Kathmandu, August 30 :

Nepali share investors have asked the government to open up the securities market for international investors, while allowing domestic investors to invest in foreign stock markets.

They put forth this demand to a delegation of MPs from the Finance Committee of House of Representatives, who visited the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) today. The MPs, led by Smriti Narayan Chaudhary, chairman of Finance Committee held interactions with Nepse officials and investors.

The investors asked the MPs to take initiatives for amending the laws that bar foreign investors to invest in the secondary market in Nepal. “We urged for necessary amendment in the existing legal framework, which bars both foreign investors to come here and Nepalis to go abroad,” said Jeevan Basnet, coordinator of Stock Investors’ Forum.

He further said that foreign investors are keen to invest in the stock market in Nepal, which will not only boost the secondary market but also increase the business volume as well as bring more investment in the country. “The government will also benefit as revenue will go up. On other hand, the stock market will become a hub for investment and capital mobilisation,” Basnet said.

Earlier, Rewat Bahadur Karki, general manager at Nepse, briefed the MPs about the activities and ongoing programmes at the country’s sole secondary market. According to him, the government has already issued development bonds worth Rs 3.75 billion through Nepal Rastra Bank, which has already been listed at Nepse and transaction would begin anytime now.

He informed that Corporate Financial Governance Project with a loan assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is underway, which will set up a computerised trading automation system at Nepse.