Blue chip companies on rise

Despite poor performance of the secondary market, number of blue chip companies has increased by four times to 117 from 31 in last one decade.
Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) has added 28 companies in its Class-A category making it to a total of 117 listed companies in the elite group of companies ranking.
"Of the 28 new entrants in the Class-A category, seven are commercial banks, nine development banks, five insurance companies, six finance companies and one hydropower company," said Shankar Man Singh, chief executive officer and general manager of the Nepse.
Of the total 176 listed companies by the end of 2009-10, some 117 companies are ranked in the Class-A companies, he said, adding that the secondary market has also declassified five companies from the elite group.
The Class-A companies, also called blue-chip companies in the domestic secondary market, have to register profits from last three consecutive years to be classified in this class.
"A company that has minimum 1,000 share holders, paid up capital of Rs 20 million, has been in profit for last three consecutive years, has paid up value of share not less than its book value and submitted its reports to the Nespe within six months of the completion after the fiscal year will be ranked in the Class-A companies," according to the regulation.
"The five companies do not comply with the regulation prompting the Nepse to declassify from Class-A," according to the Nepse. "The Nepse has been classifying the listed companies according to the international norms."
The global credit rating firms like Standard and Poor and ICICI rank the listed companies globally.
Of the total 24 listed commercial banks, 22 made it to the Class-A, whereas of the 69 listed finance companies, 47 are classified in the class.
One each from hotel subgroup (Soaltee Hotel), others subgroup (Nepal Telecom), manufacturing subgroup (Unilever Nepal Ltd) and two (Chilime Hydropower and Arun Valley Hydropower) from hydropower subgroup are in the Class-A. There are four listed hotels, Taragaon (Hyatt hotel), Oriental (Radisson Hotel), Hotel Yak n Yeti and Hotel Soalte. There are 18 companies under the manufacturing subgroup but only Unilever Nepal Ltd is classified under Class-A.
Similarly, there are four listed hydropower companies: Chilime Hydropower, National Hydropower, Butwal Hydropower and Arun Valley Hydropower but only two are classified under Class-A.
Interestingly, not a single company from the trading subgroup made it to the elite group.
"Of the total 20 listed insurance companies under inusrance subgroup 15 are classified under Class-A, whereas of the total 52 development banks only 28 made it to the Class-A," according to the Nepse.

The blue-chip companies
2009-10 -- 117
2008-09 -- 94
2007-08 -- 78
2006-07 -- 71
2005-06 -- 66
2004-05 -- 56
2003-04 -- 48
2002-03 -- 43
2001-02 -- 36
2000-01 -- 31
1999-00 -- 26
1998-99 -- 23
1997-98 -- 18
1996-97 -- 15
1995-96 -- 07