EPF has written to NRB to buy all shares at the same price it bought the shares previously, informed Tulasi Prasad Gautam, Manager of EPF.
Earlier, EPF bought 10 percent of NEPSE shares at a price of Rs 1,032 through an auction. As a company could bid for a maximum of 10 percent of shares, EPF bid for the same which left the auctioned shares unsold. Thus, EPF expressed its desire to buy the remaining 14 percent of shares, he said.
The central bank auctioned the shares on July 16 on the condition that a company could purchase a maximum of 10 percent shares. Only three companies proposed to buy the shares. During the auction, EPF bought 10 percent of shares while Laxmi Bank and Prabhu Bank bought 5 percent each. NRB still holds 14 percent shares in NEPSE which it aspires to sell.
NRB is yet to respond to the proposal. Previously, Citizen Investment Fund also proposed to buy the shares, however, it did not bid for the shares in the auction.
As per the new Act, NRB can hold a maximum of 10 percent shares in any institution. Therefore, it has formulated a strategy to reduce its investment in other institutions.
Currently, the government owns 58.66 percent of NEPSE shares. Similarly, NRB holds 14.60 percent, EPF 10 percent, Prabhu Bank 5 percent, Laxmi Bank 5 percent, Rastriya Banijya Bank 6.12 percent and brokers and other own 0.62 percent of NEPSE Shares.
