Nepal's sole secondary market operator is the Nepal Stock Exchange. The first topic that has been the most discussed in Nepal's capital market for the last two decades is the restructuring of NEPSE.

The second most controversial issue is whether to allow a new stock exchange with private sector investment or not? During this period, many Prime Ministers, Finance Ministers, Securities Board Chairmen, and the leadership of NEPSE changed. However, the debate on the aforementioned issue is still ongoing. 

The stock market has now reached the hands of the general investor. The Securities Buying and Selling Center was established in 2033 BS as the first capital market-related institution in Nepal. This institution was transformed into the Nepal Securities Exchange Market (currently the Nepal Stock Exchange) in 2050 BS. The Securities Transactions Act, 2040, was formulated as the first law to regulate the stock market. After the Nepal Securities Board was established as the regulatory body of the capital market in 2050 BS, more than 400 capital market-related institutions were established, including brokers, securities dealers, merchant bankers, credit rating agencies, venture capital, CDAC and Clearing, a subsidiary of NEPSE. With the structural development of the capital market, the number of investors opening demat (share accounts) has reached about 7 million and the number of investors opening TMS (share trading accounts) has reached about 4.5 million. About twenty percent of the total population of Nepal is involved in the stock market. 

The attraction of the general public towards the stock market is gradually increasing, but there is also widespread public complaint that the development and improvement of the market has not been as expected. The main share of the Nepalese government in NEPSE is 58.66, Rastriya Banijya Bank 11.23, Nepal Rastra Bank 9.50, Employees Provident Fund 10, Laxmi Bank 5, Prabhu Bank 5 and other institutions have 0.61 percent share capital. The government's investment in NEPSE of about 60 million has now reached one billion. 

It seems that the practice of running stock exchanges globally is that a group of experts runs them. In various large economies of the world, with large populations and listed companies, and in some emerging economies of South Asia, there are very few stock exchanges.

This should have ended the debate on the need for another stock exchange in Nepal and the dilemma on whether competition in stock exchanges is necessary or not. Even in developed countries with large economies, high populations and many listed companies, the number of stock exchanges is only one or two at most. If stock exchanges were a competitive institution, hundreds or thousands of them would have been established in developed countries. The size of Nepal's population, the number of listed companies, and the size of the economy have made the debate on the need for another stock exchange meaningless. For three decades after its establishment, NEPSE should have developed new financial or derivative instruments. However, this issue is not possible through the efforts of NEPSE alone. These tasks are to be done by the stock exchange itself, but the existing Securities Act, 2063 states that in order to develop new financial or derivative instruments in Nepal, it must first be done after the 'necessary legal arrangements and restructuring of NEPSE'.

It is necessary to reform the structure of NEPSE to make it completely technology-friendly, facilitate decision-making and procurement processes, and bring in partners for restructuring and strategy. There is no doubt that Nepal needs a state-of-the-art stock exchange. However, it is ironic that the issue of NEPSE reform has not received priority despite the scope for reforming an institution valued at billions of rupees, established with investment from the current state. The issue of NEPSE restructuring is not purely related to the reform of NEPSE. It is also a matter of national interest and importance, linked to the development, reform of the capital market, and the preservation and enhancement of public assets invested by the state. 

The number of stock exchanges around the world has been declining since the 1980s. There were dozens in Canada, hundreds in the US, and twenty-six in India. Now, stock exchanges in most countries have merged and no longer exist. The entire Europe is now supported by a group of four stock exchanges. In neighboring Pakistan, the Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore Stock Exchanges merged in 2010 to form the current Pakistan Stock Exchange, concluding that the country did not need three stock exchanges. The merger process was led by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the regulatory body of Pakistan's securities market. Today, cross-border trading between different countries has become easy. The number of stock exchanges in each place does not have much meaning or importance. However, the services and technology they provide should be modern and of high quality.

The issue of restructuring NEPSE or allowing a new stock exchange is like the chicken or the egg. The issue of restructuring NEPSE is one of the major tasks to be done for the improvement and development of the capital market. Which also makes a significant contribution to the development of NEPSE's capital, technology, and human resources. Among the stock exchanges in South Asian countries, NEPSE's operating expenses and human resources are the lowest. The current stock exchange is giving an average of 100 percent return (dividend) to the government every year.

The common suggestion of the reports prepared by various task forces for capital market reform is to restructure NEPSE. There have been calls in Parliament and parliamentary committees to restructure NEPSE. The report of the subcommittee under the Finance Committee of the Parliament, coordinated by Ram Kumari Jhankri, the report of the Chintamani Shiwakoti Task Force formed to study the stock exchange, the report of the High-Level Suggestion Commission for Economic Reforms, coordinated by the current Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal, the annual policy and program budget and action plan of the Government of Nepal for the current fiscal year 2082/083, the recommendation made by the Nepal Securities Board to the Ministry of Finance, and the report of the Capital Market Reform Suggestion Task Force formed by Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal immediately after his appointment as the Finance Minister have already recommended restructuring of NEPSE.