Money
Software glitch hits Nepse trading for second day
The value of trades on the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) plunged to Rs99 million on Sunday as the newly launched online platform did not work properly and transactions were disrupted. The usual daily trading value is Rs200-220 million.The value of trades on the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) plunged to Rs99 million on Sunday as the newly launched online platform did not work properly and transactions were disrupted. The usual daily trading value is Rs200-220 million.
This is the second consecutive trading day that the much ballyhooed Nepse Online Trading System (NOTS) snagged on a software glitch. Nepse rolled out the NOTS on November 6, and it went kaput the very first day. Stock traders had difficulty conducting transactions, and the value of trades was stuck at Rs30 million on Tuesday.
According to Nepse, a number of stockbrokers could not place orders on behalf of their clients on Sunday due to technical errors in the new system. “Several investors complained that they could not log in to the system, and others said that there was duplication in the entry,” said Nepse spokesperson Murahari Parajuli. As a result of the malfunction, the Nepse lost 17.31 points to close at 1,205.22.
Last Monday, Nepse allowed stockbrokers to use the NOTS on behalf of their clients. It has planned to allow investors to have access to the system directly from next week. In the new system, investors can post buy and sell orders themselves while this used to be done by stockbrokers previously.
Parajuli said problems arose because stockbrokers were not properly acquainted with the new system, the details of the investors were not updated through the Know Your Customer process, and there were technical problems in the system itself.
“We have started consultations with the software developer YCO to deal with the problem as soon as possible,” he said. Indian software company YCO developed the system for Nepse.
Bharat Ranabhat, president of the Stock Brokers Association of Nepal, said they could conduct stock transactions only partially due to errors in the system. According to him, most of the stockbrokers have updated the details of their clients in the format prescribed by Nepse.
“In addition, we have completed mapping the clients’ details through CDS and Clearing,” said Ranabhat, denying that problems emerged because stockbrokers did not know how to use the new system.