Things To Know About The Share Market Of Nepal
NEPAL STOCK EXCHANGE LIMITED (NEPSE)
STOCK MARKET
A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include securities listed on a public stock exchange, as well as stock that is only traded privately, such as shares of private companies which are sold to investors through equity crowdfunding platforms. Investment in the stock market is most often done via stock brokerages and electronic trading platforms. Investment is usually made with an investment strategy in mind. Stocks can be categorized by the country where the company is domiciled.
STOCK EXCHANGE
A stock exchange is an exchange (or bourse) where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell shares (equity stock), bonds, and other securities. Many large companies have their stocks listed on a stock exchange. This makes the stock more liquid and thus more attractive to many investors. The exchange may also act as a guarantor of settlement. These and other stocks may also be traded "over the counter" (OTC), that is, through a dealer. Some large companies will have their stock listed on more than one exchange in different countries, so as to attract international investors.
The Basic Requirements To Start Trading In The Stock Market Of Nepal
The basic requirements to start trading in the stock market of Nepal. You need to go through the following process before you can apply for a share of a company offered in the primary market and purchase/sell shares in the secondary market of Nepal.
- Open a Bank Account.
At first, you need to visit one of the approved BFIs and open your bank account. You need a citizenship certificate for this purpose along with other necessary documents.- Open a Demat Account.
To invest in the Nepalese stock market either primary or secondary, a Demat account is mandatory now. Previously, share investors used to hold their shares in a physical form as a share certificate. Demat account facilitates share investors to hold their shares in an electronic form. Like a bank account, the shares you buy and sell in the stock market are debited and credited to your Demat account accordingly. You can open a Demat account with zero balance of shares in your account. In order to open a Demat account, you can either visit approved BFIs, brokers, or merchant bankers. You can open your Demat account at any Depository Participant (DP) institutions that are accessible to you. Most of the commercial banks currently also work as DPs, therefore, you can opt for your Demat account at the same bank where you open your saving account. Those DP's generally charge Rs. 100/150 as service charge while opening your Demat account; however, some may even provide it free of cost.
- C-ASBA & CRN Number.
Centralized Application Supported by Block Amount (C-ASBA) is an advanced form of ASBA which has allowed investors to apply for primary and right offerings online. To get the C-ASBA registration number, you need to visit the approved bank where you hold your bank account and fill the C-ASBA form. You need Demat account information to fill the C-ASBA form. Click Here to know the ASBA charges of Banks in 2021. Once you get the CRN number, you can apply for primary and right shares of the issuing companies. You do not need this number to buy or sell shares in a secondary market i.e it is used with MeroShare. This service is available free of charge.
- Open a MeroShare Account.
In order to invest in shares easily and directly from home online, MeroShare is very useful to investors. To get this service, you just need to pay Rs. 50 per year. You can only apply shares for primary and right offerings easily through the use of MeroShare by CDSC.
You can access MeroShare online through their website https://meroshare.cdsc.com.np or through their mobile app MEROSHARE. This lets you apply the share wherever you are through an internet-connected device.
Similarly, you can directly transfer your shares to the broker using the EDIS facility. Just go to your bank and fill the form of MeroShare to get this facility. You need to provide an email id to receive your login id and password. The password should be changed after the first login and the transaction pin should be set by the user.
- Open a Broker Account.
If you want to buy and sell shares in a secondary market, you need to select one of the brokers available for stock trading. While opening a brokerage account, it will be better if you choose the brokerage firm operating through an office near you.
Open a broker account and then you can place the order to buy or sell the shares of the companies listed on Nepse. You will get a unique code through which your transaction is placed by the broker.
A Trade Management System (TMS) account is created by the broker side on top of their own TMS subdomain which is used for online trading of shares. Like, MEROSHARE this also lets you do online trading without visiting the broker's office for the secondary market.
Opening an account with a share broker is not mandatory for you in your initial stage of entering the share market through the primary root, you will need it later while selling your shares. We have 50 share brokers in Nepal usually identified by unique broker identity numbers. Another good news is that it’s completely free to open your account at the broker office but be aware of the small percentage of the broker's commission and tax per kitta of share you trade. You can avail the complete list of share broker offices here.
For more queries, you can follow our Telegram channel https://T.me/NepalStockExchange for regular updates.
What does owning shares actually mean?
In layman's terms, shares or the stocks of any company is the portion of its ownership. Let’s simplify it further. If you come across a person who claims that he has got 20 “kitta” of shares of XYZ company, then you got to understand that he is an owner of a certain percent of stake in that company. As a lawful owner, he, therefore, has an option to sell his ownership to others with an added value; or else he could also hold his ownership to be eligible to receive an equal proportion of the company’s profits.
What pre-works should I perform before entering the share market?
Make sure that you fulfill all the basic requirements to start trading in the stock market of Nepal and have some investable cash (at least Rs. 5,000) in this case as we shall specifically deal with Initial Public Offering (IPO). Also, make sure that the seed money (at least Rs. 5,000 in this case) is free from any liabilities for at least a couple of months. This means you don’t need to spend this seed money for any emergency purpose for a couple of months or so.
The “limited” or public companies are required to sell a certain portion of their ownership to the general public through a process called Initial Public Offering (IPO) in which the public can apply for a share with Rs. 100 (or Rs 10.) as per-share cost. Later when the transactions of these shares are conducted (buying and selling of company ownership), the value of such shares can either increase or decrease depending on various factors (company’s’ financial performance, market demand, and supply, etc.). Therefore, while selling your shares that you grabbed in the primary market, you need to do it via the platform in the secondary market. In this case, the role of share brokers come into the scene.
What benefits will I have if I own some “Kitta” of shares?
As already mentioned, owning shares (few kittas or big volume doesn’t matter) of companies makes you eligible to share the profit of that company. While sharing its profit, the company basically opts for 2 modalities.
- Bonus Shares.
The word “Bonus” is the way someone/some institution shares joy/profit with associated people/institutions. In this case, when the company whose share you have held makes some profit, it may decide to reward all the shareholders (owners) in form of an additional bonus. Let’s get it more simplified with an example. Let us assume that you have grabbed 20 kittas of shares in the IPO of an XYZ company and the company made a handsome profit this year. In this case, the company might decide to issue bonus shares at the rate of 25% to its shareholders. Now, since you have 20 kitta of shares, 25% is 5 more kitta of shares and the same will be credited (added) to your Demat account in the form of bonus share. This time, you don’t need to pay a single penny but you are getting 5 additional shares to your Demat account and the earlier 20 Kitta shares are still intact. Let’s do some basic math now. Your 20 Kitta had initially cost you Rs 2,000 and you are getting extra 5 kitta i.e. Rs 500 worth of shares totally free. Now, the cost price was definitely Rs. 100 but the secondary price in the secondary market could be higher (perhaps Rs 200, hopefully, Rs 300 or even more). In this case, the basic math says that your investment initially was Rs. 2,000 but it is now worth more than Rs 2,000. However, on the flip side, since you are a shareholder of the company, you might also have to share the loss of the company. In such a scenario, the company might not prefer giving out the bonus shares for that particular year and the price of its shares in the secondary market may even tumble below the base price of Rs. 100.
- Cash Dividends.
Cash dividends are also bonuses but shared in terms of cash. Some companies might not need additional capital, so there is no need to increase their number of shares by providing bonus shares. In such a case, the company will opt to share its profit by distributing the cash dividend. Let us go back to an earlier example of owning 20 kitta of shares. In that case, if the company decides to provide a 25 % cash dividend, then you will receive 25 % for every kitta share you own i.e. Rs. 25 as cash dividend for every one share. In total, you will be receiving Rs. 500 for 20 kitta shares (25*20=500). This may sound a little unattractive than bonus shares which could later be sold at a higher price but having something is still greater than nothing at the end. Note: 5% capital gains is deducted for all bonus and cash dividends. For example, in the above example, if you were eligible to receive 5 kitta shares or Rs 500 cash, you are liable to pay 5% (i.e. 5% of Rs 500 = Rs 25) as tax. So, you will receive Rs 475 as a cash dividend. In the case of bonus shares, you might have to pay Rs 25 first to receive a bonus in your Demat account.
- Right Shares.
Sometimes, the company might need to increase its capital (growth in ownership through the multiplication of existing shares). In that case, the company might opt to issue the right shares for its existing shareholders. Such shares are dedicated only to the existing shareholders of the company who are offered the right shares at the price of Rs. 100 in a certain proportion (no matter how much should be its value in the secondary market). In such a case, the existing shareholder visibly has the upper hand in profitability as the cost price is Rs. 100 and the selling price could be much higher. Let us go back once again to our earlier example. You had 20 Kitta shares and received 5 more Kitta as a bonus. Now your total balance is 25 Kitta. Then, if the company needs to increase the capital (number of shares), it decides to hike it by 40% by offering 40% shares in the right shares to existing shareholders. In this case, 40 % of your existing 25 kitta shares is equal to 10 kitta of more shares. This time, you aren’t getting those 10 kitta free of cost but you are supposed to pay Rs. 100 for each of them i.e. Rs. 1,000 for 10 kitta of new shares. Again, the earlier principle applies here as the price in the secondary market could be Rs. 200 or more which allows you to make a visible profit in your investment.
- Profit in the Secondary Market.
It’s a basic human understanding that if we can purchase some items at a lower rate and sell them later at a higher price, we undoubtedly have a margin of profit. The same is the case in the share market as well as you can always opt to sell your shares (transfer the ownership) to other buyers (interested owners) if you find an appropriate percentage of profit in such a transaction. There are shares of hundreds of companies being traded currently in the share market and most of them were offered at Rs. 100 during their early days. The trading in the secondary market is, however, associated with several risk factors (follow-up coverage would be done in upcoming parts).
What investment options do I have as an amateur investor?
Knowledge about the share market is something one is supposed to cultivate along with growing experience in the field. The ultimate goal of every small and big investor generally is to understand the technical and non-technical sides of the stock market so that s/he can identify the best buying and selling points to unload and offload his/her holdings to multiply the value of shares s/he currently holds. However, this knowledge comes with training, maturity, and after having spent considerable time watching the trends of the market. However, there are some investment sectors other than the secondary market where the amateur and beginner investors can step into with relatively low risk. Let us scroll through few such investment options:
1. IPO (Initial Public Offering)
Much has already been defined about IPOs. For a quick reminder, let’s just conclude with a statement that IPO is the market instrument through which the companies collect cash from general people for their business purpose and these people are made the owners/shareholders of the company. These days, many companies are coming up with IPOs and many new and old investors have flocked to this investment instrument due to its relatively low risk.The ratio between the offered IPO shares and the public demand has been going with huge discrepancy these days as there are undoubtedly many interested investors. Let it be clear that we can apply to the IPO shares of the companies with a minimum seed fund of Rs. 5,000 or minimum 50 Kitta. Due to the high volume of applications, everyone who applies cannot be guaranteed of receiving shares in IPO, therefore, the shares are allotted using a lottery system. Almost every IPO these days is oversubscribed by multiple times and one investor can expect to be allotted with some 10 Kitta of shares on a lottery basis. Therefore, it is generally advisable to apply with Rs. 5,000 for any IPO these days. If you feel like applying with more money and you actually have some more to spare, I would suggest you open multiple accounts in the names of your other family members and supply your applications in their names. This way, your probability of being allotted with some 10 or more kitta shares increases. By the way, if you fail to receive shares or could grab only a few Kitta shares, then you will have your remaining cashback in your bank account.
You may wish to access more IPOs that will be in the market soon so that you can plan your available budget and allocate resources for potential investment. You get access to all the upcoming IPO shares through the above links which will give you a clearer picture of the potential issuance for the general public, for hydropower project affected areas, for employees from different companies, and so on.
2. FPO (Further Public Offering)
Sometimes, the companies that had already issued IPO might need to collect more cash from the public which leads to the issuance of FPO. Here, be informed that FPO may or may not be issued at the price of Rs. 100 per share. The company may attach some premium value to the FPO shares and the price is usually determined by their trading price in the secondary market. For example, when Standard Chartered Bank had issued FPO, the price of its shares at the secondary market was around Rs. 1,800. So, it had offered FPO shares at a somewhat cheaper rate i.e. Rs. 1,290. The company used Rs. 100 as its par value per share but the remaining Rs. 1,190 was used as the earning of the bank. Now, you may think why would one purchase shares of public offering at such a hefty price? Let us revisit the above statement again. At the time the bank issued its FPO shares, the price in the secondary market was hovering around Rs. 1,800. Now, if one gets shares is Rs. 1290, there’s a clear profit margin of Rs. 500. As a result, even that public issue was oversubscribed by manifold.
While applying for shares in FPO, the companies generally require you to make an application for a minimum of 10 Kitta of shares. In this case, the seed fund of Rs. 5,000 (as in the case of applying for IPO shares) may or may not be adequate to apply for such shares. Let it also be clear that FPO shares these days are also oversubscribed, therefore, it’s suggested to apply with some wit; to opt to apply with multiple applications as in the case of IPO. This will definitely increase your chance of being allotted at least a few kitta shares if the process undergoes the lottery system. *Please make sure to visit the website regularly for upcoming episodes in the series where we shall be learning about investment options in Nepal and the actual benefits one can reap through these different investment instruments.
3. Mutual Fund Schemes
If you feel spending Rs. 100 per share is something that can give you sleepless nights and restless days, then let’s learn about another cheaper but equally lucrative investment option. It’s quite agreeable that spending in shares and trading them in the secondary market is prone to expose us to more risk. In such a situation comes an investment instrument called “Mutual Fund Scheme”. This is basically recommended for small and inexperienced investors as such shares could be purchased in Rs. 10 per Kitta. The return from these instruments is also almost similar to that of other Rs. 100 denominated shares as we can sell them later at a higher price in the secondary market or hold them to receive dividends for them (cash dividends).Now what about the risk factor, there might be a question? These mutual funds are maintained and regulated by highly competitive investment management entities and there is relatively low risk associated with the investment. It’s like, you give your money to competent investors and fund managers to invest and receive benefit from that same investment. There’s still an indirect risk in such that the funds are usually invested in the stock market itself, but investing Rs. 10 for every share means the risk factor is very minimal and the investment is also diversified. Let it also be clear that the investors are required to invest at least Rs. 1 thousand i.e. 100 kitta.
You might also feel like “Aren’t there any other options that require less than Rs. 10 per kitta of investment?” I would say, “Yes, there are”. There is a total of 11 Mutual Fund Schemes that are currently being traded in the secondary market. Some of them are way higher than Rs. 10 but there are few others that are even below Rs. 10 per share. It could also be an investment option for some who would like to purchase those shares below Rs. 10 and sell them later when their value jumps up.
4. Auction shares
Now, this could be something different from the above mentioned 3 instruments. This is more than buying shares as there’s one more thing to be familiar with. Presumably, the auction is something we have heard for a long now. Simply put, bidding for something at such a price that can stand out among others is what auction basically means. Similar phenomena also take place in the share market where the companies offer their public shares to the highest bidders.Most often, such rights shares are not fully subscribed by their rightful owners due to various reasons. In such a case, the company offers those shares in an auction. In this case, you may/may not get those shares in the par value i.e. Rs. 100 as the price depends on the bidders who quote their desired amounts to purchase those shares. There’s a general practice among the investors to mention the price that is some 12-15% below the market price of the share of the auctioned company in the secondary market. To make it clear with an example, if there’s an XYZ Bank that is putting its shares in the auction, the investors basically check the price of the shares of that company in the secondary market. If it is Rs. 200 on the previous day of application, the investor might mention a price of Rs. 170 (15% less) with a hope that other investors would be quoting further low price therefore giving him hold of those shares. One thing to be clear about while applying for auction shares is that we are required to apply for a minimum of 100 kitta of shares. Next, we are supposed to visit the designated venue to submit our auction bid application with a certain form charge as of now. Another equally important fact to be taken care of is the allotment of shares is not certain as this depends on other competitive bidders. For example, when Everest Bank whose price in the secondary market was hovering around Rs. 1200 auctioned its shares, people who had applied to quote even with less than Rs. 200 per share got the shares. In another case, there are examples where the price in the auction had been higher than the market price. Finally, the happy part of the story is that no broker charges are stipulated while purchasing the shares in an auction. Therefore, it is generally advised to bid competitively with such a margin that even if the share price of the company declines in the secondary market, there is little room for loss. To wrap up, some 15-20% margin in the bidding process is usually viewed as an acceptable practice.
What are the actual investment procedures?
Having said all that, most of you probably have started thinking “I would like to invest as well. On top, I have some seed money to begin my investment portfolio as well”. Now the only thing that might have been holding you back is the problem of the information gap. First, it’s very important for you to know which all companies are offering their primary shares. As public companies, those companies are obligated to disseminate all their financial information through national media. You got to be well-informed about the financial milieu of your nation as the investment that you make today is for your own prosperous future and you should be one to take responsibility for that. For you to bridge your information gap, there are several online portals like ShareSansar.com that are dedicated solely to the share market.Once you have got hold of the necessary information, the next step you will need to proceed with is by actually applying for those public issues. Barring the procedure of applying for the auction shares, you basically have 2 ways to apply for the shares at a public offering. First, it’s the manual process where you need to visit the branch of the ASBA partner financial institutions. Here, attached is the link to the article that was intended to guide the interested investors to carry out their ASBA application process at the time when United Modi Hydropower was offering its shares at IPO. Except for a few updated information, the basic procedures to apply for other IPO shares are still the same.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Now, one may have questions regarding different legal provisions
that have regulated our share market so far. Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON)
is one of such regulators in the share market that issues different directives
to regulate the market as per different circumstances. Recently, the Securities
Issue and Allotment Guidelines 2074 from SEBON is one such set of instructions
that all the listed companies should abide by in letters and spirit. In this
part of the series, we will try to clarify some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
that beginner investors generally have.
For more queries, you can follow our Telegram channel https://T.me/NepalStockExchange for regular
updates.
1. How can I know which all companies are issuing their IPO and
FPO?
As a public company, SEBON has made it mandatory to announce its offers through the
national media. You can find all relevant information such as the opening day,
closing day, minimum and maximum units to apply, etc. through such media. You
may also want to know more about the recent public issues via ShareSansar.
2. Should I submit more than 1 share applications in my own
name?
No, you
should never do that. If you happen to submit more than 1 application in your
name, you will be summarily disqualified from the entire application process.
But if you know that the volume of application would be high and still wish to
increase the probability of winning shares in the lottery process, it is
advisable to apply on behalf of family members through which you can apply for
the shares.
3. How many days do I need to wait to know if I have been allotted
shares in IPO and FPO?
As per
SEBON, an issue manager is mandated to finalize the share allotment process
depending on the number of applicants. From the date of closure of the public
issue, the issue manager is required to allot the shares by:
- 30
days when the number of applicants is below 2 lakh
- 40
days when the number of applicants is between 2 to 3 lakh
- 50
days when the number of applicants is more than 3 lakh
4. How
would I know if I have been allotted with the shares?
On the
day of allotment, the issue manager makes public the names of applicants who
have been allotted the shares. With the availability of online media, one can
easily get access to such information quite easily soon after the data is made
public. IPO/FPO Results are also available in ShareSansar.
5. If shares are allotted to me, when can I begin trading them?
In case
of the shares under the quota of project affected locals and employees of
promoter companies, you cannot trade your shares until 3 years from the time
you have been allotted them. If you have received public shares in IPO and FPO,
you will have to wait till the company gets those shares listed in NEPSE after
completing all legal and practical formalities. After the shares got listed,
you can expect them to be credited (added) to your Demat account around 7 days
after which you can start trading them.
6. Is there any prescribed guidelines through which I can
know how many shares I would possibly be allotted?
Yes,
there certainly are. The securities and allotment guidelines from SEBON has
made it clear that
- Every
applicant should mandatorily get 10 units of shares. In the case of
surplus shares, 10 more units should be allotted for the remaining
applicants who had applied for a minimum of 20 units and the process
continues.
- If
allotting 10 unit shares doesn’t seem possible because of the big volume
of applicants, then the allotment has to be conducted via a lottery system
which must also ensure a minimum of 10 unit shares to the lucky lottery
winners.
7. When will I receive a refund if I'm not allotted with shares?
The
issue manager is mandated to return the non-allotted amounts within 3 days of
the date of share allotment. These days, applying shares through the ASBA
system is mandatory. Therefore, you will have your amount unblocked in your
bank account by 3 days at the latest.
8. How long will I need to wait for receiving the dividends?
First, the bonus shares and cash dividends are announced by the board of any company which has to be approved by Nepal Rastra Bank or respective regulatory body and the Annual General Meeting of the company itself. After receiving approval from both, you will receive cash dividends directly in your bank accounts in most cases provided that you have linked your Demat account and the bank account. You will receive a cash dividend quite earlier than you receive your bonus shares.
In the case of bonus shares, the SEBON guidelines have mandated the companies to register the endorsed bonus shares with the board and file an application with the NEPSE to list those shares within 2 months of being endorsed by the AGM. The entire process, however, appears quite cumbersome as there are many instances when the endorsed bonus shares do not get listed for months. There’s no sign of improvement in the situation until and unless SEBON comes up with new regulation clearly defining the deadline for the dividends to be credited into shareholders’ respective accounts.
9. After applying for the right shares, when will I receive them
in my Demat account?
Any company willing to issue the right shares should apply with SEBON within 2
months of the approval of the right issuance from its AGM/SGM. After necessary
examinations, SEBON permits the company to float its right shares. Such a
company is required to start floating those shares within 2 months of receiving
approval from the SEBON. As per the guidelines, a company can keep the floating
process of right shares open for a minimum of 35 days and may also extend the
same by 2 weeks if the subscription rate is poor. Once the deadline to apply
for the right shares is closed, the company further issues a notice for
auctioning the unclaimed right shares if the existing shareholders don’t
subscribe to them. After completion of the entire auction process which still
is a further cumbersome one, those shares need to wait further in the pipeline
to be listed in NEPSE. After their listing, you can receive them in your Demat
account by 7 days after which they become ready for trading.
10. What if I don’t want to subscribe to the right shares but am
willing to transfer the ownership of my shares so that s/he can apply the right
shares?
Yes,
this is absolutely possible; a process is known as right renouncing. But this
is possible provided that the right issuing company has made it permissible. If
such is a case, then you should apply for the transfer of the right and deposit
the number of right shares before the right issue is closed.
·
I always keep my eyes on Upcoming IPO in Nepal and when they are available I apply. Luck's not on my side as I have applied for 12 IPOs in Nepal and only got 1.
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