Promoter shares of Emerging Nepal Limited remain untradeable even three months after the lock-in period expired, as government authorities continue to pass responsibility instead of resolving the technical issue.
In most non-financial companies, promoter shares are converted into ordinary shares for trading immediately after the lock-in period expires. However, this has not been the case for Emerging Nepal, a public-private partnership venture.
The company’s 5,000,400 promoter shares and 11,112 employee shares exited their lock-in period on February 15, 2025. Yet, trading has not commenced due to a discrepancy in the International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) and scrip code assigned to its promoter and ordinary shares.
While it is common for companies in the financial sector to have different ISINs and scrip codes for different types of shares, the norm for companies in other sectors has been to use the same identifiers for both. CDS and Clearing Limited (CDSC) and the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) generally follow this practice.
An ISIN is a 12-digit alphanumeric code used to uniquely identify securities such as stocks and bonds, while a scrip code is used to identify the company on the stock exchange. In Emerging Nepal’s case, the ISIN and scrip code differ for promoter and ordinary shares — creating complications for trading.
Despite repeated follow-ups by Emerging Nepal with NEPSE, CDSC, and the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) since November 25, 2025, the agencies have failed to take a clear decision. According to documents obtained by New Business Age, each institution has deflected responsibility onto the others.
“A failure to decide is also a form of corruption,” said a senior official from Emerging Nepal. “This is exactly what has happened in our case.”
The official added that outside the banking, financial, and insurance sectors, promoter shares are generally traded as ordinary shares once the lock-in period ends. “We have repeatedly requested a unified ISIN for our now tradeable promoter shares, but our request has been ignored, and unnecessary complications have been created,” he said.
A senior CDSC official stated that current regulations do not provide clear legal grounds for merging two ISINs, which is why the request could not be approved immediately.
“Discussions are ongoing between CDSC and other concerned agencies on whether a single or dual ISIN system should be used,” he added. CDSC is the sole authority in Nepal for issuing ISINs.
According to the official, other companies are not currently facing similar issues, except for Emerging Nepal.
Frequent correspondence has taken place between Emerging Nepal, NEPSE, CDSC, and SEBON during this period. While NEPSE agreed to unify the scrip code, CDSC has insisted on a decision either from the company’s general assembly or an approval from SEBON. SEBON, for its part, has not issued a definitive directive. When CDSC informed SEBON that there was no clear legal provision regarding merging ISINs, SEBON instructed CDSC to make a decision based on prevailing norms and best practices.
If no legal provisions or decisions are made soon, other companies may face similar issues. Companies including Citizens Investment Trust, Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Limited, and Nepal Infrastructure Bank Limited — which, like Emerging Nepal, fall under the same investment group — also currently operate with two ISINs.
