Floorsheet row: Investors see it as cartel; brokers as their rights; SEBON serious

ShareSansar, January 17:

The removal of broker numbers from the floorsheet of Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (NEPSE) website since the past few days has triggered a row between the investors and brokers while the regulator remains undecided.

The Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has said the controversy has drawn its attention and that it is planning to enquire NEPSE as to why it decided to remove the broker’s numbers from the floorsheet.

“We have received written complaints from the stakeholders, including investors, against the removal of broker’s number from the floorsheet,” SEBON spokesperson Niraj Giri told ShareSansar today. “We are currently discussing the matter internally, and will ask the NEPSE to clarify the matter.”

NEPSE itself maintains that it has removed the broker’s number from the floorsheet, acting upon the request of the brokers for their “rights to privacy”.

The investors, especially the retail ones, feel “cheated” in the process.

“This is a serious violation of rights to information of the investors,” said Uddhav Siwakoti, an investor and stock analyst. “On one hand, we are not provided with the market depth and on the other brokers’ number is removed from the floorsheet.  Now, looking at the floorsheet, there is no way an investor can say if some brokers in collaboration with some big investors are manipulating the market. And, most importantly, on what basis can an investor, especially a retail one, make his strategy?”

“This is all about some cartel of a handful of big investors and some brokers to ensure that they get the information before the other investors that can affect the price of the listed companies,” he added.

Gajendra Shrestha, a retail investor, removing the broker’s number from the floorsheet is part of a conspiracy to hide the information from the investors, especially the small ones.

“How could a small investor now ascertain that the floorsheet will reflect the real market scenario especially at a time when we all know that how big investors have been transacting their stock in small numbers to manipulate the price of the scrips they hoard,” he added.

On the other hand, the brokers argue that it is about their rights to privacy.
“Why should we share our business details with anyone?” said Narendra Sijapati, chairperson of Brokers’ Association. “Our right to secrecy has to be respected. That’s why the NEPSE agreed to remove our numbers from the floorsheet.”

Sijapati further argued that floorsheet of many countries, including India, does not reveal the broker number.

But the investors are not ready to buy that logic.

“That is absolutely misleading argument. If the floorsheet do not include the broker number, the website for the stock exchange has many other things that give the real depth of the market,” says Shrestha.

The investors further said that this is a serious issue, which will go a long way to damage the market in the long run by discouraging and even destroying small investors.

Some of the investors said that if the regulator does not act quickly to re-enter broker’s number in the floorsheet, they would be compelled to file a case in the court of law against the move.