A prolonged protest by employees of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) has frozen public issuance plans worth Rs 80 billion, affecting around 100 companies awaiting regulatory clearance.
SEBON employees have been on strike for more than a month and a half after the government decided to cut back perks and benefits they had long been receiving. As a result, key regulatory functions—including approvals for IPOs, rights shares, debentures, and mutual funds—have come to a halt.
The last approval issued by SEBON was for the NMB Saral Bachat Fund-E on September 3. Since then, no new applications have moved forward. According to SEBON, 99 firms are currently awaiting approval to issue a total of 1.37 billion units of securities valued at Rs 80.64 billion. These include 74 IPOs, eight rights share applications, four further public offerings, four debentures, and nine mutual fund schemes.
The protest erupted after the Ministry of Finance (MoF), through a letter dated September 2, instructed SEBON employees to repay loans and benefits received from staff welfare funds, including interest. The MoF argued that SEBON’s welfare and protection funds had been established in violation of the Government of Nepal (Allocation of Business) Rules, 2017, as well as SEBON’s staff service regulations. It ordered the recovery of all disbursements made under what it termed “illegal procedures” and required prior ministry approval for any future financial commitments.
In response, SEBON employees launched an agitation on September 23, demanding regulatory autonomy and calling on the government to withdraw its directive. They have also demanded the resignation of SEBON Chairman Santosh Narayan Shrestha and barred him from entering SEBON premises.
A SEBON official noted that the ministry’s order would impact not only current employees but also former staff who had previously received benefits.
Meanwhile, SEBON’s board convened a meeting at the Ministry of Finance in Singha Durbar on Wednesday to discuss the dispute. According to an official, the meeting considered several agendas, including giving the chairman the authority to seek legal remedies in court against the ministry’s decision.
