IPO Proposal of Bikash Hydropower Company Limited Approved by SEBON

The Securities Exchange Board of Nepal (SEBON) has approved the IPO issue proposal of Bikash Hydropower Company Limited.

The company will now issue 4,454,596 equity shares at a par value of Rs. 100 each. The amount of the issue is Rs. 44.54 Crore.

Prabhu Capital Limited has been appointed as the issue manager for the IPO issuance.

ICRA Nepal has upgraded the issuer rating of Bikash Hydropower Company Limited from [ICRANP-IR] BB to [ICRANP-IR] BBB-, indicating a moderate degree of safety in meeting financial obligations. The company’s long-term rating has also been upgraded from [ICRANP] LBB to [ICRANP] LBBB-, and its short-term rating from [ICRANP] A4 to [ICRANP] A3. These upgrades reflect an improved assessment of the company’s overall creditworthiness.

Bikash Hydropower Company Limited (BHCL), established in February 2017 and converted to a public limited company in January 2022, has a paid-up capital of approximately NPR 464 million as of mid-January 2025. Major shareholders include Khagendra Neupane (~14%), Krishna Prasad Ghimire (~8%), Saroj Dhital (~8%), Raj Kumar Gurung (~7%), Indra Bahadur Dhakal (~5%), and Sunil Shrestha (~4%). The company operates the 4.55 MW Upper Machha Khola Small Hydropower Project in Gorkha, Gandaki Province, based on a Q50 model with a design discharge of 2.63 m³/sec and a gross head of 219.5m. The project generates about 31.157 GWh annually with a 39% dry season energy mix and was completed at NPR 1,118 million, reflecting a 37% cost escalation, funded through a 58:42 debt-to-equity ratio.