‘We Hope the Market for Our Business Grows Fast In Nepal’

Cyrus Khambata is the Chief Executive Officer at CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL).  He joined Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) in 1999, the date of CDSL’s operation and currently offering his services as an Executive Vice President. CDSL is a leading securities depository in India.  Previously, he served Bank of India as a Chief Manager for 20 years. Sushila Budhathoki of New Business Age talked with Khambata during his recent Nepal visit. 

Excerpts: 

What brings you to Nepal this time?

I am here for the inauguration of clearing and settlement system started by Central Depository & Settlement Corporation (CDSC). I have been putting my effort to start the system for three years. I am here for technical assistance. 

So, you had a meeting with brokers also?

Yes, they had certain questions like how DEMAT operates, how the risks can be minimised etc. And we had to explain them.

Now the CDSC has come into full operation. How will it support the capital market of Nepal? 

In the physical settlement process, shares traded in the stock exchange have to be transferred manually. That takes a long time to change the ownership. With Dematerialisation (DEMAT), the shares get transferred to the respective stakeholders’ account immediately on the trading day so they can use it during emergency also.  

How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal? 

We hope the market for our business grows fast in Nepal. We will target big companies and have started the DEMAT services offered to the shareholders. So, that it would grow rapidly. People who are trading shares will prefer DEMAT because it is less time consuming. But the people who are not trading will take time to familiarize with DEMAT.

What are other infrastructures necessary for Nepali capital market? 

In the capital market, there are three large infrastructure providers. One is regulator who does a lot of monitoring, second is the exchange which offers trading facilities and the third one is depository which sets up the depository participants to cover the entire population.  In India, there are 18, 000 depository centers covering 25,000 pin codes out of 27,000 pin codes in the country. State Bank of India provides DEMAT facilities from its 3000 branches among 10 -12 thousand branches.

So, like SBI, Bank of Kathmandu also can be the center for providing DEMAT facilities. It can offer this service from its 500 branches which will cover the entire country.

What are your suggestions to CDSC for providing services other than normal settlements?

It can provide numerous services if permitted. One is e-voting service. It would help the shareholders to participate in the operation of the company that they own. For example, they can even electronically vote for the AGM even if they are not physically present to attend the programme. 

Similarly, they can provide KYC (Know Your Client) services. To open a DEMAT account, you have to comply to the KYC rules. It is required by banks, insurance companies and telecom operators to name a few. All the documents need not be collected from the client in each and every step every time he/she transacts somewhere. So, CDSC can become a bank for KYC document and the client can just file his details once and for all for any organisation.