No Celebration, No Chief; SEBON Marks 34th Anniversary, Minister Wagle Congratulate

On the occasion of Jestha 25, the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON), the country's capital market regulator, entered its 34th year of establishment. To mark the milestone, Nepal's Finance Minister, Dr. Swarnim Wagle, issued an official message emphasizing the need to build a secure, competitive, and globally compliant stock market to attract more investors. Dr. Wagle expressed confidence that SEBON would strengthen its regulatory capacity, reduce system risks through modern technology, and protect investor interests by promoting good governance and market reforms.

However, the anniversary has also brought internal friction to light. Ajaya Dhungana, a long serving official with ten years of experience at SEBON, shared a critical social media post presenting a starkly different view of the regulator's current state. Dhungana claimed that the institution has increasingly shifted toward serving personal interests rather than the public good. He urged the regulator to act like a "fair referee" and create policies that help bridge the financial gap between the rich and the poor. He also stated that each year some program was organized and recognize the employee work but this anniversary is totally different than previous anniversary; whole office is silent, no any program, no celebration. 

The critique also highlighted major governance delays within the regulatory body. Dhungana noted that despite high expectations following the formation of a new government with a strong majority on election, leadership reains mstalled. Nearly two months have passed since the previous chairman resigned, yet the government has still not appointed a new head. According to Dhungana, this failure to fill the leadership role, combined with the inability to even host a formal anniversary event this year, indicates a worrying slowdown of the institution's momentum.