Oberoi Hotels sells Soaltee Hotel stake

Oberoi Hotels has sold its all shares in Soaltee Hotels.
Shivakrim Land and Industries of industrialist Ravibhakta Shrestha bought 1,020,144-unit shares of the Oberoi Hotel on the secondary market for Rs 142.8 million at the price of Rs 140 per unit share. The former president of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Shrestha is also incumbent director of the board of Soaltee Hotels.
Oberoi Hotels had 6.84 per cent share in the Soaltee Hotels that has a total of 14,924,063 unit shares listed at Rs 10 face value in the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse).
The shares were transferred at Rs 140 per unit under Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) reached between the buying and selling parties on September 14.
The trading was done through a separate Block Share Trading window of Nepse's Automated Trading System. It is the first time such type of block share trading has undertaken in the Nepse. The window allows the investor to purchase bulk amount of share at less than the market price.In the market the shares of Soaltee were being traded for Rs 186 per unit.
"Soaltee's previous day closing was at Rs 186 but the stock exchange allowed the transaction to be undertaken at Rs 140 per unit share," informed chief executive of Nepse Shanker Man Singh.
"The transaction was undertaken only after the approval of concerned regulators like Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon), Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and Department of Industries (DoI)," he pointed out.
The provision is supposed to facilitate the foreign investment involved in the Nepali public companies to take back their investment without any difficulty.
"Despite the lower trading price for the transaction the market price will not be affected as for regular transaction the quoted market price will be applied," explained Singh.The hotels' subgroup index remained at Rs 384.85 points today in spite of the transaction. The hotel subgroup has 38,878,061-unit shares of four listed hotels at the Nepse with a paid up value exceeding Rs 2.5 billion. Taragaon Regency Hotel owns more than 16.5 million units of shares making it the largest listed hotel in the secondary market. Similarly, Soaltee Hotel has 14.9 million units of shares worth around Rs 2.80 billion at the current market price. Among all four listed hotels Soaltee Hotel is the most active one on the floor. After today’s transaction, the Hotel is a completely Nepali owned except for 10 per cent of Holiday Inn, an Indian group.
Solatee posted profit of around Rs 110 million in the last fiscal year and employees 700. Yak and Yeti Hotel and Oriental Hotels have got their 2.2 million unit shares and five million unit shares listed at the Nepse, respectively.

NBBL merger?
KATHMANDU: Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) will not halt or suspend the trading of Nepal Bangladesh Bank shares until its acquisition by IFIC Bank of Bangladesh goes into formal procedure. "The banks have only signed Memorandum of Understandings that is not legally binding, if the bank formally starts the process with the central bank then only Nepse will halt the trading," explained chief executive of Nepse Shankar Man Singh. Nepal Bangladesh Bank's share trading was halted last week when the rumours did round about the bank's 51 per cent stake to be acquired by one of the promoter’s IFIC Bank of Bangladesh. The trading resumed once the bank denied any knowledge regarding the matter. However, on Monday, the bank retracted its version and forwarded the information regarding the proceedings of IFIC Bank to Nepse. According to the information provided IFIC Bank will acquire 15 per cent of shares owned by another Bangladeshi bank Bank Asia Ltd and 26 per cent shares of different promoters. "We have put all the information regarding the matter on our website for the investors to make decision whether they want to buy its share or not," he explained. “However, given the track record of the promoters of the Nepal Bangladesh Bank, NB Group of Laxmi Bahadur Shrestha and Jeet bahadur Shrestha, there is very less possibility of any progress on the issue,” according to the market pundits.