The Parliamentary Finance Committee has decided to allow the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) to move ahead with the license issuance process of new stock brokerage firms. After a discussion with the representatives of Sebon on Tuesday, the committee has given its nod to the licensing process. Seeking clarification over the issuance of licenses, the committee on June 12 instructed Sebon to suspend the process. In a meeting on June 12, the lawmakers demanded that a sub-committee should be formed to investigate the alleged irregularities in the issue of license issuance for a new stock exchange, brokerage firms, and commodity exchanges. With Tuesday’s decision, the deck has been cleared for Sebon to proceed with license issuance for new brokerage firms. The board has already issued the letter of intent (LoI) to 43 brokerage firms. The regulator had already issued licenses to 18 brokerage firms before the finance committee's June 12 instruction.

The June 12 decision of the committee came under criticism as Sebon had started the licensing process following the Supreme Court’s decision. A group of new stock brokers who'd received the LoIs also strongly lobbied with the government and the political parties to break the deadlock.

The lawmakers during Tuesday’s meeting appeared conciliatory with almost all of them agreeing for resuming the stalled licensing process. UML lawmaker Padam Giri who'd earlier taken a stance against the new license issuance, on Tuesday said that firms that have met the criteria should be given licenses to make the market competitive. Lawmaker Mukta Kumari Yadav opined that the finance committee cannot stop the process after the decision of the Supreme Court. The Rastriya Swatantra Party lawmaker and economist Swarnim Wagle said that the licensing process should be carried out transparently. Former finance minister Bishnu Paudel said that brokerage firms should be issued licenses in accordance with the law. “The finance committee should honor the decision of the Supreme Court,” he said. During Tuesday’s discussion at the finance committee, Sebon Chairman Ramesh Kumar Hamal stressed the need for additional brokerage firms in the domestic stock market. “Brokerage firms are the important stakeholders of the capital market. The new firms are being given licenses as per the need of the market. It is normal to receive a complaint when a syndicate of brokerage firms is being dismantled,” he said. The Sebon, on 18 Sept 2022, invited applications for a new stock exchange, commodity exchanges, and stock brokerage firms. However, the process stalled for five months after advocate Deepak Bikram Mishra went to the Supreme Court (SC) demanding to stop the licensing process. The licensing process was stalled after the apex court issued an interim order on 21 Oct 2022. But, the joint bench of Justices Sushma Lata Mathema and Anil Kumar Sinha in the second week of April 2023 dismissed the petition, paving the way for the Sebon to move ahead with the licensing process. Following this, the Sebon on April 13 again invited applications from interested parties for new stock exchange and commodities exchanges. According to Sebon, the new stock exchange should have a paid-up capital of Rs 3bn, of which 70 percent will be institutional investments. The licensing process for the new stock exchange has been stalled following instructions from Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.  Amid allegations from various quarters that the government was trying to grant licenses for a new stock exchange to certain businesspersons, the licensing was stopped after Prime Minister Dahal directed Sebon to halt the process in the second week of May. Three companies have applied for the new stock exchange, namely the Himalayan Stock Exchange, National Stock Exchange, and Annapurna Stock Exchange. As for the license issuance for two commodities exchanges, Sebon is currently evaluating the applications of four companies.