The Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) officially launched a full-fledged online stock trading on November 6th. This allows investors to place, buy, and sell orders over the internet. The Nepse Online Trading System (NOTS) is expected to ease management of the transactions whose number grows by the day and provide access to a large number of potential investors.
To use the new system, investors need to obtain their user ID and password from their respective brokers after updating their Know Your Customer. Under the semi-automated system that was in place previously, investors were able to observe only the status of their trading, and they could not place an order to buy or sell shares.
Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada inaugurated the NOTS. In the inauguration, he said that the commencement of the online system was one of the milestones in the development of stock trading infrastructure.
The NOTS features 20 modules related to internal control system such as listings, matching engine and index management, brokers management, real-time information flow, risk management system, traders workstations, super administration terminal, order route management, exchange massaging system, members portal, brokers back office management, supervision system, users management, market makers and management information system and reporting.
NOTS is a huge leap forward for traders in Nepal and Nepalese abroad who can now take part in Nepal Stock market from the comfort of their homes. However, Bharat Ranabhat, president of the Stock Brokers Association of Nepal, said online stock trading would not take full shape until an online payment settlement system is established. “Although investors can buy and sell shares from their place, they still need to visit their broker’s office to complete financial settlement,” Ranabhat said.
