NIBL promoter shares fall under Promoter Group B and are freely tradable: NRB

ShareSansar, September 3:

Nepal Rastra Bank has refuted the allegation of Nepal Investors Forum that there was no clear written commitment from regulators including the central bank on tradability of the promoter shares of Nepal Investment Bank Limited and Nepal Awas Finance Company Limited bought through the ongoing auction of RBB to divest its cross-holding.

Talking to ShareSansar later this afternoon, the central bank officials have clarified that there is a clear-cut written provisions in the NRB BFI Directives-2071 that NIBL scrip being auctioned by RBB fall under Promoter Group B like Nabil Promoter Group B shares.

“Promoter shares (of NIBL and Nepal Awas) which are currently being auctioned by RBB are freely tradable like any other Promoter Group B shares,” a senior NRB official told ShareSansar today.

But the central bank official added that there just one condition related to the sale of the promoter related to cross-holding that the investors have to be careful of: If they want to sale these promoters scrip the buyers must make self declaration that they are not blacklisted by the Credit Information Bureau to buy such scrip. (See below: the scanned copy of the Clause 4 of Article 17, Page 170 of the Unified Directives-2071).

The central bank further clarified that Clause 4 (of Article 17, Page 170 of the directives) will not be applicable for the NIBL and Nepal Awas promoter shares sold through the ongoing share auction while the rest of the Clauses of

Similarly, NRB has also made it clear that the provisions related to transaction of promoter shares (Clause 2, Page 165 of the Unified Directives-2071) were for general types of promoter shares and not applicable for the Promoter Group B scrip.

Likewise, the central bank has also cleared the confusion regarding a provision in the new Monetary Policy which states that “Existing provision of categorizing the promoters of BFIs into different groups will be ended by bringing all promoters into one single group.”

“We want to make it loud and clear that any provision of the Monetary Policy does not became a law until and unless the central bank issues a directive/ circular on any issue,” added NRB official. “Hence, the investors should go by the Unified Directives when it comes to buying the Promoter Group B shares.”