Nepali market - Some syndicates and some trading houses

Rajesh Sharma

In developed markets, factors like big or small players, syndicates and trading houses etc, may be considered as peripherals as demand and supply rule the market. But, in underdeveloped markets like ours; rumors, manipulations,   covert operations like wrongly using BT platform, overt interventions like willfully introduced ambiguous policies by the regulators, etc play vital roles. 

Hence, I thought to share what impression I have about BIG Players in the market.

There are three major syndicates and three major trading houses operating in the share market in Nepal now.

Syndicate 1 - NRB officials/finance ministry officials including former officials of both. They issue directives targeting the market. Often, the directives have mouths in both sides. There is enough room for misinterpretation. Present 5% provisioning directive is one such thing. They use this modus operandi to get richer in no times by buying and selling shares in the name of many relatives/friends.

Syndicate 2 - Officials of SEBON/NEPSE/CDS. They simply obstruct the process of bringing transparency in the market. They may or may not be directly involved in buying or selling shares, but they get wealth accumulated through this modus operandi of obstruction/acceleration. Delay in implementation of CDS is an example.

Syndicate 3 - A few brokers have been accumulating wealth through a well thought out strategy. Primarily, they do this by utilizing the system of BT for their vested interest.

Trading House 1 - Pradhan, Shrestha and another Pradhan are in this trading house. Manufacturing rumors, packaging them well and marketing rumors as truth are their way of doing things. The group attacks a company as SALAHA, partly controls it, does cosmetic surgery and sells at unbelievable price.

Trading House 2 - T'wala trading house has a bit ethical strategy. It tries to influence the management and harvests benefits in a comparatively business like manner. However, this trading house also utilizes rumors spread by other trading houses. The worst thing this trading house does is that it influences Syndicate 1 and 2 and shares benefits with them by reaping bumper harvest through introduction of ambiguous policies.

Trading House 3 - This Shrestha, Shrestha and Shrestha trading house is naked, openly corrupt and does anything at its disposal to grab, snatch and rob money. This infamous trading house needs no further explaining.

Moreover, the political crooks provide fodder to above mentioned syndicates and trading houses. And, the syndicates and trading houses chew that fodder tastefully. Hence, this factor also needs to align with rumor mill when looking at, analyzing and understanding the market

Hence, we small investors need to develop information network, should expand knowledge base and  have to insert courage within ourselves so as to smell, analyze and understand what is happening in the market and strategize our behavior accordingly.

I believe we should develop capacities to survive and flourish in an environment, which is hostile. That is absolutely possible.