NHPC share trade resumes; buyers seeking more than 50 k scrips at circuit level of Rs 126

ShareSansar, March 26:

Shortly after Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (NEPSE) issued a stern warning to the crisis-ridden National Hydropower Company Limited for failing to renew RTS agreement, which is divided in two factions, they have apparently reached some understanding to appoint the RTS.

Consequently the trading in the scrips of NHPC has resumed after a long hiatus at NEPSE much to the respite of the shareholders.

Grow More Merchant Banker officials also informed ShareSansar today that they have inked RTS agreement with “the majority group” of the NHPC, which is apparently the group led by Nirmal Pradhan.

President of the Brokers’ Association Narendra Sijapati informed that they resumed the trading since the only reason they had stopped trading NHPC was that its contract with the RTS had expired.

“Now that the RTS contract has renewed, we have no problem trading the shares,” Sijapati said.

Meanwhile, the market has responded positively to the development, and there are buyers for more than 50,000 units of NHPC scrip at the circuit level of Rs 126.

On the basis of a decree issued by the Patan Appellate Court not to impede the trading of shares of, on March 20 NEPSE had issued a three-day ultimatum to the crisis-ridden hydropower developer to unify its Boards of Directors (BoDs) to appoint its RTS.

The company whose shares traded at as high as Rs 600 when stock market was surging to an unprecedented level around eight years back went on a free fall when company ran into rough weather due to extremely poor and non-transparent corporate governance.

To further complicate the problem, two groups of promoters – each led by notorious NB Group and Nirmal Pradhan — have been staking claim over the company over the recent years.

And, due to the row between the two groups, NHPC had not been able to renew the agreement with its RTS, Grow More Merchant Bank since Mangshir.

The group led by Prakash Rajaure, which is believed to be close to Nirmal Pradhan and the other group led by Yogendra Rai, which is said to be close to the NB Group, had issued separate notices earlier this month, asking the investors to transfer the
ownership of NHPC scrips traded up to February 17 by March 21.

It may be noted here that the scrip had breached the par after a hiatus of four years in February as the investors hoped that the crisis might be over soon following the rumor of the renewal about the renewal of the contract with the RTS.

Though the regulator has not been able to take a bold stance on the festering issue and NEPSE has even withdrawn the trading suspension of NHPC shares since June following the Patan Appellate Court’s decree, the brokers had not been trading the shares.

Meanwhile, both the groups maintain that they are trying to resolve the dispute at the earliest in the utmost interest of the investors.