सन्तोषनारायणकै बुंगल हाइड्रोलाई फास्ट ट्रयाकमा आईपीओ, ११ कम्पनी हेरेको हेर्‍यै

‘थर्मल गन ग्याङ’ अघिअघि, निजी क्षेत्र पछिपछि

एकताका बलिउडको चर्चित मनोवैज्ञानिक थ्रिलर फिल्म ‘कार्तिक कलिङ कार्तिक’को कथावस्तु जस्तै नेपालको अर्थतन्त्र यतिबेला निकै रहस्यमय र चकित पार्नेखालको बन्दै गएको छ। 

देशको कुल गार्हस्थ्य उत्पादनमा ८१.५५ प्रतिशत र रोजगारी सिर्जनामा झण्डै ८६ प्रतिशत योगदान दिएको नेपालको निजी क्षेत्र आज एउटा गम्भीर संस्थागत र नैतिक संकटमा छ। किनकि निजी क्षेत्र आफ्नो योग्यता, क्षमता, प्रतिस्पर्धा र अर्थतन्त्रमा योगदान बिर्सेर आज ‘थर्मल गन ग्याङ’ जस्ता स्वार्थ समूहहरूका पछाडि लाग्न थालेको छ। चलचित्र ‘कार्तिक कलिङ कार्तिक’मा झैँ नेपालको निजी क्षेत्र मनोवैज्ञानिक समस्याबाट गुज्रिरहेको छ।

त्यसैले विगत केही दशकमा उद्योग व्यवसायमार्फत अर्थतन्त्रको मेरुदण्ड बन्न सफल निजी क्षेत्र अब पुनः कम्युनिस्टहरूले सधै भट्टयाउने ‘बिचौलिया अर्थतन्त्र’को संवाहकको रूपमा परिणत हुँदैछ। र, त्यो पनि कम्युनिस्टहरूकै कारण। भलै, पछिल्ला वर्षमा ‘बिचौलिया अर्थतन्त्र’लाई मलजल गर्नमा कांग्रेसको पनि हात नभएको चाहिँ होइन।

एकातिर मेहनती उद्यमीहरू छन्, जसले सीमित स्रोतसाधनमा पनि जोखिम लिएर व्यवसाय सञ्चालन गरी रोजगारी सिर्जना गर्दै आएका छन्। अर्कातिर, तथाकथित ‘थर्मल गन ग्याङ’ जस्ता स्वार्थ समूहहरू सक्रिय बनेका छन्, जसले सत्ता संरचनासम्म आफ्नो पहुँच प्रयोग गरेर नीतिगत भ्रष्टाचारलाई संस्थागत बनाउँदै लगेका छन्।

यी स्वार्थ समूहहरू कुनै औद्योगिक नवप्रवर्तन वा उद्यमशीलता प्रबद्र्धनका लागि नभई, लाइसेन्स–कोटाका नाममा अनुमतिप्राप्त कारोबार नियन्त्रण गर्ने र वित्तीय क्षेत्रलाई कब्जामा राख्न उद्यत छन्। अझ दुर्भाग्य त, सरकार आफैँ पनि यी स्वार्थ समूहका साझेदार बनेको छ।

२०६३/०६४ पछिको राजनीतिक संक्रमणकालमा अनि २०७२/७३ पछि झनै स्पष्ट बनेको यो स्वार्थी प्रवृत्तिले नीतिनिर्माण प्रक्रियामा ‘थर्मल गन ग्याङ’ जस्ता स्वार्थ समूहको प्रवेश गरायो। बालुवाटारदेखि, बालकोट अनि बुढानीलकण्ठसम्म, ‘थर्मल गन ग्याङ’ राजनीतिक नेताका शयनकक्षमा निर्बाध घुस्न थाले। यसले गर्दा नियम–कानुन र नैतिक सीमाको धज्जी उडाउँदै, रातारात कानुन फेरिने अवस्था सिर्जना भएको छ। कुन उद्योगमा कतिखेर रातारात कानुन परिवर्तन हुन्छ, कसैलाई थाहा छैन। अझ, रमाइलो के भने सबैलाई थाहा छ, कुन शक्तिले किन अर्थतन्त्र ध्वस्त बनाउनेसम्मको हर्कत रातारात गरिरहेको छ। तर, सत्तादेखि कानुनसम्मको दुरूपयोग गरेर मनोवैज्ञानिक त्रास सिर्जना गरिएको कारण सब चुप छन्।

यही त्रासका कारण केही उद्योगीहरू– जो पहिले राम्रै उद्यमी, व्यवसायीमा गनिन्थे, अब यिनै ‘थर्मल गन ग्याङ’जस्ता स्वार्थ समूहसँग सहकार्य गर्दै ‘बिचौलिया अर्थतन्त्र’को मतियार बन्न थालेका छन्। उनीहरूका लागि अब नेपाल फाइनान्सियल एक्सन टास्क फोर्स (एफएटीएफ)को ग्रे लिस्ट वा ब्ल्याक लिस्टमा पर्नु कुनै मुद्दा नै होइन। किनकि उनीहरूको लागि अब राष्ट्र गौण हो, वित्तीय क्षेत्र कब्जा गरेर अर्थतन्त्रलाई प्यारालाइज बनाउनु नै एक मात्र उद्देश्य हो। 

तर, सत्य के हो भने प्रधानमन्त्रीको शयनकक्षमा पहुँच भएका यस्ता थुप्रै ‘थर्मल गन ग्याङ’जस्ता स्वार्थ समूह अर्थात् बोलिचालीको भाषामा बिचौलिया नेपालमा हिजो पनि थिए। आज तिनका केही नामोनिसान छैन। त्यसैले यी जो छन् आज, यिनको पनि भोलि कुनै नामोनिसान रहने छैन। 

‘थर्मल गन ग्याङ’ र उनीहरूका मतियारका विरुद्धमा लेखिएको समाचारलाई अदालतको दुरूपयोग गरेर धम्काउन, हटाउन लगाई मिडियामाथि डर र दबाब सिर्जना गरिन्छ। यो प्रवृत्ति केवल प्रेस स्वतन्त्रता मात्र होइन, सार्वजनिक जवाफदेहितामाथिको पनि खुला हमला हो। अझ गम्भीर कुरा के भने सार्वजनिक व्यक्तिका क्रियाकलापबारे समाचार नलेख्न अदालतबाट आदेश जारी गरिनु आफैमा संघीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपालको संविधानको आधारभूत मान्यता विपरीत हो। 

यो अवस्था पञ्चायतकालीन व्यवस्थाभन्दा पनि खतरनाक हो। किनकि पञ्चायतकालमा पनि कुनै बेला राजा र राजपरिवारलाई समेत सञ्चारमाध्यमहरूले प्रश्न गर्थे र अदालतले अभिव्यक्ति स्वतन्त्रताको रक्षा गर्थ्यो।

नेपाल धितोपत्र बोर्डका वर्तमान अध्यक्ष सन्तोषनारायण श्रेष्ठले गत आइतबार आफ्नो लगानी रहेको बुंगल हाइड्रो लिमिटेडलाई आईपीओ स्वीकृति प्रदान गरे। बोर्डकै अध्यक्ष भएर आफ्नै कम्पनीको सेयर निष्कासन अनुमोदन गर्नु प्रत्यक्षरूपमा स्वार्थको द्वन्द्व हो।

बझाङ जिल्लाको बुंगल नगरपालिकामा बुंगल हाइड्रोले १०.७० मेगावाट क्षमताको आयोजना निर्माण गरेको छ। उक्त आयोजनामा जलाञ्जली इन्भेस्टमेन्ट प्रालिको २८ प्रतिशत, वरुण इन्भेस्टमेन्ट प्रालिको १४ प्रतिशत, जयगणेश इन्भेस्टमेन्ट प्रालिको १३ प्रतिशत, शिवशंकर इन्भेस्टमेन्ट प्रालिको १२ प्रतिशत, बुंगल हाइड्रो इन्भेस्टमेन्ट लिमिटेडको १२ प्रतिशत र बाँकी २१ प्रतिशत सेयर अन्य व्यक्तिगत लगानीकर्ताको छ।

तर, यसअघि आईपीओको अनुमति कुरेका ११ कम्पनीको निष्कासन प्रक्रिया त्यत्तिकै थाती राखेर १२ औँ नम्बरमा रहेको नेपाल धितोपत्र बोर्डका अध्यक्ष सन्तोषनारायण श्रेष्ठको कम्पनीले अनुमति पाउनु रहस्यमय छँदैछ। अझ क्रेडिट रेटिङ एजेन्सी केयर रेटिङ नेपालले कमजोर स्तरको ‘सिंगल बी’ रेटिङ दिएको र आर्थिक दायित्व समयमा तिर्न नसक्ने उच्च जोखिम बोकेको कम्पनीलाई आईपीओ निकाल्न अनुमति दिँदा प्रश्न उठ्नु स्वाभाविक पनि हो। 

हिमालखबरमा सेयर विवरणसहित प्रकाशित एउटा रिपोर्टमा धितोपत्र बोर्डले असार १५ गते २९ करोड ५ लाख रूपैयाँको आईपीओ निष्कासनको अनुमति दिएको बुंगल हाइड्रोमा धितोपत्र बोर्ड अध्यक्ष श्रेष्ठ र उनका पारिवारिक सदस्य आधारभूत सेयरधनी रहेका खुलेको छ।

बुंगल हाइड्रोले २०७५ सालमा निर्माण सुरु गरेको थियो। २०७८ मंसिर अन्तबाट व्यावसायिक रूपमा सञ्चालन गर्ने लक्ष्य राखे पनि करिब दुई वर्ष ढिला २०८० भदौ २ बाट यो आयोजना सञ्चालनमा आएको छ। आयोजना निर्माणमा ढिलाइका कारण लागत बढेर ३.०४ अर्ब रूपैयाँभन्दा बढी खर्च भएका कारण प्रतिमेगावाट लागत २८ करोड ४० लाख रूपैयाँ पुगेको छ।

सेयरवाला दर्ता किताबले बुंगल हाइड्रोमा धितोपत्र बोर्डका अध्यक्ष श्रेष्ठको ३३ हजार कित्ता सेयर लगानी देखाउँछ। त्यस्तै, उनका बुवा चोपनारायण श्रेष्ठको १ लाख कित्ता, उनका पारिवारिक सदस्यहरू लक्ष्मी श्रेष्ठको ३३ हजार कित्ता, सन्जु श्रेष्ठको १६ हजार कित्ता र सुनिलनारायण श्रेष्ठको ३३ हजार कित्ता सेयर रहेको देखिन्छ। यस्तै, बोर्ड अध्यक्ष श्रेष्ठका नातेदार राजुकुमार श्रेष्ठको ३३ हजार कित्तालगायतका जोड्दा उनका नातेदारका नाममा कम्पनीको ५ लाख ४५ हजार कित्ता सेयर लगानी बुंगल हाइड्रोमा छ।

कानुनतः बोर्ड अध्यक्ष तथा सदस्यको स्वामित्वको कम्पनीलाई आईपीओ निष्कासन गर्न नरोके पनि नैतिकता, संस्थागत सुशासन र स्वार्थको द्वन्द्व भने पक्का देखिन्छ। 

धितोपत्र बोर्ड सम्बन्धी ऐन, २०६३ र धितोपत्र बोर्डका बोर्ड सदस्यको आचारसंहिता, २०७४ ले यस विषयमा उल्लेख छ। बोर्ड अध्यक्ष श्रेष्ठ बुंगल हाइड्रोको आईपीओ निष्कासन गर्न अनुमति दिने बैठकमा अनुपस्थित रहे पनि यस नजिरले भविष्यमा गलत प्रवृत्तिको विकास गर्न उक्साउने देखिन्छ। किनकि रकमको हिसाबले सानो देखिए पनि तथा कानुनले नछेके पनि बुंगल हाइड्रोको आईपीओ फास्ट ट्रयाकमा अनुमति दिने निर्णय संस्थागत, नैतिकता र नियामक निष्पक्षताको विरुद्ध हो। 

अनि महिनामा एकदुईवटा कम्पनीको आईपीओ निष्कासनको अनुमति दिँदा पाइपलाइनमा रहेका सबैको अनुमति दिन त करिब ४ वर्ष लाग्ने देखिँदादेखिँदै पनि यस कार्यमा तदारुकताका साथ नलागेर दोस्रो स्टक एक्सचेन्जको लाइसेन्स दिन हतार गर्नुले त्यसै पनि बोर्ड अध्यक्षको नियतमा प्रस्टै खोट देखिन्छ। 

अन्य थुप्रै जलविद्युत् कम्पनीको अर्बौं रूपैयाँको आईपीओ स्वीकृति लामो समयदेखि रोकिएको छ। अनि १२ औँ नम्बरमा रहेको अध्यक्षकै कम्पनी बुंगल हाइड्रोले फास्ट ट्र्याकमा आईपीओ अनुमति प्राप्त गर्दा प्रश्न उठाउन पनि डरमर्दो हुनुले संघीय गणतन्त्रको शासन सत्तामा पञ्चायती ह्याङओभर बाँकी नै रहेको प्रस्ट पार्छ।

किनकि करिब आधा शताब्दीअघि पञ्चायती व्यवस्था उत्कर्षमा रहँदा एउटा भनाइ चल्तीमा थियो, ‘ठूलालाई चैन, सानालाई ऐन’। संघीय गणतन्त्रकालमा पनि कानुन केवल सीमित व्यक्तिहरूको हितमा प्रयोग हुने उपकरण बन्दा पञ्चायतका बदनाम हस्तीहरूको पनि हड्डी हाँसिरहेको छ। त्यसैले उनीहरू उत्साहित भएर सडकमा आउने साहस गर्न सकेका छन्। 

नीति निर्माणदेखि न्यायिक प्रक्रिया– सबैमा प्रभाव र पहुँच राख्ने ‘थर्मल गन ग्याङ’ जस्ता स्वार्थ समूहका कारण नै हाल निजी क्षेत्रमा अनिश्चितता, डर र वैदेशिक पलायनको मानसिकता थप बलियो बनाएको छ। यही कारण हो, उद्यम गर्न चाहने हजारौँ युवा पनि विदेश जानु नै उपयुक्त ठानिरहेका छन्।

सार्वजनिक पदमा बसेका व्यक्ति जनताको करबाट तलब लिन्छन्, त्यसैले उनीहरू पूर्णरूपमा जनताप्रति जवाफदेही हुनुपर्छ। नियामक संस्थाको नेतृत्व गर्ने व्यक्तिबाट उच्च नैतिकता, पारदर्शिता र निष्पक्षता अपेक्षित हुन्छ। तर, धितोपत्र बोर्डको वर्तमान कार्यशैलीले यी सबै मूल्य तथा मान्यतालाई गम्भीर क्षति पुर्‍याएको छ।

सन्तोषनारायण श्रेष्ठको नेतृत्वमा धितोपत्र बोर्डले देखाएको आचरण नेपालमा कानुनी शासनभन्दा सत्ता–सञ्जालको शासन हाबी हुँदै गएको संकेत हो। यदि यसरी नै नियामक निकायहरू स्वार्थ समूहको हतियार बन्दै गए भने नेपालमा उद्यम गर्न जोखिमपूर्ण मात्र होइन, असम्भव हुँदै जानेछ। निजी क्षेत्रलाई त्रास तथा सञ्चारमाध्यमलाई अदालतको डण्डा देखाएर तर्साउँदैमा इतिहासले नेपालको अर्थतन्त्रको कन्तबिजोग बनाउनेलाई बिर्सने छैन। देश खोक्रो बनाएर कमाएको पैसा विदेशमा पनि सुरक्षित नभएका धेरै उदाहरण छन्।
(Published at Nepalkhabar on July 2 -- https://nepalkhabar.com/opinion/242215-2025-7-2-9-14-28)

Hydropower stocks to rain share market

 Though, the hydropower sector is not yet dominant in the share market, some 10 more hydropower companies are going public soon.

According to the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon), some 15 companies – including 10 hydropower companies are issuing their Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) worth Rs 5.15 billion. “Among the 15 companies in the pipeline to issue public shares, some 10 are hydropower companies, one life insurance company, one merchant bank and 3 other companies.”

Though, the domestic share market is dominated with the banks and financial institutions, there are noticeable large number of hydropower companies floating their shares and listing in the secondary market recently. As the demand for shares in the market has doubled, the price of hydropower share has also increased recently. 

According to the Sebon, Madhya Bhotekoshi Jalabidhyut, Nyadi Hydropower, Bindhyabasani Hydropower, Sahas Urja, Emerging Nepal, Himalayan Hydropower, Buddha Bhumi Nepal Hydropower, Samling Hydropower, Dish Media Network, CBIL Capital, Terhathum Power Company, Shuvam Power, Mallung Khola Jal Bidhyut, Jyoti Life Insurance, and CEDB Hydropower Development are floating share soon.

Biggest IPO closes with highest volume of applicants

Nepal Infrastructure Bank has closed its primary shares issue – biggest public offering in the history of domestic capital market – from today with the largest applications for the Initial Public Offering (IPO).

NIBL Ace Capital – the issue manager for the IPO issuance and Citizen Investment Trust (CIT) – confirmed the closing of the largest primary share offerings from today. According to the issue manager, in total 15,12,823 applicants have applied for 17,99,31,410 units of shares. “The number might be a little more after the final calculations.”  

After the IPO issuance, the bank’s paid-up capital will be Rs 20 billion from the existing Rs 12 billion. The bank has issued some 8,00,00,000 units worth Rs 8 billion as IPO to the general public from Jan 15.

Out of the offered 8,00,00,000 units, some 0.20 per cent of the shares or 1,60,000 units have been set aside for the employees of the bank and 5 per cent or 40,00,000 units have been set aside for the mutual funds. The remaining 7,58,40,000 units are for the general public, according to the issue manager.

The second annual general meeting of the bank had endorsed and approved the issuance of IPO. The bank established to serve and benefit from investment in significant infrastructure projects like hydropower projects, road infrastructures, was though the largest in terms of paid up capital when it was established, some other commercial banks have also reached around Rs 20 billion paid up capital as of today, making it look smaller.

Nepal Infrastructure Bank's profit declined by 12.43 per cent to Rs 181 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020-21. The bank’s annualised earning per share stands at Rs 6 and net worth per share stands at Rs 115.

Prabhu Life Insurance allots IPO

 Prabhu Life Insurance allotted its primary shares to the investors today.

Though the life insurance company has issued 6 million units of primary shares – that is equivalent to Rs 600 million – some 5 per cent that is 300,000 units have been allotted to the public, whereas some 300,000 units have been set aside for mutual funds, according to the company. “The remaining 54,00,000 units are floated for the public.”

The Life Insurance company had received a record applications from 10,49,047 applicants for a total of 2,78,21,160-unit of shares. “The issue was oversubscribed by more than 5.15 times,” the company confirmed. “A total of 5,40,000 applicants were allotted 10 units each via lottery, and the remaining 5,09,047 applicants returned with empty hands.”

Likewise some 3,00,000-unit was allotted to the company staff and some 3,00,00-unit was allotted to mutual funds.

Prabhu Life Insurance has issued its Initial Public Offering (IPO) from Mangsir 29 to Poush 2.

Chandragiri Hills floats shares for locals today

 Chandragiri Hills Ltd has floated 3,06,819 units of primary shares – to the locals effected by the project – from today.

“The company has issued initial public offering (IPO) shares worth Rs 184 million to the project-affected locals of Chandragiri Nagarpalika in Kathmandu and Thaha Nagarpalika in Makwanpur district today,” according to the company. “The IPO will remain open for next two weeks,” it said, adding that the company will further extend the period by another two weeks, if unsubscribed. “Global IME Capital has been appointed as the issue manager for the Initial Public Offering.”

Out of the total IPO, some 3,06,819 units or 2 per cent of the total paid-up capital and 10 per cent of the total paid-up capital will be issued to the project affected locals, and for the public, respectively.

Likewise, the major promoters of the company will hold remaining 88 per cent of.

Nepal Infrastructure Bank to float Rs 8 billion worth shares to public

 Nepal Infrastructure Bank – established as the first and only infrastructure development bank of the country – today during its second annual general meeting (AGM) – approved the proposal to issue Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 80 million units of shares worth Rs 8 Billion to public calculated at 40 per cent of the issued capital, after obtaining the approvals of the regulators.

Chaired by Anuj Agarwal, who is also the chair of the bank’s Board of Directors (BoD), unanimously approved the director’s report of fiscal year 2019-20 and the bank’s financial statements of last fiscal year. The bank’s board members Shreekrishna Nepal, Chandra Prasad Dhakal, Lal Mani Joshi and Ramkrishna Khatiwada were also present in the meeting. Likewise, bank’s chief executive officer Anil Gyawali, deputy chief executive officer Bhupendra Pandey and other senior officials were also present in the meeting.

In order to safeguard from risks of Covid-19, the banks’ shareholders had been given an option to participate in the meeting through online platform. Arrangements had also been made to fully comply with the health and safety standards for participants, who were physically present in the meeting.

The bank, established with the objective of investing into infrastructure development projects only by raising long term resources within Nepal and from abroad, has approved loans of Rs  6 billion to five projects in hydro-electricity, cement Clinkerisation and solar energy sectors and disbursed loan of Rs 500 million during the last fiscal year 2019-20, and further approved loans of Rs 2.85 billion in additional  three projects after the review period in current financial year resulting total approved loans of Rs 8.85 billion, according to the bank.

General Insurance allots primary shares

 General Insurance Company Ltd allotted its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and some 273,000 applicants got 10 units each.

The remaining 521,546 investors, who subscribed to the offering did not get any shares, according to the non-life insurance company.

The issue manager of the General Insurance Company Ltd allotted the primary shares through a lottery today after the public offering was oversubscribed by over seven times, the company informed, adding that out of three million ordinary shares allocated for the public to collect Rs 300 million, some 2.73 million units were allotted for the public while the remaining have been provisioned for staff and mutual funds. “Out of the 2.73 million units of shares for the public, the IPO drew some 794,546 valid applicants applying 21.41 million units of shares.”

Reliance Life to go public

 Reliance Life Insurance is issuing 6.3 million units of ordinary shares to the public from August 20 at Rs 100 per unit. 

The life insurance company is issuing 30 per cent of its issued capital of Rs 630 million worth of shares post which the paid-up capital of the company will be Rs 2.10 Billion. Sanima Capital is the issue manager of the shares.

Out of 6.3 million units of shares to be offered to masses, some 315,000 shares have been set aside for the employees of the company, some 315,000 shares have been set aside for mutual funds approved by Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) and the remaining 5.67 million shares will be offered to the public.

According to chief executive officer of Reliance Life Insurance Prabin Raman Parajuli, the company is the first to issue Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the public among the last lot of 10 new life insurance companies licensed by Insurance Board (Beema Samiti). “The company has been launching innovative plans at competitive prices as demanded by the market with core focus on quality servicing and digitization which further ensures enhanced service delivery,” he said.

Reliance Life Insurance -- commenced its operations from November 17, 2018 – is promoted by Siddhartha Bank Ltd and prominent business houses. The company has been rendering professional services to the public through its 100 point of sales.

Nepal Infrastructure Bank to float public share

Nepal Infrastructure Bank (NIFRA) is going to float public share soon.
The bank – with paid up capital of Rs 12 billion, earning per share of Rs 6.10 and net worth per share of Rs 106.57 – holding its first annual general meeting today passed the proposal to issue an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Rs 8 billion worth of 80 million units of share to the general public after approvals of the regulatory authorities.
The meeting – of the bank that started business from March 2019 as the first national level infrastructure development bank of Nepal – was chaired by the chairman of the bank’s board Anuj Agrawal, who addressing the meeting informed the shareholders about the achievements the bank made during the review period, the plans and goals set for the current financial year and the future strategies.
Established with the purpose of investing only in infrastructure development projects by collecting long-term resources from domestic and foreign markets, the bank has already started its process of raising Rs 5 billion from the foreign capital market by issuing an offshore bond. The bank has already approved loans of Rs 3 billion towards two hydropower projects. The bank also claimed that it is identifying and evaluating various other projects in solar energy, hotels, resorts, fun parks, cable cars, education and health. The bank also plans to expand its investment portfolio into these projects by collecting necessary resources in the near future.
During the meeting, Anuj Agrawal, Chandra Prasad Dhakal and Lalmani Joshi are elected unanimously from the promoters group, whereas Ram Saran Pudasaini represents the government as the nominated board member. Ram Saran Pudasaini, Chandra Prasad Dhakal, Lalmani Joshi and Numanath Poudel are the members in the board of the bank, where Anil Gyawali is the chief executive officer.

Upper Tamakoshi IPO oversubscribed four times

The primary shares of Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Ltd (UTHL) have been oversubscribed by nearly four times.
Some 15.89 million units of primary shares worth Rs 1.59 billion of Upper Tamakosi Hydropower drew subscriptions worth over Rs 6.32 billion by the closing today, confirmed deputy manager of Citizens Investment Trust (CIT) Roshan Jung Karki. CIT is the lead issue manager of the hydropower's initial public offering (IPO) that has a face value of Rs 100 per share.
The national pride project is being developed by a subsidiary of the state power utility Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). The hydropower company opened its IPO of 15.8 million shares on Thursday and by Monday when it closed, 346,166 persons had applied for 67 million shares worth Rs 6.7 billion. The share allotment process will take at least two weeks.
An investor will get at least 40 units of shares of the 456-megawatt (MW) peaking run-of-the-river hydropower company that is being constructed by mobilising domestic resources.
Apart from the current 15 per cent offering to the general public, the hydropower has already issued 105.9 million units of shares for the locals of the project-affected Dolakha district last week. Public shareholders, including the locals of Dolakha, will hold 25 per cent ownership in the project.
Though the application process for the primary shares for general public was carried out through Centralised Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (C-ASBA) system from member banks of ASBA, the issue manager could not block previous applicants of the earlier offering which was conducted manually.
Similarly, some 18.3 million units of shares (17.28 per cent) have already been allotted to the members of Employees Provident Fund (EPF), while staffers of EPF and the project received 2.88 per cent of the shares (304,290 units). Likewise, staffers of Upper Tamakoshi and NEA have been allotted 3.84 per cent (4.07 million units) of the shares.
The much-awaited hydropower project is expected to start electricity generation by mid-July next year. The model project is expecting commercial generation by mid-November, 2019.
Last week, the project office extended the completion deadline by six months as it wasn’t going to be able to start operating one of its six turbines by December 2018 and complete the entire project by April 2019 as originally planned due to earthquakes, the Indian trade blockade and other technical issues including dillydallying by one of the contractors as reasons for the delay in the national pride project where 95 per cent of the construction works have been completed.
The delays has pushed the cost of the project that was initially planned to be constructed at a cost Rs 35 billion but the final bill is now expected to reach Rs 70 billion.

Shivam Cement to go public on July 29

Shivam Cement is floating an initial public offering (IPO) of 880,000 shares priced at Rs300 apiece – Rs 100 face value plus Rs 200 premium – for locals of Makwanpur district from July 29, in the first phase.
The company also plans to issue another 4,400,000 shares to the general public at Rs 400 per unit. ICRA Nepal has assigned a Grade 3 rating to the IPO of Shivam Cement, according to the Siddhartha Capital, the issue manager for the Shivam Cement IPO.
Shivam Cement is the first manufacturing company from the private sector to issue public shares after a decade, according to the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) that has revised its share registration and issuance regulations last year to attract real sector companies to go public. Sebon – the capital market regulator – has approved the IPO of Shivam Cement last month.
According to the new SEBON rule, companies are required to offer only 10 per cent of their shares to the general public. The budget for the fiscal year 2016-17 has stated that companies wishing to go public would get a 15 per cent income tax rebate. Likewise, the budget for the current fiscal year 2018-19 also stated that manufacturing companies with a paid-up capital of Rs1 billion or more will have to go public.
The domestic share market is highly dominated by banks and financial institutions (BFIs), with some 80 per cent of the total listed shares in the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse).
The entry of the manufacturing company is the BFIs-dominated share market will help the Nepse to expand.
Promoted by the Sharda Group, Shivam Cement owns 30 per cent of Hongshi-Shivam Cement, a Nepal-China joint venture company.

Sebon asks hydel firms to issue IPO only after declaring financial details

The capital market regulator has directed the hydropower companies to provide information about their financial status before issuing their initial public offering (IPO) to help people make informed decision.
Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) directive comes at a time when the hydropower companies are preparing to issue their public offerings. "Some 16 hydropower companies are planning to issue IPOs," according ot the regulator. "The trend of even the hydropower companies which are not financially sound issuing their IPOs has increased by keeping the people in the dark." 
The regulator has also instructed – also to make the IPO issuance process systematised, transparent and simple – the companies to give information regarding the duration the investments made in the projects will start giving returns and the bases. It has asked the hydropower companies to provide clear information regarding the per megawatt (MW) cost, the remaining term of the power production license and the period the investment would be refunded, according to Sebon director Niraj Giri. "They also have to disclose information on net assets per share and the per share income as per their audited financial statement," he said, adding that the companies which are into operation for three years have to give the complete details for all the previous years, whereas the companies not completing three years operation also have to provide details of the period they have been into operation. "Te hydropower companies also have to give clear information about their audit reports."
The hydropower companies have to issue 10 per cent shares to the project affected locals and 15 per cent shares to the general public as it is mandatory.
The Independent Power Producers' Association of Nepal (IPPAN) has welcomed the regulator's move.
The banks and financial institutions (BFIs) dominated share market has currently 17 hydropower companies that are registered with the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse). But only a few of them are in profit, according to the first quarterly report. 

Sebon scraps rule of parking money collected in IPO,FPO at NRB

While bankers are ruing shortage of loan-able funds due to slow growth in deposits, Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has scrapped a rule that required the money collected in the initial public offering (IPO) or follow-up public offering (FPO) to be parked at the central bank for a certain period of time.
The decision comes in the wake of 'credit crunch' in the banking system which has crippled the capacity of the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) to float loans to borrowers.
“The rule has been scrapped because there are complaints of liquidity shortage in the market which was also affecting the secondary market," deputy spokesperson of the Sebon Niranjaya Ghimire, said. "Also the requirement is soon becoming redundant due to implementation of Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) system."
Earlier, issue manager of any IPO or FPO was required to deposit all the money collected in the process at its account in the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) within six days of closing of the issuance for at least six days. Such requirement had also worsened the bank’s liquidity position as huge fund, like Rs 52 billion of money collected from the FPO of Nepal Life Insurance Company Ltd, gets stuck in the central bank’s vault.
With the new directives from the regulator of the capital market, the central bank is also expected to release Rs 52 billion tomorrow that would help ease the credit crunch in the financial system. Welcoming the Sebon decision, bankers also say the scrapping of rule will provide some respite to them.
With FPOs of some other big companies in pipeline, bankers had worried that more funds would end up at central bank’s vault, worsening their liquidity problem. The central bank's vault is already swollen by over Rs 200 billion also due to government's inability to spend and aggressive revenue mobilisation by the second quarter end.

Sagoon plans to raise $20 million through mini IPO

Sagoon Inc –a US-based social commerce startup founded by a Nepali – is soon launching a Mini Public Offering (mini IPO) under the regulations enacted by the Obama administration's landmark JOBS Act to establish itself as a public company.
Through the mini IPO, the company plans to raise $20 million from the general public globally and use that money to launch mobile apps, introduce Social Smart Card and increase the user base, according to the founder of Sagoon Govinda Giri.
An investor can invest as little as $299 which is around Rs 30,000. The shares will be allocated to the investors based on their availability and first come first basis. Those, who are interested can purchase as many shares as they want. Each unit of a share costs $23, the company informed.
Sagoon is waiting to get qualified by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to start accepting online investment globally from the general public. If everything goes as plan, the mini IPO will be floated in mid-January 2017. The social media startup plans to sell 8,69,565 shares worth $20 million, Giri informed.
Apart from being the first Nepali-founded company to come out with the public offering, Sagoon is also the first social media venture in the world that offers an investment opportunity to the public in its early stages. The opportunity was not available during the early stages of other social media like Facebook and Twitter.
The US JOBS Act – which was signed into law in 2012 – is regarded as one of US President Barack Obama's most ambitious legislations that, for the first time in the history, allows the general public to invest in a very early stage companies.
Earlier, only rich people, who either had an income of more than $200,000 a year or have the net worth in excess of $1 million, and bankers were allowed to invest. And the public had to wait for the companies to float full IPO.
Under the new law, the US and Canadian companies that have their primary offices located in the US can raise up to $50 million annually. It is a great opportunity for young startups to go public in their early stages.
However, SEC regulation is a quite lengthy and expensive process; it takes around 4 months to prepare the filling documents, involves legal and accounting fees of over $100,000, requires 2 years audited financials and follows many regulations. After filling, SEC again takes a couple of months to review and approve. After getting qualified, a startup is required to file the financial discloser publicly twice a year. In this regard, the new law is similar to traditional IPO offering except the limit of raising funds is up to $50 million annually.  
“This is a great opportunity to bring people from my own community, fans and supporters who believe in our dream and love to build innovative products and take a risk to invest in our dream," Giri said, adding that he wants them first to receive potential financial returns.

Ridi hydropower receives Rs 1.15 billion worth application in first two days

The ordinary shares of Ridi Hydropower Development Company has drawn Rs 1.15 billion in the first two days.

The 2.4-MW hydropower company has floated 1.17 million units of primary shares  from yesterday.
The Initial Public Offering (IPO) at the face value of Rs 100 per unit is being managed by Civil Capital Market and Elite Capital and will close on February 20.

An applicant can apply for a minimum of 50 units and a maximum of 10,000 units.

Earlier, Ridi Hydropower has already issued 300,000 units of primary shares to the locals of hydropower affected areas last October.
Ridi Khola Small Hydropower Project came into operation four years ago has already sold electricity worth Rs 148.30 million to Nepal Electricity Authority.

The company, with an authorised capital of Rs 500 million and issued capital of Rs 300 million, has paid-up capital of Rs 183 million after the issuance of the primary shares to the locals. After the public issue, Ridi Hydropower will have Rs 300 million paid up capital.

In the last fiscal year 2012-13, the hydropower company has posted Rs 21.2 million net profit. It is promoted by Arun Valley and Rairang Hydropower Development Company, which have four hydel projects under them.

Ridi Hydropower floats ordinary shares

Ridi Hydropower Development Company has floated 1.17 million units of ordinary shares with a face value of Rs 100 per unit from today.

The company that had received nod from the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) to issue shares worth Rs 117 million on February 3 will open its Initial Public Offering (IPO) till February 20.

 The 2.4-megawatt hydropower project has been developed on Ridi River in Gulmi and Palpa districts. "Some 58,500 units of shares have been separated to three mutual funds – Nabil Balance-1, Siddhartha Investment Growth Scheme-1 and Nagarik Yekanka Yojana – on proportional basis apart from some 23,500 units to its employees, according to Sebon regulation.

An investor can apply a minimum of 50 units to a maximum of 10,000 units, said the company that has appointed Civil Capital Market and Elite Capital as the issue managers.

The paid up capital of the hydel company will reach Rs 300 million, after the public issue. The hydropower company is also planning to develop 10-MW Iwa Khola Hydropower in Panchthar district.

Ridi Hydropower will become the sixth hydropower company to be listed at the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) that already has Arun Valley Hydropower, Butwal Power, Chilime Hydro Power, National Hydro Power and Sanima Mai Hydropower under its hydropower sub group that is slowly changing the investment scenario in the stock market.

Barun Hydropower will be the seventh hydropower company to be listed at the Nepse as it had already sought permission to issue 243,000 units of shares to the locals of the hydropower affected area, whereas Upper Tamakoshi Hydro Power will be the eighth hydropower company as it is also planning to float 25.42 million units of shares.

Ridi Hydropower gers Sebon nod to go public

The banks and financial institution dominated-Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) is going to get sixth hydropower company that is expected to shift the domination towards the hydropower slowly.

As the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) today approved Ridi Hydropower Development Company's application to float 1.1 million units of ordinary shares to the public within the next two months, the stock market might be reenergised.

The Ridi Khola Hydropower project operating since October 2009 has earned Rs 21.2 million profit in the last fiscal year. The 2.4–MW hydropower company had issued 300,000 unit stocks to affected locals of Palpa and Gulmi districts in October 4. Promoted by Arun Valley Hydropower – another Nepse-listed hydropower company – the hydropower has been assigned ‘IPO Grade 3’ credit rating to the Initial Public Offering (IPO) – that indicates average fundamentals – by the credit rating agency Icra Nepal.

Currently, five hydropower companies – National Hydropower Company, Butwal Power Company, Arun Valley Hydropower Company, Chilime Hydropower Company and Sanima Mai Hydropower –  have listed their stocks at the Nepse under hydropower sub group that shares around seven per cent of the total market capitalisation.

United Modi Hydro, Api Power Company to floate primary share; NIBL Capital Markets issue, sales manager

The stock market will have two more hydropower companies as United Modi Hydropower and ApiPower Company are going to float primary shares to the public soon.

NIBL Capital Markets – a wholly owned subsidiary of Nepal Investment Bank and a licensed merchant banker from the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has signed agreements with them to act as the issue manager and underwriter for their Initial Public Offerings (IPO).

Chief executive of NIBL Capitals Shivanth Bahadur Pandé and MD of United Modi Hydro Sudhir Prasad Timilsina signed the agreement yesterday on behalf of their respective institutions.

United Modi Hydro will issue some 4,000,000 units of stock worth Rs 400 million at the face value of 100 per unit.

Currently, United Modi – that is in the process of converting itself into a public limited company – runs the 10 MW Lower Modi-1 Hydropower Project in Parbat and is now constructing 10.5 MW Lower Modi-2 Hydropower Project as the second part of the cascade project.

Likewise, Api Power Company will issue up to 2,046,240 units worth Rs 204,624,000 at Rs 100 per unit.

Chairman of Api Power Guru Prasad Neupane and GM of NIBL Capital Ram Krishna Khatiwada signed the agreement, on behalf of their respective institutions, on 16th January.

Api Power Company has already started construction of the 8.5 MW Naugard Gad Project in Darchula.
Currently, there are five hydropower companies listed at the Nepse.