Kathmandu, December 26
The Nepal Securities Board, two regulatory bodies in the capital market sector, has been
without leadership since October 5.
Although the board has been without leadership for almost three months, the appointment
process has stalled due to the interests of Finance Minister Janardan Sharma and Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission Bishwa Poudel.
According to a source in the Ministry of Finance, Sharma wants to bring a person close to the CPN-Maoist to the board while Poudel wants to bring a person close to the Nepali Congress.
The government had sacked Bhishma Raj Dhungana, chairman of the board, after it was found that he had bought shares in the name of his daughter without issuing primary shares of the Sarbottam cement. After his dismissal, Finance Minister Sharma formed a selection committee from the ministerial level on 5 October to select a new chairman.
The Securities Act, 2063 stipulates that the Council of Ministers should form a three-member selection committee to select the chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board, but Minister Sharma formed the selection committee by a ministerial decision. There is a legal provision for the Planning Commission to have a member coordinator, a secretary of the Ministry of Finance and an expert member appointed by the government.
When the Ministry of Finance asked for the name of the member for the selection committee, the Planning Commission sent the name of Vice-Chairman Poudel as the member to look into the matter. The committee convened by Poudel called for the appointment of the chairperson through open competition. Twelve people applied. There is a legal provision that the selection committee should submit the list of three of them to the government and the cabinet should appoint one of the three.
But the selection committee did not submit the list of three to the government. Poudel was
dissatisfied when the cabinet was preparing to form another committee while preparations
were being made to select the names of the three. “I was out there. When I came here, I saw in the news that another committee would be formed, and I was not in a hurry,” he said.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on 29 Mangsir decided to form another selection
committee. According to the Ministry of Finance, after the decision of the Council of Ministers, has written a letter to the selection committee asking for the name of one member from the Planning Commission. But Vice President Poudel had delayed sending names.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the selection committee will be formed by the Council of Ministers. Spokesperson Ritesh Shakya said that a letter has been written to the commission to appoint a coordinator as all the processes have to be taken forward from the very beginning after the cabinet formed the committee.
According to sources, Finance Minister Sharma wants Ram Kumar Phuyal from the selection
committee. Phuyal has been appointed a member of the commission on the recommendation of the Maoist center. But Vice President Poudel did not want to send him. He wants to go to the selection committee himself. Poudel, who became the vice-chairman of the Planning Commission after Sher Bahadur Deuba was appointed prime minister, is close to the Nepali Congress.
Other members of the selection committee include Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Madhu Marasini and former chairman of the Nepal Stock Exchange Dr. Jivannath Dhital. Finance Secretary Marasini is a favorite of Finance Minister Sharma, while expert member Dhital is also close to the Maoist center.
Anil Poudel of Chitwan, Niraj Giri, executive director of the Securities and Exchange Board,
Nawaraj Adhikari, deputy executive director of the board and Chiranjeevi Chapagain, former chairman of the Insurance Committee and former director of Nepal Rastra Bank have applied for the post.
Similarly, former executive director of Rashtra Bank Dr. Gopal Bhatt, Sitaram Thapaliya, former CEO of Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE), investors Keshav Prasad Shrestha, Jeevan Amgai, Ramesh Hamal, Ambika Sharma Lamichhane and Krishna Prasad Acharya, former administrator of Employees Provident Fund have also applied for the post.
Chapagain and Adhikari are close to the Maoists, while Giri, Poudel, Thapaliya and Hamal are close to the Nepali Congress. These five are considered strong contenders for the chairmanship of the board. The selection committee should select the names of 3 of them. One of them will be appointed as the chairperson by the Council of Ministers. The current tug-of-war is about the person to be placed on the short list.
If Poudel becomes the vice-chairman of the selection committee, the people close to the Nepali Congress and Ram Kumar Phuyal, the member of the commission, will be more likely to be shortlisted. That is why there is a dispute now.
The Ministry of Finance has said that the work of the selection committee will move forward
after the Planning Commission sends the names. Ministry spokesperson Ritesh Shakya said that the finance ministry would accept any person who came to look into the matter from the commission and the appointment process would be taken forward.
“It is the responsibility of the vice-chairman to look into the matter. That is why the vice-chairman came first. Even now, if the department is under his responsibility, the coordinator of the committee can come and appoint himself.
Poudel, vice-chairman of the Planning Commission, said that the selection committee had
disputed even when it was working in an impartial manner. “It simply came to our notice then. There was a lot of noise,” he said.
There is no legal provision for the Planning Commission to reply to the letter of the Ministry of Finance. Asked how long he would send his name online, Poudel said, "I will see.
Work stopped The Securities Board is the regulatory body of the capital market sector. The Board is considered to be a powerful position for the Chairman of the Board as it carries out activities such as issuing licenses to stockbroking companies, formulating stock market policy and operating the stock market.
Since the chairman has not been appointed, the board has only done daily administrative work. All policy work has been stopped. At present, more than two dozen companies are waiting for permission to issue 61.356 million 4 lots of primary shares (IPO) worth Rs 6.80 billion.
In the absence of the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the
issuance of shares has been stopped.
There has been a long-standing demand for banks to issue broker licenses for the development of the capital market. Some commercial banks have even registered separate companies for broker licenses. The new chairman would decide whether the bank would get the license or not.
(source: Online Khabar)
