Dr Bhatta appointed Chairman of Securities Board of Nepal

KATHMANDU: The government has appointed Dr. Gopal Bhatta as the Chairman of the Securities Board of Nepal.

A Cabinet meeting held on Friday decided to appoint Dr Bhatta, a former Executive Director of the Nepal Rastra Bank, to lead the country’s securities market regulator. He hails from Kailali district.

Dr Bhatta holds a PhD in economics and has previously served as a member of the government’s Sick Industries Rehabilitation Committee.

The appointment process was initiated through a recommendation committee formed under Section 7(3) of the Securities Act, 2063. The committee had invited applications from interested candidates, receiving 47 applications within the stipulated deadline.

Following the evaluation process, the committee shortlisted four candidates: Dr Gopal Bhatta, Nawaraj Adhikari, Binaydev Acharya and Mukunda Kumar Chhetri.

The recommendation committee subsequently submitted three names to the Council of Ministers, which selected Dr Bhatta for the post.

The appointment ends a prolonged vacancy in the leadership of the Securities Board and comes at a time when Nepal’s capital market is seeking regulatory reforms and greater investor confidence.