Finance panel discusses share market; investors demand new securities act

Investors have demanded that the government immediately bring a new, time-appropriate securities act, saying legal gaps and a two-decade-old law have fueled misgovernance in the share market. Khagendra Raj Kandel, general secretary of the Nepal Stock Exchange Investors' Association, accused the Ministry of Finance of cooperating more closely with vested interest groups on share market matters.

At a meeting of Parliament's Finance Committee held Wednesday, stakeholders raised concerns over the sharp decline in the capital market and investors' waning confidence. Association chairman Haribahadur KC demanded the immediate formation of a Securities Commission to resolve capital market problems. Ghanashyam Pandey said founders' "IPO farming" and weak regulation had increased risk.

Market expert Ajay Kumar Shrestha said capital market policies were focused more on trading and short-term profit than on investors' interests. Shiva Prasad Chaulagain, chairman of the Nepal Capital Market Investors' Association, stressed the need to manage IPOs and subsequent share supply in an orderly manner. Researcher Drishti Pant said the concept paper on intraday trading introduced by the Securities Board was headed in the right direction but faced implementation challenges.

According to details presented at the meeting by Securities Board Chairman Dr. Gopal Prasad Bhatta, the number of demat account holders has reached 8,095,000.