Investors decide on agitation
KATHMANDU, APR 12:
Investors have announced a series of protest programmes against the regulators to compel them to take concrete action to save the stock market from its current freefall.
Three investors’ associations — Nepal Stock Investors’ Association, Nepal Investor Forum and General Investors’ Association — have announced their phase-wise protest programmes starting from April 5. According to their joint protest programme, investors will conduct a signature campaign which will be delivered to the prime minister and the finance minister, in the first phase.
Likewise, investors will be present at the offices of stock brokers wearing black armbands to express their protest. Moreover, investors have decided to approach and ask banks and financial institutions to call off the forceful selling of the shares that were pledged to obtain the loans.
“If these steps are not successful in gathering due attention from the concerned bodies, then we will launch the second phase of protest,” said general secretary of Nepal Stock Investors’ Association Prakash Rajoria.
In the second phase, investors will picket the regulators’ offices –– Nepal Rastra Bank, Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon), Nepse and Insurance Board –– to pressurise them. They have decided to ask investors to boycott transactions starting with one hour per day to ultimately stopping trading for an undisclosed time.
“We are hopeful that the protests will attract interest from Sebon and the government as well,” pointed out Rajoria, lamenting the apathy of the concerned bodies towards the plight of capital market investors. “If the country cannot take care of their domestic investors how will they safeguard the interests of international investors,” he added.
The major demand made by investors is to restart margin type lending being undertaken by brokers as the loans taken against shares issued by banks and financial institutions is pushing investors to desperation because of the forceful selling of the shares, he pointed out.
They have demanded the government to form a market rescue fund, and introduce institutional investors and market makers so that the oversupplied market can be stabilised.
They have demanded the regulators to introduce a provision of making financial institutions, insurance companies and institutional savers to invest five per cent in stocks. Likewise, they have asked the government to create an asset management company.
Source: THT
