Capital Compliance Deadline for Stock Broker Companies Extended by Nine Months

The Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has extended the deadline for stock broker companies to meet the minimum paid-up capital requirement by nine months.

SEBON had earlier proposed an amendment to the Securities Businessperson (Stock Broker and Stock Dealer) Regulations, 2064, requesting an extension for brokers failing to meet the capital threshold, and submitted it to the Ministry of Finance for approval.

According to sources, the Ministry approved the amendment on Monday, granting the extension. With this, stock broker companies that were previously required to meet the capital requirement by the end of Ashad 2082 now have until the end of Chaitra 2082.

The decision to seek an extension was made during SEBON’s board meeting last week, after 23 broker companies were found to be short of the required capital. SEBON had issued a directive on 8th Poush 2081, asking non-compliant brokers to submit capital increment plans, which formed the basis for the nine-month extension.

As per SEBON, companies unable to meet the requirement through profit-based capitalisation must either inject new capital or opt for mergers.

In Bhadra 2079, SEBON amended the regulations to raise the minimum capital threshold significantly—up to 30 times higher for new license applicants. The amendment also introduced a three-tier classification system for brokers:

• Limited Transaction Brokers: Rs. 20 crore

• Full Transaction Brokers: Rs. 60 crore

• Stock Dealers: Rs. 1.5 billion

Based on the revised rules, 42 stock brokers were licensed. Existing brokers, however, were given until Ashad-end 2082 to comply, which has now been extended due to the inability of 23 firms to meet the target on time.