The Supreme Court of Nepal has dismissed a writ petition that sought to halt the licensing process for a new stock exchange. On Wednesday, a constitutional bench comprising Chief Justice Prakashman Singh Raut and Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla, Kumar Regmi, Hari Prasad Phuyal, and Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma ruled against the petition filed by advocate Krishna Bahadur Thapa and others.
Thapa had filed the writ, arguing that Nepal Securities Board’s (SEBON) process for issuing a new stock exchange license had policy flaws. The petition had named SEBON, the Ministry of Finance, and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers as defendants. With the Supreme Court’s decision, the government can now proceed with licensing a new stock exchange.
The new stock exchange requires a minimum paid-up capital of NPR 3 billion, with 70% ownership allocated to the founding members and 30% to the general public. SEBON had previously invited applications for the license, and three companies—Himalayan Stock Exchange, Annapurna Stock Exchange, and National Stock Exchange—had applied.
