CDS and Clearing Limited (CDSC) is a company incorporated under the Company Act of Nepal established by Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (NEPSE) in 2010. Its primary objective is to serve as the central depository for various financial instruments, including equities, bonds, and warrants -- by managing them in dematerialized form. CDSC handles the clearing and settlement of securities traded in NEPSE under a T+2 settlement cycle. It is responsible for the safekeeping, deposit, withdrawal, and transfer of ownership or rights of these securities.

The company is jointly owned by the Government of Nepal and Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (NEPSE). It operates under the Securities Act 2063 and the Company Act 2063 of Nepal.

CDSC's vision is to be a trusted, efficient, and technology-driven central depository empowering a transparent, secure, and globally competitive capital market.

CDSC was established with the goal of achieving securities dematerialization and improving settlement efficiency. Investors are linked to the depository through the Beneficiary Accounts or Demat Account opened with depository participants (DPs). For Demat, investors shall send the Demat request form (DRF) along with the physical certificates concerned to their DPs. A DP will verify them and then submit the DRF to CDSC through online system, and at the same time send the physical certificates to the registrar and transfer agent (RTA) or the concerned issuers. CDSC will also refer to the application request to the RTA or issuers for confirmation. After that, CDSC will record the securities in book entry form in the Demat Accounts of the investors, and send the confirmation forms to the investors, thus completing dematerialization. In addition, CDSC provides rematerialization and electronic IPO services at the request of the investors. Rematerialization refers to the process by which the electronic balances held in the Demat account can be converted back into physical certificates. Electronic IPO refers to the process by which IPO securities are generated in electronic form. CDSC currently implements a T+2 settlement cycle. In addition, CDSC is a member of the Association of National Numbering Agencies (ANNA) and joined ACG in September 2012.

The shareholding / ownership structure of CDSC is as follows: