NMB starts online share application

Good news for share investors !

Soon it will be possible for them to apply for the primary issue from their own homes.
"The days of long queues to apply for primary issues will soon be a thing of past," said Upendra Poudyal, CEO of NMB Bank Ltd, launching his bank's online share application service -- NMB e-Solutions: NMB online share application -- here today.
NMB Bank has come up with the first step in the online share application system. "An investor can now file profile online and need not fill up any applications," he said adding that it will also help save investors time and energy everytime a primary issue is floated.
However, for the time being as Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has not brought an online share application regulation one has to follow some procedure manually as usual, such as registration.
"Once an investor files his/her profile online, he/she will get a slip with ID code -- easily printable -- and can register at the privileged counters with mandatory documents like photos and xerox copies of citizenship certificate and pay the amount equal to the number of shares sought," CEO Poudyal added.
However, it will definitely take some time to go to complete electronic application system for shares. "Some changes in the regulatory framework of the Securities Regulation and greater awareness among investors could help go for complete electronic system of application for shares in the future," he said, "NMB Bank will improve the service gradually and go completely electronic," Poudyal assured. "While it is our initiative to start online share application, I feel other issue managers will also follow suit to make the share application process easier."

The Nepali capital market has seen tremendous growth in the last one decade. The sole secondary market has been automated and the number of investors at present is estimated at around 1.5 million. If the complete ectronic share application is implemented by the Sebon, the investors will benefit more and fake applications could be checked.

Nepse in revival mode, Mega IPOs fail to drag market index down

Investors in the secondary market this week earned in comparison to the earlier weeks as Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) gained 15.43 points to reach 671.49 points from last week's closing of 656.06 points.
Despite huge primary issues of Rs 300 million each of two commercial banks that totalled Rs 600 million the secondary market this week performed satisfactorily. The share market opened on a positive note on Sunday rising by 15.65 points to reach 671.71 points. But the sole secondary market shed 2.89 points to register 668.82 points on Monday. On Tuesday, Nepse again slipped by another 3.67 points to slide to 665.15 points.
On wednesday, the fourth day in the domestic market, the index further dipped by 1.63 points to drop to 663.52 points. However, on Thursday, the last day of the trading in the domestic market, Nepse bounced back by 7.97 points to close the weekly market at 671.49 points.
The market closed in the green on two days of the five-day session and the transaction amount decreased by 16.22 per cent to go down to Rs 228.77 million from last week's Rs 273.08 million. Last week, it had increased by 36.62 per cent to go up to Rs 273.08 million.
This week, 79 listed companies saw their shares traded as against 78 last week.
The sensitive index -- a barometer of 78 Group-A companies -- gained 5.90 points to surge to 174.35 points from last week's 168.45 points. Similarly, the float index -- calculated on the basis of real transactions -- gained 1.74 points to 63.33 points from last week's closing of 61.59 points.
This week's top performers were Infrastructure Development Bank (with Rs 20.99 million), Bank of Kathmandu (with Rs 16.80 million), Standard Chartered Bank (with Rs 14.30 million), Nabil Bank (with Rs 13.66 million) and Nepal Development and Employment Promotion Bank (with 10.07 million).
In terms of share units traded, Alpic Everest Finance topped the chart with 46,000-unit shares this week whereas in terms of number of transactions Infrastructure Development Bank topped the chart with 898 transactions.
Except commercial banks and hydropower companies groups, the insurance companies, finance companies and development banks groups lost this week.
Finance companies group's investors lost heavily this week as the group lost a whopping 62.94 points to slide to 794.34 points from last week's closing of 857.28 points. Similarly, development banks and insurance companies group lost 6.87 to go to 968.47 points and 1.54 points to go to 651.38 points.
Commercial banks group gained 30.13 points to rise to 649.62 points and hydropower group gained 26.65 points to rise to 848.94 points.