Presenting the budget for the fiscal year 2083/84 before a joint session of the Federal Parliament on Friday, Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle unveiled an ambitious structural reform roadmap aimed at replacing traditional trading limitations with high-liquidity, international-standard instruments.
- High-Velocity Trading: Intra-Day and Short Selling
Currently, Nepal's secondary market operates under a rigid system where investors must wait for shares to be cleared and deposited into their demat accounts before selling. The new budget disrupts this framework entirely:
Intra-Day Trading: NEPSE will undergo a structural overhaul to roll out intra-day trading in a phased manner, allowing investors to buy and sell the same securities within a single trading session to lock in quick profits or mitigate immediate risks.
Short Selling & Derivatives: To ensure investors can generate returns even during bearish cycles, the government will introduce derivative instruments and short-selling capabilities, providing essential hedging and risk-management tools.
These features are highly anticipated to exponentially increase market liquidity and daily transaction volumes.
- Global Capital Access via GDRs
In a historic first, the budget paves the way for top-tier Nepali corporations to integrate directly with global financial hubs. Under the new policy, eligible and capable Nepali companies will be permitted to list on foreign stock exchanges and raise international capital by issuing Global Depository Receipts (GDRs).
- "Zero Tolerance" Policy for Market Malpractices
To protect retail investors and maintain market integrity amidst these advanced rollouts, the government is adopting a strict zero-tolerance stance against fraudulent activities. The budget outlines comprehensive capacity-building for regulatory bodies to aggressively investigate and penalize Insider trading, share cornering and artificial price manipulation
