Bikash Hydropower Company Issuing IPO Shares to Locals of Gorkha District And Nepalese Employed Abroad From Jestha 6

Bikash Hydropower Company Limited has published an offer letter to issue an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the project-affected locals of Gorkha District and Nepalese citizens working abroad.

The IPO issue for the locals and Nepalese citizens working abroad will open from the 6th Jestha to the 20th Jestha, 2082. Note that for the locals of Gorkha District, if the issue is not subscribed by the early closing date, the issue can be extended till Ashadh 04. However, the issue will not be extended to the early closing date for Nepalese citizens working abroad.

The issued capital of the company is Rs. 90.91 Crore, of which 10%, i.e,. 9,09,101 unit shares worth Rs. 9.09 Crores will be allocated to project-affected locals of Gorkha District.

Meanwhile, 39% of the company's issued capital, i.e., 35,45,495 unit shares, will be issued later for the general public. Of this public issue, 10% of the shares, totaling 3,54,550 units, have been allocated for Nepalese citizens working abroad, the issue of which will open on the date mentioned above.

Out of the total 35,45,495 units, 1,77,275 units have been set aside for mutual funds, and 70,910 units have been set aside for the employees of the company. The remaining 29,42,760 units are for the general public, the issue of which will open later.

For the project-affected locals, the minimum application quantity to be applied is 10 units, while the maximum quantity is 10,000 units. For the Nepalese citizens working abroad, the minimum application quantity to be applied is 10 units, and the maximum quantity is 10,000 units.

Prabhu Capital Limited has been appointed as the issue manager.

ICRA Nepal has upgraded the issuer rating of Bikash Hydropower Company Limited from [ICRANP-IR] BB to [ICRANP-IR] BBB-, indicating a moderate degree of safety in meeting financial obligations. The company’s long-term rating has also been upgraded from [ICRANP] LBB to [ICRANP] LBBB-, and its short-term rating from [ICRANP] A4 to [ICRANP] A3. These upgrades reflect an improved assessment of the company’s overall creditworthiness.

Bikash Hydropower Company Limited (BHCL), established in February 2017 and converted to a public limited company in January 2022, has a paid-up capital of approximately NPR 464 million as of mid-January 2025. Major shareholders include Khagendra Neupane (~14%), Krishna Prasad Ghimire (~8%), Saroj Dhital (~8%), Raj Kumar Gurung (~7%), Indra Bahadur Dhakal (~5%), and Sunil Shrestha (~4%). The company operates the 4.55 MW Upper Machha Khola Small Hydropower Project in Gorkha, Gandaki Province, based on a Q50 model with a design discharge of 2.63 m³/sec and a gross head of 219.5m. The project generates about 31.157 GWh annually with a 39% dry season energy mix and was completed at NPR 1,118 million, reflecting a 37% cost escalation, funded through a 58:42 debt-to-equity ratio.

Offer Letter