Strategic partner for NEPSE restructuring recommended

Kathmandu, Feb 3: A study committee has submitted its report to the government with recommendation to bring strategic partner for the Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (NEPSE) reforms, capital increment and ownership restructuring.     

The report 'NEPSE Restructuring Recommendation Committee, 2082', unveiled by the Ministry of Finance today, recommended to bring in strategic partner for capital increment.     

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on 18 November 2025 had formed a six-member 'NEPSE Restructuring Recommendation Committee, 2082' under the coordination of senior Chartered Accountant Prakash Jung Thapa.     

The committee recommended reforms with a view to making NEPSE a modern, competitive and technology friendly entity.     

The committee's report concluded that with the expansion of the capital market, NEPSE appears incapable of facing future challenges with its current structure and functioning.     

It is stated in the report that without fundamental improvements in technology, management, service expansion, and institutional governance, NEPSE will not be able to compete at regional and international levels.     

According to the Securities Market Operation Regulations, 2064 BS, NEPSE, as the secondary market operator, is required to maintain a minimum paid-up capital of Rs 300 million. However, since continuous substantial investment is required for technology modernization, human resources, physical infrastructure, research and development, and auxiliary service expansion, the committee concluded that the current capital structure is insufficient.     

In this context, the committee suggested that issuing bonus shares to immediately raise the paid-up capital to Rs 300 million would be a suitable option.     

In the long term, it is seen that NEPSE may need to issue right shares or additional new shares for its development and expansion.     

However, the report stresses clarity regarding whether there will be a strategic partner for NEPSE before increasing the capital.     

The committee has determined that operating NEPSE with its current ownership and structure would make it difficult to grab future opportunities and face challenges. Drawing a conclusion that the prevalence of government and government-owned institutions has slowed decision-making, weakened innovation, and made accountability unclear, the committee has stated that a change in the ownership structure is inevitable. To this end, it has mainly proposed bringing in a strategic partner.     

According to the committee, an international-level strategic partner is needed to fill the gap in NEPSE’s required technical and managerial knowledge and modern infrastructure.(RSS)