Chilime shares to locals of Rasuwa oversubscribed

The locals of Rasuwa districts have applied for Rs 430-million worth shares of the Chilime Hydropower Company.
The hydropower company had floated 960,000-unit of ordinary shares to the locals of Rasuwa district -- where the company is located -- from November 10 to December 14, after the protest from locals and Securities Board of Nepal's (Sebon) new regulation that compelled all the hydropower companies to float shares to the locals.
"The company had floated shares worth Rs 290 million, including premium, to the locals," said Prakash Man Shrestha, manager at the Chilime Hydropower Company that has installed capacity of 22.1 MW.
The locals of three VDCs of project-affected areas got the shares at a face value of Rs 100 per unit but others in the Rasuwa district paid Rs 324 per unit -- adding Rs 224 premium at the face value of Rs 100 per unit.
According to the Sebon Regulation, a company that has been regiatering profits for last three consecutive years can add premium at the face value of its shares. Chilime has been registering profits and distributing cash dividends to its sharesholders since last five consecutive years.
Similarly, according to the amended Securities Registration and Issuance Regulation – 2065, hydropower companies must float shares for the locals before they open the issue for general public. "A company has to float a minimum of 30 per cent shares to the public, and out of the 30 per cent, five per cent has to be separated to the company’s staff, 10 per cent to the locals and remaining 15 per cent will be floated to the general public. However, the locals share has a lock-in period of three years," the amended Regulation said.
The Rasuwa-locals had applied for up to a maximum of 200-unit and minimum of 10-unit share. Of the 960,000-unit of the shares separated for the Rasuwa locals, some 636,000-unit was for the locals of the project-affected Goljung, Chilime and Syafru Village Development Committees (VDCs), while the remaining 624,000-unit was floated for the locals of 15 other VDCs of the district.
The hydropower company's shares were being traded above Rs 1,000 per unit today.
Currently, there are only four listed hydropower companies -- National Hydropower, Butwal Hydropower, Chilime Hydropower and Arun Valley Hydropower -- at the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse).

Upper Sanjen starts
KATHMANDU: Chilime Hydropower Company Ltd (CHPCL) -- a subsidiary company of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) -- has started civil construction works of Upper Sanjen Hydroelectric Project from Thursday. The company that will produce 14 MW, instead if earlier estimation of 11 MW, is a subsidiary of Chilime Hydropower. Similarly the capacity of the anothe subssidiary project of Chilime Hydropower -- Sanjen Hydroelectric Project -- is also upgraded to 42 MW from earlier estimation of 35 MW. The Upper Sanjen Hydroelectric Project has 53 per cent share of Chilime Hydropower, 14 per cent share of NEA, while three per cent shares is separated for the Village Development Committee and District Development Committee, and 30 per cent will be floated to public, including locals, staffs and general public.