February 18: The government has appointed Ramesh Kumar Hamal as the Chairperson of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON). A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Thursday (February 17) appointed Hamal to the post.    

A committee formed to select a new chairman of SEBON had recommended the names of three individuals including Hamal for the top post. Other two persons recommended by the committee were Dr Gopal Prasad Bhatta and Krishna Raj Pokharel. Among the three recommended names, the government appointed Hamal for the remaining term of the SEBON chair which was lying vacant after the government removed the then chairman of the Board Bhishma Raj Dhungana for his alleged involvement in a shares-purchase scam of a cement company.

The position had remained vacant since the last four months after the government had sacked Dhungana on October 5. Dhungana  was appointed by the then government led by KP Sharma Oli around two years ago.

Hamal, a resident of Silgadhi in Doti district, holds a Bachelors degree  in electrical engineering and has served for eight years at Nepal Electricity Authority. He then acquired an MBA degree  from the Asian Institute of Technology Bangkok, Thailand.

Hamal, who was the president of the Thailand chapter of NRNA from 2007 to 2010, had returned back to Nepal only six years ago. Soon after his return, he started construction of a chain of Thailand’s renowned hotel brand Dusit Thani in Kavre.

The newly appointed SEBON chair has pledged to diversify the stock market in the interest of small investors.

Hamal added that he would make sincere efforts for the development and expansion of Nepal's stock market and to make it transparent and trustworthy.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has refused to issue an interim order in favour of sacked Dhungana.

A full bench of justices Meera Khadka, Anand Mohan Bhattarai and Hari Prasad Phuyal decided not to issue interim order in the case. This has effectively ended Dhungana’s hopes of returning back to his post in SEBON.