Kathmandu, January 13:

Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) has today published a list of 299 qualified and 35 disqualified applicants — after sorting the 334 applications for the brokers’ licence. Nepse is adding 27 more brokers to make it a total of 50 according to the capacity of present Nepse floor.

“By the end of the month of Magh we will have finished the written exam. The exam will be transparent and the result will be published then and there,” Rewat Bahadur Karki, GM of Nepse said adding that the addition of 27 new brokers will help the secondary market and small investors, both, to trade smoothly.

Currently, there are only 23 brokers — among them Security Board of Nepal (SEBON) has revoked one brokers’ licence and Nepse has suspended another’s licence.

“Less number of brokers has hit small investors like us as they are nor interested in trading few shares,” complained Mahesh Pandit, an investor.

The disqualified applicants have either not submitted all the necessary papers or lack experience or enough capital.

Nepse turns 15:

KATHMANDU: Nepse has turned 15 from Sunday. “It has completed 14 years of its operations,” Karki said adding that the time has come for its privatisation. The Nepse will be privatised within this year. “However, the concept of privatisation of Nepse is different,” said Karki. “It is rather corporatisation than privatisation.” — HNS