NCHL approves 20% dividend, capital increase, and board appointments at AGM

KATHMANDU: Nepal Clearing House Limited (NCHL) held its 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Kathmandu on Sunday.

The AGM approved the proposal to distribute a 19% bonus share and a 1% tax, resulting in a 20% cash dividend.

The meeting also approved the audit report, along with the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow statement for the fiscal year 2081 (2024).

According to the presented reports, NCHL’s paid-up capital will stand at Rs 1.268 billion, and the authorized capital has been increased to Rs 2.25 billion.

The company plans to use the capital increase to develop additional payment systems for the National Payment Switch, national and cross-border transactions, enhance risk management, and upgrade existing infrastructure.

In the fiscal year 2080/81 (2023/24), the number of transactions processed by the company increased by 54%, resulting in a 6.2% growth in the company’s net profit.

During the same period, NCHL processed a total of Rs 15.6 trillion worth of transactions through its payment systems.

The meeting also elected three new members to the Board of Directors, who were chosen unopposed.

The new directors represent commercial banks: Ujjwal Rajbhattarai, Deputy CEO of Himalayan Bank Limited; Mahesh Sharma Dhakal, Senior Deputy CEO of Nepal Investment Mega Bank Limited; and Srijan Malla, Chief Information Technology Officer of Siddhartha Bank Limited.