Fiscal Nepal
First Business News Portal in English from Nepal
KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Finance has approved the sixth amendment to the Securities Businessperson (Securities Broker and Securities Dealer) Regulation, 2064, allowing Nepal’s capital market regulator—Nepal Securities Board (SEBON)—to grant nine additional months to broker companies to meet the minimum capital requirement of Rs 200 million (20 crore).
SEBON had submitted the amendment proposal two weeks ago, requesting an extension of the deadline and modifications in scope and operational definitions related to broker companies. SEBON spokesperson Niranjaya Ghimire confirmed that the Finance Ministry has approved most of the proposed changes.
“The amendment approval letter was received today from the Finance Ministry, with most of our proposed points accepted,” said Ghimire. “Following this, SEBON’s board meeting will endorse the amendments, and the sixth amendment will come into effect within Ashar (July 15).”
The regulatory amendment allows existing brokers, who were previously required to meet the capital threshold by Ashar-end 2082 (mid-July 2025), to now comply by Chaitra-end 2082 (mid-April 2026).
Among the major amendments:
Extension of capital compliance deadline by 9 months
Clarification of margin trading provisions
Authorization for brokers to act as Qualified Institutional Investors (QIIs)
Linguistic and technical updates to the regulation
An official from the Finance Ministry confirmed, “SEBON requested this amendment primarily to ensure that the remaining broker companies are given more time for capital compliance. The rest of the proposals—including business scope-related clarifications—have also been approved.”
According to SEBON, of the 50 licensed broker companies, 28 have already met the revised capital requirement, while 22 are still short of the mandatory Rs 20 crore paid-up capital.
SEBON had asked the undercapitalized brokers to submit capital increment plans by Poush 8, 2081 (December 23, 2024). Based on those submissions, the Board proposed a 9-month extension. Brokers that fail to meet the capital requirement from their FY 2081/82 profits have been advised to either inject fresh capital or pursue mergers.
Previously, in Bhadra 2079 (August–September 2022), SEBON had amended the same regulation to raise the minimum capital for new broker licenses.
The capital requirement for:
Limited brokers: Rs 200 million
Full-service brokers: Rs 600 million
Stock dealers: Rs 1.5 billion
This capital restructuring divided brokers into three operational categories. While 42 new brokers were licensed under the new framework, existing brokers were given until Ashar-end 2082 to comply—an objective now extended till Chaitra-end 2082 due to non-compliance by 23 brokers.
The Finance Ministry’s approval now clears the way for SEBON to enforce the amended regulation, granting relief and operational clarity to Nepal’s growing capital market sector.
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