Triveni Bikash Bank Ltd to issue IPO

Triveni Bikash Bank Ltd. is issuing an initial public offering (IPO) for the general public. Total 1,50,000 shares amounting to Rs. 15 million is being issued at the rate of Rs. 100 per share. The company is issuing the IPO from 17th July, 2008 to 22nd July, 2008 (2065 Shrawan 2 to 2065 Shrawan 7). The issue will be managed by Ace Development Bank (ACEDBL).
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‘Improve investment climate to prevent capital flight’

The government must reduce the cost of doing business in Nepal by creating investor-friendly policies and quality infrastructure to prevent capital flight, said economists and bankers.

Speaking at a program entitled “Capital Movement in the Nepalese Economy: Status and Consequences”, they said that, in a globally integrated and competitive environment, people would try to bring capital where they see better returns. Nepal Rastra Bank, Bankers' Training Center organized the event.

Acting governor of the central bank Krishna Bahadur Manandhar said that tracking capital movement from and to Nepal was difficult as capital accounts were not opened. “Presently, Nepalis are not allowed to invest in foreign lands. We need to move ahead with new timely laws in this connection,” he said.

He said that controlling capital flow was not an easy task in a country like Nepal which shares an open border with a fast growing, huge economy.

Nepal Bankers Association president Radhesh Pant said that instead of controlling capital, the government should look into what is more beneficial for the country.

“We have experienced capital flight. People are taking money across the border as the cost of doing business in Nepal is higher,” he said. Kush Kumar Joshi, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that investments in major sectors had not picked up notwithstanding the changed scenario in Nepal.

“Higher interest rates offered by Indian banks on deposits have lured Nepali capital to India,” he said. In order to protect local capital and woo foreign money, he said the government must make timely changes in the Industrial Policy.

He said that as the continued feeling of insecurity about doing business in Nepal has led to capital flight, a marked improvement in the investment scenario was quite essential.

Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) will be just a dream until we raise the confidence level of domestic investors, he said.

Stating that the problem of capital flight was partly a product of political problems, Dr Raghab Dhoj Pant, a monetary economist, said the central bank could hardly address it.
Source: eKantipur

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Gold becomes dearer

The price of gold, once again, is touching the sky. Although in the international market, it hit $944 per ounce today, a rise by $2 from yesterday, it showed a reverse trend in the domestic market and fell by Rs 100 per tola (11.664 gram) from yesterday.

It touched Rs 20,920 per 10 gram — Rs 24,400 per tola — in the domestic market today. Yesterday, it hit Rs 21,005 per per 10 gram — Rs 24,500 per tola.

However today, the price of the precious yellow metal decreased by Rs 100 to Rs 20,920 per 10 gram.

“Due to the off-season and tepid market response, we did not increase the price today,” Tej Ratna Shakya, president of the Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (NEGOSIDA), said adding, “Rather, the stockist decreased the price by Rs 100 per tola in the domestic market.” “The price of gold in the global market is rising as the price of crude is also touching new highs everyday,” he said, pointing to the possibility of gold hitting Rs 25,000 per tola. “If the current bullish trend continues, soon the price of gold will cross Rs 25,000 per tola in the domestic market also,” he added.

Earlier — on March 17 — gold had touched a historic high of Rs 25,000 per tola in the domestic market.

The huge rise in crude price that soared to a record above $145 a barrel today fuelled by concerns over a larger-than-expected drop in US stockpiles and threat of conflict with Iran, slowdown of US economy, the weak global stock markets and further weakening of the dollar have been pushing the price of gold up over the last two months.

The price of gold has jumped nearly by 20 per cent since the start of the year after rising nearly 32 per cent in 2007.

The demand that has been continuously rising in the largest gold consuming countries like India and China has also fuelled the price hike.

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Universal Finance Ltd's Bonus Share Enlisted

1,00,878 number of bonus shares of Universal Finance Ltd. has been enlisted in the Nepal stock Exchange on 1st July, 2008 (2065 Ashad 17).
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IME Financial Institution to issue right share

IME Financial Institution is about to issue its right shares in the ratio 1:1. At present the company has Rs. 100 million paid up capital, Rs. 640 million authorized capital and Rs. 400 million issue capital. After the issuance, total paid up capital would be Rs. 200 million. Nepal Merchant bank has been appointed as an issue manager. Altogether, the company has 7 remit counters in the country and a branch office in Gangabu. Yogeshwor Dhakal, CEO of the company said, "IME will be expanding its branch on Narayangadh and Dang very soon". He added, "Within six month the organization has planned to extend 10 more branches".
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Nepal Telecom not keen on listing shares

The mantra of investing in stocks is that you buy them to make money. But, until stocks are listed and trading starts, it’s no-go.

Nepal Telecom (NT) has not yet applied to Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) for listing its shares. According to the Securities Registration and Issue Approval Guideline 2057, a company must apply for listing to Nepse within 45 days of share allotment. But, 45 days have already passed since the allotment of NT’s shares.

“If the company does not list its shares at Nepse within 45 days, it has to apply to Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) with a proper explanation and seek a 30-day extension,” states the guideline. NT has also not applied to Sebon for extension.

“NT does not need to follow the guideline as it is not a ‘normal’ public issue. It has floated its shares under the govern ment’s divestment programme,” said a NT employee.

Citizen Investment Trust, the issue manager of NT, allotted the NT shares on May 16. Except for a few applicants, whose forms lacked proper documents and signatures, all those who applied got the shares.

“Nepse will decide whether to list or not within 30 days after it receives the application,” said Rewat Bahadur Karki, general manager of Nepse, the sole secondary market.

NT called the bid for its shares quoting Rs 600 minimum after adding Rs 500 premium to the face value of Rs 100 for each unit. Investors quoted a maximum of Rs 2,550 to the lowest of Rs 600 for a share.

As part of the divestment and privatisation plan, the government has sold NT’s 10 per cent shares to the public through auction. It has already sold five per cent to NT’s employees at a subsidized rate of Rs 90 per unit.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Nepse delisted five more companies — Nepal Byapar Bikas Co (Koshi) Ltd, Nepal Rastriya Utpadakatwa & Arthik Bikas Kendra Ltd, Himgiri Textile Industries Ltd, Biratnagar Jute Mills Ltd and Morang Sugar Mills Ltd.

It has already, in two phases, delisted 38 companies worth billions. The number of delisted companies has reached 43.

“They can be automatically listed in the Over the Counter (OTC) market,” said Karki.

Most delisted companies have closed down and nobody knows the whereabouts of their representatives. Some have become promoters of newly opened financial institutions.

According to the Stock Exchange Regulation-2002, companies that do not respond to Nepse within 15 days of its decision to delist them are automatically delisted.

After the Securities Board of Nepal’s (Sebon) approval, Nepse has brought the OTC Market Regulation but it has seen no transaction till date.
Source: THT

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Some dos and don'ts

With the democratic changes that we are experiencing, I personally see a great opportunity for the government to put the economic development agenda on track. A good regulatory environment with sound corporate governance and healthy investment climate are important for macroeconomic stability, sustained economic growth and prosperity. A strong financial sector plays a vital role in channeling funds to productive investment projects and promoting economic efficiency.

In the current context, I believe, top priority in this budget has to be given to infrastructure development to spur the much needed economic growth, generate jobs and reduce poverty. With adequate infrastructure, business value chains across the country can be made sustainable and economic pockets developed in the country - especially in the rural areas. Economic activities today are basically dependent on access to financial services.

In order to enhance economic development and further strengthen the financial sector, it is pertinent that the current budget encomp-ass the following:

• Need to foster the establishment of an Infrastructure Development Institution (IDI) promoted by commercial banks and multilateral agencies by way of the government's equity participation and assigning IDI to be the facilitator of Infrastructure Development.

• Need to enhance access to finance throughout the country by allowing banks to establish micro finance institutions and service centers. In this regard, Micro Finance Act needs to be amended and implemented.

• Remittance plays an effective role in reducing poverty. Therefore, government needs to promote and facilitate remittance through formal channels.

• Corporate governance of other sectors needs to be strengthened by strictly adhering to universally acceptable accounting standards and codes for full transparency and disclosures.

• Secured Transaction and Bankruptcy Act needs to be implemented at the earliest to enhance credit quality and control.

• To strengthen the financial sector for sustainable competitive market, government needs to promote and strengthen Credit Information Bureau (CIB), Credit Rating Agency, Asset Management Company, Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) and Commercial Benches.

• Our capital market is not yet mature — the size of capital market instruments and players are very limited. In this scenario, investors' trust in the Nepali capital market is a must. Therefore, government should empower Securities Exchange Board of Nepal (Sebon) and Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) to enhance and promote efficient capital market.

• To compete now and beyond the year 2010, Nepali financial institutions will have to embark on consolidation to build not only financial capacity but to promote domestic reach and competitiveness through shared skills. As such, any legal hurdle in M&A needs to be addressed and simplified. For example, tax treatment of M&A and treatment of staff redundancy etc.

• Competition in domestic banking system has not only become fierce but is dangerously moving towards unhealthy competition. As a result, government needs to revise the licensing procedures to create a healthy investment climate. In developing countries like Nepal where capital markets are less developed, a healthy banking sector is a must for avoiding financial crises, attracting foreign investment, and providing the private sector easy access to finance.

• Tax rates for financial intermediaries need to be lowered to 25 per cent from the current level of 30 per cent to bring it at par with those applicable to manufacturing and other industries.

• There has been a spate of bank robberies including physical assaults on financial sector staff. Therefore, policies such as ‘zero tolerance' need to be introduced to enhance the security of those working in the financial sector, among others.
Source: THT

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Listen Nepali FM Live - Kantipur FM, HITS FM, Image FM, Radio Sagarmatha, BFBS and more

BBC Nepali

HITS F.M.

NEPAL F.M.

GORKHA F.M.

UJYAALLO F.M.

RADIO SAGARMATHA

RADIO LUMBINI

MAITRI F.M.

BHOJPURIYA F.M.

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Book Closure: Neco Insurance Co. Ltd (NIL)

Neco Insurance Co. Ltd. is issuing 1:1 right share. For this purpose it is having its book closure on 10th July, 2008 (2065 Ashad 26)
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Share Certificate Distribution: Lumbini Fin. & Leasing Co. Ltd (LFLC)

Lumbini Fin. & Leasing Co. Ltd. is distributing its bonus share certificate from 6th July, 2008 (2065 Ashad 22).
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Right Share Allotment Notice:Laxmi Bank Ltd (LBL)

Laxmi Bank Ltd. has allotted the right shares issued on 2nd May, 2008 (2065 Baisakh 20).
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Global Bank Ltd. to issue IPO

Global Bank Ltd. is presenting an initial public offering for the general public. Total 30,00,000 shares amounting to Rs. 300 million is being issued at the rate of Rs. 100 per share. The company is issuing the IPO from 9th July, 2008 to 14th July, 2008 (2065 Ashad 25 to 2065 Ashad 30). The issue will be managed by NIDC Capital Markets, Kamalpokhari, Kathmandu.
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NEPSE delists 5 more companies and welcomes for OTC market

To make the securities exchange market more competitive, translucent and trustworthy, Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) confiscated five more companies from listed group throwing them to OTC market, as per securities regulation 2053, section 17(Ka). Nepal Byapar Bikash Company(Koshi), National Pro.& Eco.Dev.Centre Ltd., Himgiri Textile and Industries Ltd., Biratnagar Jute Mills Ltd., and Morang Sugar Mills Ltd.

As per the prevailing legislation, the delisted companies failed to submit renewal charge, discontinue Annual General Meeting, failed to audit financial status, unreachable contact address of registered office and discontinuation of communication from the promoters, board of directors and management of the concerned companies to the stock exchange and the regulators, NEPSE deemed to delist such companies. These delisted companies got space for Over the Counter (OTC) market of Nepal which NEPSE itself has initiated. Now the total number of companies accessible for trading at OTC market approached total 43.

The attempt of NEPSE is commendable and urgent to make Nepalese Stock Market more vibrant. Such initiation lead investor confidence in the market and ultimately widen the horizon of capital market of Nepal.

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Capital market drives economy

Mass participation in industrialization process is possible through the efficient securities market. Securities market promotes efficient collection of small and scattered savings and provides returns. It plays a key role in allocating capital to the corporate sector that will have a real effect in the economy. But the stock market in Nepal is not yet mature in terms of its infrastructure, governance, investors' confidence and pricing of stock and stability. Thus, it needs to address some issues:

• Sebon needs operational autonomy as, at present, it has to get approval from Ministry of Finance for the issuance of necessary regulations.

• On line trading system and Central Depository System (CDS) of securities needs to be established soon. The practice of keeping physical certificates of securities has created various hurdles. The infrastructures like on line trading and CDS are must before opening the secondary markets for foreign investors and NRNs.

• There is a need to professionalise the market intermediary services by inducting new market intermediaries like underwriters, share registrars, portfolio managers, investment advisors with adequate monitoring and supervision mechanism.

• There is a challenge to adopt free pricing and proportionate allocation system in public issue of securities. The fair and transparent allocation of securities in public issue is needed.

• The allocation system presently followed is weighted allocation system giving more weight to the applicant applying for small number of shares.

• It has led to a high practice of making ineligible application for subscribing public issue and thereby restricting mass participation in the stock markets. Mass participation in the stock market will lead to a sustainable and healthy practise and reduces chances of foul-play.

• There is need and challenges to introduce and encourage the use of different types of securities instruments. The diversity in securities market instruments will attract the investors of various risk-return preferences and thereby promoting the size of the market.

• Trust Act, which is the basic law required to operate mutual funds, is in its legislative process that must be brought soon.

• There is poor disclosure practice, which is supported by the fact that during the fiscal year 2004-05 to 2006-07, only 7.34 per cent of the total listed companies presenting their annual reports and other financial statements to Sebon on time.

• Reforms in related laws need to be carried out to pave the way for coming up with corporate governance codes for listed companies. These codes should in general focus on segregation of role of CEO and the Board, conduction of board meetings, effective functioning of the independent directors, audit and other internal committees, disclosure and compliances, protection of the interest of minority shareholders. The codes should be made mandatory to all.

• Institutional investors are more equipped and resourceful to judge investment value and thus make rational decisions on buying and selling securities.

• Uniform accounting and auditing standards and reporting
Source: THT

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Rising inflation a major challenge

Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal said that the soaring oil deficit, rising inflation and dwindling exports were the main challenges for the domestic economy.

Addressing a press interaction on the upcoming fiscal budget, organized by the Reporters' Club here Tuesday, he said that although a healthy revenue collection and improvement in capital expenditures painted a rosy picture of the future course of the economy, there was an urgent need to address the new challenges.

Khanal said that the upcoming budget would mainly focus on improving people's accessibility to basic services like education and health, and vowed that the budget would be able to make people feel change.

"We also need to enhance the state's expenditure capacity before taking any decision to increase the size of the budget," he said. He further added, "A true republic in the sense of a republic can only be achieved by replacing feudalistic distribution and production channels in order to ensure smooth supplies of basic services," he said.

Constituent Assembly member Janardhan Sharma said that the upcoming budget should be able to address aspirations of people but stressed that a basic budgetary discipline should be maintained in doing so. "The budget should clearly spell out programs and polices to raise national production and generate more employment opportunities.

Speaking at the interaction, professor Bishwambher Pyakuryal questioned the estimated economic growth rate forecasted by the National Planning Commission for the current fiscal year and said that an expenditure worth Rs 196 billion would be ideal for the next fiscal year. "Given the available resources and expenditure capacity we have, it would be better to allocate an expenditure of around Rs 196 billion," he said.

He also painted a gloomy picture of the economy and said that the economy is already not only in hyper inflation but also suffering from stagflation.

President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce Surendra Bir Malakar demanded that the upcoming budget focus on addressing the concerns the private sector has been repeatedly raising. Moreover, the government should formulate policies targeted at improving the investment climate by improving the law and order situation, and industrial relations.

Joint Secretary Krishna Hari Baskota highlighted the possible scenario of the new budget and said that it would focus on infrastructure development.
Source: eKantipur

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Peoples Finance Ltd to sell Promoter Share

Peoples Finance Ltd. has noticed its own promoter shareholders giving the first preference for buying its promoter share within 35 days of the notice published in the Daily Newspapers. (First Date of Publication: 2065 Ashad 17)
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Financial houses deal with NMB to issue rights shares

Five financial institutions — Mahalaxmi Finance Ltd, Birgunj Finance Ltd, Siddhartha Finance Ltd, Butwal Finance Ltd and Himchuli Development Bank — have signed an accord with NMB Bank Ltd to issue rights shares.

“The companies that currently have Rs 60 million to 90 million paid up capital have to increase their paid up capital to Rs 400 million each to make a total of Rs 2 billion required for a commercial bank,” said Upendra Poudyal, issue manager and CEO of NMB Bank, adding that they would float rights shares within three months.

After a special AGM, they proposed rights shares but at different ratios according to their present capital structure.

They signed an accord on April 28 to merge and upgrade to an A-level commercial bank. On Jue 24, they had applied to the central bank for Letter of Intention (LoI).

“They are planning to increase their paid up capital to Rs 400 million each to upgrade to a Rs 2 billion commercial bank,” said Ramesh Kumar Bhattarai, coordinator of the merger committee.

The proposed A-class commercial bank will have its head office in Kathmandu and the head offices of each of the financial institutions in the districts will work as branch offices, Bhattarai said, adding that it was an added advantage for the bank as the five financial institutions already have their foothold in different districts. “Unlike other newly opened institutions, we don’t need to search for a new market,” he said.

However, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) has halted share trading of these five financial institutions until further notice till May 8. The news of their merger and upgradation to an A-class commercial bank has fuelled the share prices of these financial institutions, forcing Nepse to act immediately.

The four finance companies and the development bank jointly announced their merger to become a commercial bank with a paid up capital of Rs 2 billion. However, citing a huge difference in the size of their paid capital, unclear policy on their liability and the ratio between share and capital reserve Nepse asked them to bring the LoI from Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the regulatory authority of the financial market.

“They also have not got any approval from NRB, the central bank,” said Nepse. As per the regulation, they must get the regulatory authority’s prior approval.

The stock market is also sensitive to rumors that it may lead to ‘unnatural’ price rise of their scrips making new investors more vulnerable.
Source: THT

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Reliable Investment Bittiya Sanstha to issue IPO

Reliable Investment Bittiya Sanstha Ltd. is presenting an initial public offering for the general public. Total 247500 shares amounting to Rs. 2,47,50,000 is being issued at the rate of Rs. 100 per share. The company is issuing the IPO from 7th July, 2008 to 11th July, 2008 (2065 Ashad 23 to 2065 Ashad 27). The issue will be managed by NIDC Capital Market and NMB Bank.

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Right Share Issue: Nepal Housing Development Finance Co. Ltd (NABB)

Nepal Housing Development Finance Co. Ltd (NABB) is issuing 1:1 right share from 15th July, 2008 to 18th August, 2008(2065 Ashad 31 to 2065 Bhadra 2).
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Upcoming AGM of Nepal Shree Lanka Merchant Bank Ltd. (NSLMB)

Nepal Shree Lanka Merchant Bank Ltd. has announced its 10th, 11th and 12th AGM to be held on 20th July, 2008(2065 Shrawan 5). The management is going to propose in its AGM to issue 1:2 right share in order to increase its paid up capital.
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Bank of Asia to raise Rs 300m

Parshuram Kunwar Chhetri holds the reins of the Bank of Asia Nepal as chief executive officer. Chhetri said the bank, armed with 220 years of banking experience, was striving to expand services by opening more branches and establishing a strong and deep-rooted banking culture and structure. Krishna Regmi of the Post discussed with him the bank's strategies to compete and grow. Excerpts:

How do you gauge the bank's performance?

Instead of looking at earning small profits, say Rs 5 or 10 million annually, we are focused on establishing a strong base of banking culture, network and governance. Merely holding an operating license and setting up a head office does not make a true and complete bank. We are trying to sharpen the staff's skills. Efforts are on to put in place strong policies and procedures. We feel that the bank has opened for business, but it is not yet well established. We are working on it.

How would you want to make your bank different from others?

First and foremost, we are among the very few banks in Nepal which pay very good interest on deposits. Presently, we are offering 6 percent interest on daily balance and 6.5 percent on monthly balance. As can be seen in the market, the interest paid by other banks is far below what are we offering. Another area on which we are focusing is service. In fact, what new banks can do to win the hearts and minds of customers is offer better services.

You have a high deposit rate. What is your strategy for growth?

We are working on a really low spread, which is the difference between deposit and lending rates. Obviously, it is difficult to sustain the bank with this level of spread that we currently have. We are making hard efforts to raise the volume of capital substantially so that the cost will be split. As a result, the current spread level will be adequate to run, sustain and foster the bank. Another healthy source of revenue for us is non-interest income, which is commission from opening letters of credit, and foreign exchange. We are making continued efforts to increase this revenue. Compared to other new banks, our non-interest earnings are very good. This has added to our profitability and prospects.

Do you think that the competition resulting from the rising number of banks is healthy and moving in the right direction?

I am facing problems in finding and exploring new deposits. Although the deposit crunch has eased somewhat in the last few weeks, the flow of funds is very slow. Our own recent research reveals that deposit mobilization is far below the lending ability of banks and customer demand. Tougher days are ahead. As political instability is fast coming to an end and the economy is on a revival course, everybody will be encouraged to start some enterprise. This means the demand for loans will rise considerably. But it is really difficult to find the money to lend to them. Therefore, we need more capital regardless of how it arrives, whether in the form of new banks or a growth in the lending capacity of new banks.

What plans do you have for growth and focused investment? How are you going to raise capital?

We still have a long way to go to make the bank well established, which is our immediate task. New branches will be opened aggressively. Our economy is too small to focus on a particular area for survival. So we want to invest in every sphere of the economy, from hydropower to consumer and corporate lending. Regarding increasing the paid-up capital that currently stands at Rs 700 million, we are going to make an initial public offering (IPO) in the next fiscal year to raise Rs 300 million. In the following year, we will distribute right shares in the ratio of 1:1 and meet the central bank's requirement of Rs 2 billion.

What do you suggest that the government do to let the banking sector thrive?

The main hurdle is that the environment is not friendly to investors, thereby diminishing the lending prospects of banks. The government should give a clear message that its policy is to support investors by making a move to solve the labor problems or build necessary infrastructure. Its policies and programs should be designed to attract investors. The major complaint of the banking sector is that the government taxes it at a very high rate. We pay 31.5 percent tax. We feel we are being penalized for being transparent.

With political stability returning, how would you forecast the country's economic performance in the next fiscal year?

It is very encouraging that political stability is fast materializing. We are fully optimistic that the economy will get preference over politics in the nation's agenda from now on. We expect Nepal to become a better place to work and invest. There are strong signals that the economy will be on the track to full recovery.
Source: eKantipur

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Sunrise Bank opens Gabahal branch

Sunrise Bank Ltd has opened a new branch in Gabahal of Lalitpur on Thursday. The new branch was inaugurated by culture expert Satya Mohan Joshi. Kishore Maharjan, chief executive officer of the bank, said the bank's involvement will be significant in promoting Small and Medium Enterprises as well as local arts and culture in the district. Issuing a press release, the bank said it had collected Rs 4 billion as deposits and invested over Rs 3.5 billion as loans. The bank said it is planning to set up 10 more branches by September this year.
Source: eKantipur

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NIC branch in Bhaktapur

NIC Bank today opened its Bhaktapur branch, the fourth one in the Kathmandu Valley. In a statement, the bank said Jagadish Prasad Agrawal, chairman of the bank, inaugurated the branch. The branch provides a full range of products and services including all modern banking facilities like trade finance, remittance, business and customer loans, ATM/debit cards drafts, SMS banking, travelers' cheques said the bank. The bank has a total of

15 branches across the country. It is going to open branches in Battisputali in Kathamndu and Dhangadhi.
Source: eKantipur

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Primary issues pull Nepse down

The flood of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) by various financial institutions diverted the investors’ attention from the secondary market to the primary market and pulled Nepse down by 8.71 points to 951.62 points this week from last week’s closing of 960.33 points.

The sole secondary market, Nepal Stock Exchange Ltd (Nepse), had been steadily registering a growth since couple of weeks and was inching towards the 1000-point.

The IPOs, this week, put the brakes on growth and the market opened in the red.

In its five-day session in a week, Nepse ended in negative territory for first three days, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

The contribution of the companies listed under Acategory also declined this week to 56.98 per cent, whereas last week the contribution was 69.99 per cent in the total transaction.

The sensitive index - an index of the A-category companies — also dipped by 3.53 points to 250.41 points from last week’s closing of 253.94 points.

On Sunday, the secondary market opened in the red and posted a loss of 13.21 points to 947.12 points. Similarly, on Monday it plunged by 5.03 points to 942.09 points. On Tuesday also, the Nepse dipped, though marginally, by 1.17 points to 940.92 points.

Unlike last week, this week the secondary market ended in the green zone for only two days — Wednesday and Thursday — among the five-day session. On Wednesday it bounced back by 7.64 points to 948.56 points.

On Thursday, it flared up by 3.06 points to close the weekly trading at 951.62 points.

In terms of monetary value, Nepal Credit and Commerce Bank (with Rs 100.05 million), Nepal Bangladesh Bank (with Rs 92.33 million), Nepal Share Markets and Finance (with Rs 86.51 million), Nepal Investment Bank (with Rs 48.53 million) and Everest Bank (with Rs 30.55 million) are this week’s top five gainers.

Also, in terms of numbers of share units traded Nepal Credit and Commerce Bank topped the chart with 2,46,000-unit of its shares being traded this week while Nepal Share Markets and Finance topped the chart in terms of number of transactions with 373 in its kitty.

This week 83 companies — unlike last week’s 78 companies — of the total listed companies saw their shares being traded at the sole secondary market. But the transaction amount is 7.48 per cent less than last week’s.

Except finance companies’ group, all other groups including commercial banks, insurance firms, development banks, hydropower and hotel groups ended in negative territory this week.

Commercial banks, development banks, hydropower, hotel and insurance groups lost 15.06 points to 979.64 points; 13.55 points to 1170.72 points; 9.42 points to 1241.78 points; 6.03 points to 371.27 points and 14.23 points to 852.23 points, respectively. But finance companies’ group registered 25.20 points growth to 1081.87 points from last week’s closing of 1056.67 points.

Nepse, this week, also held its annual general meeting where it decided to reduce the number of directors on its board.

Globally, the capital market is considered the economic barometer of the country.

But Nepse, at present, does not reflect Nepal’s economy. Though, Nepse is bringing a new Listing Regulation, it has to encourage more real sectors to be listed and traded to make it a mirror of economy.

Nepse also plans to start Right Shares Renounce and increase the criterion to be listed in A-category in its attempts to develop the secondary market.
Source: THT
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