KATHMANDU: The current number of Dematerialized (Demat) account holders in the country stands at 53,00,931.

Dematerialization of shares is the process of converting physical stocks into digital form so that they can be transacted electronically. The process began in Nepal only two years ago.

Within a short span of just two years, the number of demat accounts has reached 53,00,931 in the country.

According to Central Depository System and Clearing (CDSC) Limited’s official website, there are a total of 53,00,931 Demat accounts in the country. Likewise, 4,401,057 of them use Meroshare, an online portal of CDSC which provides the details of share transactions with Demat account.

Thousands of young people have entered the market as first-time investors since the pandemic-driven lockdowns and the rise of the work-from-home culture, which coincided with the period when benchmarks began to rise following the coronavirus-triggered crash in March 2020.

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) craze deserves the credit for permeating the otherwise-untapped parts of the country with investment access.

The bull trend during the lockdown also spread investing gossip outside the nation’s capital.

However, even today, only a fraction of the Demat account holders participate in the secondary market.

Also, given the rise of a bear market, recently only 1.4-1.5 million users apply for IPO.