Kathmandu, Mar. 7
The Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) is
initiating programmes to protect the small investors and attract 'real sector'
companies to the share market.
"Protection of small investors is my
priority. For it, surveillance and enforcement of law and policies are needed,
at the same time, compliance should also be monitored, SEBON chairperson Ramesh
Hamal said in an interaction with the journalists on Monday.
He said that new programmes will be
initiated while existing will be reformed, and technological advancement would
be ensured in order to strengthen the market and promote investment.
Enhancing financial literacy, development
of technological platforms and addressing malpractices in the market have got
the top berth in Hamal's priority list.
The capital market regulator will soon
facilitate an adoption of the latest and more efficient technology to ease share
transaction and information. A system, probably an app, will be developed to
hear compliants from the market, including investors, brokers and companies.
Likewise, work to improve TMS has already begun.
A fresh campaign for financial literacy
would be launched to enhance the knowledge and awareness about the market and
investment skills. Poor financial literacy has resulted in investment risks
especially for the small investors.
"SEBON will care about the wellbeing
of the investors. We don't want investors struggling to clear their transaction
in 'T plus 2' modality. Similarly, to lower the cost of investment in the
capital market, we will conduct studies to understand the regional models for
the same," said Hamal, who was appointed as the chief of the capital
market regulating body.
However, with the growing availability of
new technological tools, investors now have the options to minimize their risks
themselves, he maintained.
He is also in a mood to form a task force
to address the challenges and problems in the market immediately.
The new chairman pledged stern actions
against the perpetrators of the financial crimes at the capital market and said
that no malpractices like insider trading would go unnoticed and unpunished. "I
wouldn't let anyone damage the reputation of the market and manipulate prices,"
said Hamal.
Establishing a capital market institute is
also in his priority list. Stating that he wanted to create its foundation
during his tenure which is for less than two years, he informed that the
institute will launch certification programmes for the different levels of
professionals in the capital market. It will be among one of the tools in protecting
the interest of investors.
Maintaining that the 'Sarbottam Cement'
fiasco would be corrected with the enactment of effective policies to attract
'real sector' companies to the stock market, Hamal said that it would strengthen
the market and provide options for investment diversification. For it, book
building policies will be reformed.
"Book building is a system adopted by
all countries across the globe. The existing book building directives will be
further reformed by incorporating the best practices and policies in the region
and elsewhere," he said.
Hamal called the real sector companies for
coming to the SEBON in order to get facilitation to be listed at the Nepal
Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Limited. Listing of large manufacturing and real sector
companies not only provides investment diversification option to the investors
but also yields more revenue to the government and stabilize the market.
In terms of commodity market, he pledged to
launch it after formulating brokerage, warehouse and transaction policies and
laws needed to regulate and operate it.
Executive Director of the SEBON, Niraj Giri
said that it is not necessary that the market would always go up, there are and
will be fluctuations.
The SEBON also informed that the process
for the IPO of hydroelectricity companies would be expedited and most of the
cases would be solved within the current fiscal year 2021/22.
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