Employees of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON), who had been protesting for more than a month, have suspended their agitation after the government agreed to form a committee to review the decision to curtail their benefits.
According to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), SEBON staff agreed to resume work starting Sunday following discussions with Joint Secretary Uttar Kumar Khatri. The government formed a four-member panel led by SEBON board member Binod Kumar Bhattarai, along with board member Anand Raj Sharma Wagle and two SEBON employees. The committee has been given three days to submit its findings. SEBON staff have warned they will restart their protest if their demands are not adequately addressed.
SEBON employees had been on strike since September 23, causing delays in public issuance plans worth Rs 80 billion and affecting nearly 100 companies awaiting regulatory approval. The protest had effectively halted the regulator’s key functions, including approvals for IPOs, rights issues, debentures, and mutual funds.
The agitation began after the MoF, through a letter dated September 2, instructed SEBON staff to repay loans and benefits taken from staff welfare funds, along with interest. The ministry argued that SEBON’s welfare and protection funds were established in violation of the Government of Nepal (Allocation of Business) Rules, 2017, and the regulator’s own staff service regulations. It ordered the recovery of all disbursements made under what it termed “illegal procedures” and mandated prior MoF approval for future financial commitments.
In response, SEBON employees demanded institutional autonomy and the reversal of the government’s decision. They also called for the resignation of SEBON Chairman Santosh Narayan Shrestha and have barred him from entering the office premises.
