Public Offering Approvals Halted For Over Six Weeks due to SEBON Staff Protest

The approval process for public offerings has remained completely stalled for several weeks after employees of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) went on strike, halting all official work since September 23.

No approvals for any type of public offering have been issued since September 2 after SEBON last granted an Initial Public Offering (IPO) approval to SY Panel Nepal Limited on that date. Employees began their protest demanding the reinstatement of previously provided benefits that were recently cut. The agitation followed a decision made by a secretary-level meeting of the Ministry of Finance on September 16, which directed the recovery of previously disbursed funds from SEBON’s internal fund, citing that the payments were made under procedures inconsistent with existing laws. The ministry sent a letter to SEBON on September 18 to implement the decision, prompting the employees to launch their protest from September 23.

A senior SEBON official said the pen-down strike has halted all administrative and regulatory work, including the approval of public offerings. Although the SEBON board of directors met on Sunday to discuss implementing recommendations from the Capital Market Reform Task Force, the official confirmed that no decisions were made regarding approvals of public issuance.

Since multiple departments are involved in processing approvals, the strike has made it impossible for the board to complete the necessary procedures, the official added. With little sign of the government addressing the demands of the employee soon, the approval process is expected to remain suspended for some time.

According to SEBON data, applications worth over Rs 80.64 billion are awaiting approval for public issuance. Of this, IPO applications totaling more than Rs 54.15 billion from 75 companies are pending. Similarly, three companies have applied for further public offerings (FPOs), 11 for rights shares, nine for mutual funds, and four for debentures. Some companies have sought approval to issue securities to repay project loans, while others plan to use the proceeds for capital expansion or business growth.

Stakeholders have expressed concern that work disruptions in such a regulatory body should not affect daily market operations. Meanwhile, employees of the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) have also launched a protest since September 24, demanding the resignation of its chairperson and chief executive officer. Despite the protest, NEPSE’s daily trading operations have continued smoothly.