March 8: The securities market of Nepal has more than 42 percent of women investors. According to the latest data, 42.44 percent of the Demat (beneficiary) accounts, which are mandatory for securities transactions, are in the name of women.

Looking at the data up to March 6, the total number of beneficiary accounts has exceeded 62,05,000. According to CDS and Clearing Limited (CDSC), more than 26,33,000 of the total beneficiary accounts are in the name of women. This is 42.44 percent of the total beneficiary account.

There are more than 35,64,000 beneficiary accounts in the name of men. Similarly, 6,948 beneficiary accounts have been opened under the corporate segment and 54 beneficiary accounts in the other category, CDSC information officer Suresh Neupane told New Business Age.

As the regulatory body has made it mandatory to open beneficiary account for securities transactions, the number of such accounts is continuously rising. Neupane informed that only 381,225 beneficiary accounts have been added in the current fiscal year. According to him, 58,24,279 beneficiary accounts were opened till the end of the previous fiscal year.

Sarita Bista, vice president of the Stockbrokers Association, estimates that women, who make up almost half of the total beneficiary accounts, own 30 to 40 percent in the secondary market as well. Bista, who has been working as a broker for a long time, said that women are more active in the securities market these days than before.

She thinks that many women are not used to this technology-related market. “Our sisters who use social media can easily use the securities trading system,” said Bista, adding, that the women who have been investing in the capital market since a long time are doing business themselves.

She says that although women are ahead in everything in the market, they are still lagging behind in decision-making.

According to Bista, the capital market has expanded nationwide but many women are still beyond its reach.

Durga Tiwari, an active and successful investor in the capital market, considers the capital market as her business. Tiwari, who has spent nearly two decades in this field, says that when she entered the capital market in 2063, there were only a handful of female investors.

Breaking the historical background of only male participation in economic activities, Tiwari points out the need for women investors in the securities market to establish themselves not only numerically, but also qualitatively. According to Tiwari, women investors who have made the capital market their source of income have fulfilled their family responsibilities and also become partners in the family's economic progress.