KATHMANDU, July 16: The Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has unveiled a 72-point Policy and Program for Fiscal Year 2019/20 for the development of the securities and commodities exchange market.

The list unveiled by Sebon's Executive Chairman Rewat Bahadur Karki amid a ceremony held in the capital on Monday includes commitment to license commodities exchange markets and bring them into operation, book building system for premium pricing of public offering of companies and effective implementation of 'one citizen one demat account', among others.

These 72-point list comes in addition to the Sebon's 27 regular programs for overall market reform and development for the upcoming fiscal year.

Similar to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) that releases monetary policy in the banking and financial sector, the Sebon has started to make public its policy and program for every fiscal year since FY2017/18 for the development of securities and commodities exchange market.

The policy and program also includes an announcement to take forward the process of allowing the establishment and operation of another stock exchange company as well as reforming the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse).

Sebon Chairman Karki said that the apex regulator of the securities market will also take initiatives to bring down the trading and settlement time from existing T+3 days (trading day plus three days and strengthen the secondary market of the country. Currently, it takes four days for the settlement of any trading of stocks.

The board also has a plan to encourage and facilitate manufacturing companies with a capital above Rs 1 billion to bring them in the capital market. Sebon also announced a plan to revise the existing rule on the lock-in period for the promoter shareholders of the listed companies. Helping to facilitate in getting concessional loans for the listed companies with best grading, automated trading system of over-the-counter market, fee revision of credit rating companies and enforcement of the insider trading related regulation which is currently at the last stage of drafting, are other major policies and programs that are on the card for the upcoming fiscal year.

“Due to a number of structural reforms carried out in recent years as well as basic infrastructure already built, we believe that the policy and program coupled with the government's policy to promote capital market will help in the development and expansion of the securities market in Fiscal Year 2019/20,” said Karki.

 
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