Finally,
Nepal Stock Exchange – the front line regulator – has directed Nepal Bangladesh
Bank to postpone its annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for March 11 due to
the ongoing row regarding its share transfer.
The stock
exchange has told the bank to wait for the Kathmandu District Court’s final ruling
on share transfer row.
Though it is
illegal and weakness of both regulators Nepse and sebon, the stock brokers have
stopped trading the share of Nepal Bangladesh Bank and National Hydropower due
to Nepse and Securities Board of Nepal's (Sebon) delay in solving the dispute.
Some 1,000 investors
who bought around shares owned by Nirmal Pradhan and Shankar Shrestha around a
year ago have not been issued share certificates yet as Pradhan and Shrestha
are said to have sold some 220,000 units of NB Bank shares that they did not
actually own and were only holding as collateral from the bank's promoter Laxmi
Bahadur Shrestha. Pradhan and Shankar Shrestha are being accused of selling non-transferrable
shares.
Some 145,000
unit shares of NB Bank’s shares are being held up in a blank transfer state,
according to the sources.
"As the
investors have been affected by the dispute and the eligibility of shareholders
for the bank’s dividend is in question, the Nepse has ordered the bank to
postpone the bank's 19th AGM," the Nepse statement read.
Nepal
Bangladesh Bank has announced 7.9 per cent cash and 10 per cent stock dividend that
is yet to be approved by the AGM.
Earlier, Laxmi
Bahadur Shrestha – former NB Bank director – had pledged some 220,000 unit
shares to get loan from Pradhan with a clause that barred him from selling the
shares, it is said. "Later Pradhan and Shankar Shrestha pledged the shares
at Narayani National Finance to obtain loan but the finance company auctioned
off the shares when the borrowers could not repay the loans."
The shares were then traded
at the stock exchange but Kathmandu District Court to annul the share transfers
after Laxmi Bahadur lodged a case at the Court.
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