Will Nepal Life Insurance FPO and Forward Community IPO be allotted within Falgun 13? (What do the issue managers say?)

Citing the acute credit crunch in banks and its effect on the secondary market, Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) had earlier instructed Siddhartha Capital Limited (issue manager for FPO of Nepal Life Insurance Co. Ltd.) and Nabil Investment Banking Limited (issue manager for IPO of Forward Community Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd.) to conclude the allotment within Falgun 13, 2073. This new instruction has increased the workload on both issue managers. Speaking to ShareSansar, Mr. Dhruba Timilsina, CEO of Siddhartha Capital said that they were doing everything in their capacity to conclude the NLIC FPO as soon as possible. “Since it’s a delicate work, we cannot offset accuracy for speed. We had formed a workplan based on the existing provision, but we got the instruction in between our existing workplan. We cannot give an exact time as to when we can conclude the allotment, but we are working to complete it soon”, said Mr. Timilsina. Mr. Anoj Thapa, Head of Merchant Banking at Nabil Investment Banking Ltd., the issue manager for the IPO of Forward Microfinance said, “At this time, we are processing almost 14,000-15,000 forms every day to meet the SEBON’s deadline. We can stay hopeful, but we can’t confirm if the allotment will be concluded by then”. The FPO of Nepal Life Insurance had collected more than Rs 52 arba from almost 2.50 lakh applicants. Overriding the previous provision for the FPO of Nepal Life Insurance to be allotted within 60 days, SEBON had instructed to allot the shares within 40 days. Likewise, Forward Community Microfinance was given 30 days for allotment, whereas according to the existing provision, the allotment should have been concluded within 40 days. The IPO had collected Rs 6.80 arba from around 1.30 lakh applicants. After the allotment of both the issues, almost Rs 55 arba excess money will be refunded to the non-allottees. The banking channel that has been facing credit crunch for the last few months is expected to revive from this flow of money, which should also affect the stock market positively.