KATHMANDU, JUNE 20
The House of Representatives Finance Committee has issued directives to bodies concerned to move ahead the stalled process related to granting licence for additional stockbrokers.
The committee, during its meeting today, directed the Ministry of Finance, the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) and the Nepal Stock Exchange to go ahead with the licence process by fulfilling the due process and procedures.
A meeting of the Finance Committee on June 12 had directed to halt the process related to issuance of licence to new brokerage companies, saying an investigation was required on whether or not the minimum criteria had been fulfilled while issuing the licence to the stockbrokers.
Earlier, SEBON had issued stockbroker licences to 18 new firms on May 22 and 11 companies on June 5. The Finance Committee had issued a directive to stop the process, arguing that an investigation was required to look into whether the companies that has acquired the licences had fulfilled the minimum criteria.
The members speaking in the meeting today put their views in favour of carrying out works by keeping competition, transparency and openness in priority in a market economy. Former finance minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel suggested resuming the licence process by fulfilling the due process, procedures, laws and standards. He urged the Finance Ministry and SEBON to be accountable and responsible for the questions raised in the Parliament and the parliamentary committee.
Committee member and former finance minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki also stressed on the need of making the stock market dynamic as per the law and in a transparent manner for the benefit of the society. He also emphasised on holding serious discussions on the country's economic situation.
Ramesh Hamal, chairperson of SEBON, clarified that the licences have been issued in a transparent manner and that there was no weakness anywhere in this process. The Supreme Court on April 9 had also given a go-ahead for the licensing process paving the way for the distribution of licence to new stockbrokers.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 21, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
