How Long Will SEBON Take to Approve All 108 IPOs in Its Pipeline?

Nepal’s IPO market continues to face a prolonged approval wait, with 108 companies currently in the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) pipeline, seeking approval to issue a combined 48.17 crore shares worth around Rs. 70.20 billion. The latest pipeline was published by SEBON on August 18, 2026.

The situation has drawn further attention following the appointment of Dr. Gopal Prasad Bhatta as SEBON chairperson. Bhatta took the oath of office on June 19, 2026, after being appointed by the Cabinet.

Despite the appointment of the new chairperson, no company has received IPO approval from SEBON since Bhatta took charge, according to SEBON’s publicly available IPO approval records. The last IPO approval was issued on April 27, 2026, according to the regulator’s approval records. No new IPO has been approved since then.

Meanwhile, new applications have continued to enter the pipeline. Four companies had submitted IPO applications after Bhatta’s appointment, but approvals remained at zero as of the August 18 pipeline update.

If the existing 108-company backlog were processed at a rate of just one IPO approval per week, it would take 108 weeks, or slightly more than two years, to clear the current queue.

This is only a mathematical estimate and does not represent SEBON’s official approval timeline. The actual period could be longer because new companies may continue to submit applications while existing proposals are under review.

The approval process must also be viewed against Nepal’s government working calendar. The Ministry of Home Affairs lists government office hours from Monday to Friday, with Saturdays and officially declared public holidays excluded from regular working days.

Therefore, if IPO approvals are processed strictly based on working days rather than a fixed weekly rate, public holidays and non-working days could further affect the pace of processing. The growing pipeline has left retail investors waiting for fresh primary-market opportunities, while the continued entry of new applications could further increase the backlog.

With 108 companies currently awaiting approval and no new IPO approved since the appointment of the new SEBON chairperson, the key concern for the market is how quickly the regulator will begin clearing the accumulated queue. 

There are 18 companies in the hotels and tourism sector, 35 in the hydropower sector, 6 in the investment sector, 31 in the manufacturing and processing sector, 3 in the micro-insurance sector, and 15 in other sectors.

At a rate of just one approval per week, clearing the existing 108 companies would take 108 weeks, or more than two years. However, the actual timeline could be longer if new applications continue to enter the pipeline, making timely regulatory decisions crucial for both companies seeking to raise capital and investors waiting for new investment opportunities.

https://www.sebon.gov.np/uploads/2026/08/18/UIXo1bw9PmRRsW6m0MoGm7w2PsbOXzoibr0En6sd.pdf