabinet meeting itself had previously instructed to suspend the license process, further decisions should be taken.

Earlier, the Council of Ministers had given instructions to suspend the process. So, a study committee was formed with the conclusion that a study should be conducted.

 
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