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<p>
	Hideto Kawamura, Department Head, Overseas Sales Division of Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd, India recently visited Nepal to officially launch Yamaha Ray, a new scooter from Yamaha. &nbsp;In his 10 years of career in Yamaha Motors, Kawamura has worked in various departments ranging from services to sales and marketing. He joined the company in 2002 as the In-charge of CKD export operation and marketing support for Indonesian Market products. He moved to India in 2012 and has been overseeing export from India. In an interview with New Business Age, Kawamura shared the expansion plan of his company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Would you please describe the Ray Scooter that you just launched?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	The Ray Scooter is specially made for women. The height of the seat is lower than the competitors. Overall, it is very comfortable for female riders. &nbsp;On the other hand, the mileage of the Ray is the best among the scooters segment available in Nepal. And, it has better pick up. The scooter is good enough to ride for two people and it goes smoothly while climbing the slopes.</p>
<p>
	<strong>&nbsp;How do you find the demand of your product in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We see a great market for scooters in Nepal. Though our product is new in Nepali market compared to other products, we are confident that our product will be popular among the riders. The scooter market in Nepal is basically owned by other models like Dio from Honda. But our product is competitive enough to take on them. Ray scooter would win customer’s trust in every aspect; style, pick up, mileage and overall. I believe we will own around 20 per cent market share in Nepal in 2013/2014. We will try our best to achieve that.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the other products that you are planning to launch in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We are considering launching variation models of Ray scooter in Nepal in near future. But I cannot say more about it right now.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How are you expanding your business internationally?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Today, Yamaha sells around 7 million units of two-wheelers a year all over the world including in Japan, USA and European countries. We are also expanding our business in developing countries like Nepal. &nbsp;Now, we have the largest market shares in South East Asia mainly in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. And we are expanding our business in African countries.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Until 2012 December, we sold around 12,000 motorcycles in Nepal. It will expand much more and our sales could see up to 40 per cent growth compared to previous year. We have a plan to launch another variation of scooter that will also contribute to the growth.&nbsp;</p>
<div>
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			'description' => 'Hideto Kawamura, Department Head, Overseas Sales Division of Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd, India recently visited Nepal to officially launch Yamaha Ray, a new scooter from Yamaha.',
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			'content' => '<p>
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<p>
	Hiroaki Ashizawa, Director of Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd is also heading Living Environment Air condition division in India. Founded in 1921, Mitsubishi Electric is a leading company in manufacturing and sales of electrical and electronic products. Hiroaki has handled many international markets including USA, Europe and Asia Market and has 35 years of experience in HVAC. In an interview with New Business Age, Hiraoki shared about his business in Nepali market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you please highlight the reasons of your visit?</strong></p>
<p>
	I came here for a launching ceremony of our Air conditioner products in Kathmandu. Since I am supposed to assist and support the business in Nepal, I also wanted to visit Airtech, our business partner here in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products that you just launched?</strong></p>
<p>
	Recently, we launched two air conditioning series namely Mr. Slim Series and CITY MULTI VRF series in Nepali market. &nbsp;Mr. Slim is a series of room air conditioners for private houses and small offices while City Multi VRF Series is for commercial purpose suitable to corporate offices, banks, hospitals, hotels, shopping complexes, villas, apartments, etc. Both these series are widely accepted in global market. With these full ranges of world class products we ensure that Nepalese customers would get the best AC products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Can you tell us the major unique features of the Mitsubishi Electric brand?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus on Mitsubishi Electric Quality promising the best experience in our products, services, partnership and people. Apart from premium quality, energy efficiency, usage of environment friendly green refrigerant R-410A for our product range and our service quality are key features that ensure standards matching to the lifestyle with lesser environmental impact.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How are you expanding your products in the international market?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are one of the leading air conditioner companies in global market including South East Asia. We are now growing rapidly mainly in the countries like India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. We are already market leaders in our inverter segment in USA, UK, Spain, etc. We also enjoy leadership status in many Asian countries including Thailand and Myanmar.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We launched our products in Nepal nearly a year back. With these best products, we are aiming to be the market leader by the year 2015. Seeing the price competition, I believe Nepal is one of the hardest markets in South Asia. It seems very tough but still we are ready to fight and grab the market. We are confident about the performance of our products and I am sure the valued customers in Nepal would pay some premium for our quality products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How can Nepal get benefit from these products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We sell DC inverter type Air Conditioners with after sales services in Nepali market. As DC inverter type Air Conditioner is energy saving product, it could be beneficial for reduction of energy consumption ensuring the lower operating cost.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is your further plan regarding your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are planning to launch the Hot Water Generating system- a highly efficient and eco friendly product especially suited for hotel business in Nepal. &nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Hiroaki Ashizawa, Director of Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd is also heading Living Environment Air condition division in India. Founded in 1921, Mitsubishi Electric is a leading company in manufacturing and sales of electrical and electronic products.',
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<p>
	Cyrus Khambata is the Chief Executive Officer at CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL). &nbsp;He joined Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) in 1999, the date of CDSL’s operation and currently offering his services as an Executive Vice President. CDSL is a leading securities depository in India. &nbsp;Previously, he served Bank of India as a Chief Manager for 20 years. Sushila Budhathoki of New Business Age talked with Khambata during his recent Nepal visit.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What brings you to Nepal this time?</strong></p>
<p>
	I am here for the inauguration of clearing and settlement system started by Central Depository &amp; Settlement Corporation (CDSC). I have been putting my effort to start the system for three years. I am here for technical assistance.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>So, you had a meeting with brokers also?</strong></p>
<p>
	Yes, they had certain questions like how DEMAT operates, how the risks can be minimised etc. And we had to explain them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Now the CDSC has come into full operation. How will it support the capital market of Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	In the physical settlement process, shares traded in the stock exchange have to be transferred manually. That takes a long time to change the ownership. With Dematerialisation (DEMAT), the shares get transferred to the respective stakeholders’ account immediately on the trading day so they can use it during emergency also. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We hope the market for our business grows fast in Nepal. We will target big companies and have started the DEMAT services offered to the shareholders. So, that it would grow rapidly. People who are trading shares will prefer DEMAT because it is less time consuming. But the people who are not trading will take time to familiarize with DEMAT.</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What are other infrastructures necessary for Nepali capital market?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	In the capital market, there are three large infrastructure providers. One is regulator who does a lot of monitoring, second is the exchange which offers trading facilities and the third one is depository which sets up the depository participants to cover the entire population. &nbsp;In India, there are 18, 000 depository centers covering 25,000 pin codes out of 27,000 pin codes in the country. State Bank of India provides DEMAT facilities from its 3000 branches among 10 -12 thousand branches.</p>
<p>
	So, like SBI, Bank of Kathmandu also can be the center for providing DEMAT facilities. It can offer this service from its 500 branches which will cover the entire country.</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What are your suggestions to CDSC for providing services other than normal settlements?</strong></p>
<p>
	It can provide numerous services if permitted. One is e-voting service. It would help the shareholders to participate in the operation of the company that they own. For example, they can even electronically vote for the AGM even if they are not physically present to attend the programme.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Similarly, they can provide KYC (Know Your Client) services. To open a DEMAT account, you have to comply to the KYC rules. It is required by banks, insurance companies and telecom operators to name a few. All the documents need not be collected from the client in each and every step every time he/she transacts somewhere. So, CDSC can become a bank for KYC document and the client can just file his details once and for all for any organisation.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'id' => '1015',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Don’t Do Anything Non-profit’',
			'sub_title' => '',
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			'content' => '<p>
	<strong>Cliff Reeves, General Manager of Microsoft Corp. for Strategic &amp; Emerging Business Team, was in Nepal recently to visit the Microsoft Innovation Centre. He looks after the social side of the business and works with young students and business leaders from all over the world. In an interview with Modnath Dhakal,from New Business Age, Reeves shared his ideas and views on Microsoft products, software piracy and IT entrepreneurship.&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What is the purpose of your visit to Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	This is not a special visit, I have come to see Allen (Allen Bailochan Tuladhar) and Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) in Kathmandu. We have more than one hundred MICs around the world and the Kathmandu centre, headed by Allen, is one of the strongest. We have opened 19 MICs in India and I am talking to the people working there. We have just organized MIC summit in Bangalore. We are also planning for a new MIC in Nepal too.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How is Microsoft performing here, in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s doing very well. My focus is entirely on the start-ups, students and entrepreneurs. Therefore, I don’t know exactly about the sales and other areas. &nbsp;We are reaching a significant number of students and have collected significant number of facts in their employability. With programmes like Microsoft Student Partners, Microsoft Virtual Academy and the IT Academy, which actually helps with the certification of their qualifications, we are reaching to them. We are very pleased with the programme and its progress.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Many people in South Asia and developing countries use pirated Windows operating system or other software because of its cheap price. What is your take on this?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Piracy is the practical issue. Pirated software is not worth paying for because it does not come with the extra support that we provide. On the other hand, the cost of software has gone down dramatically. We do want to deal with the piracy, it’s illegal. We do want to get revenue from our products. But we don’t think piracy is our primary problem. Ultimately, people will go for the quality software.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What strategies has Microsoft been putting in action to solve the piracy problem?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	That is not my area of focus. I focus on making sure that the people who need the software, get it. These are the people who are in school or in universities or who are looking for an assistance to set up their businesses. I make sure that they have access to it. We give our software to developers without any cost for three years. Many of the small companies fail. Therefore, we don’t want to be the reason behind their failure because of the high cost of the software. &nbsp;When they succeed, they pay a good premium to our software. It’s a good investment.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Has your business improved here after the development of Unicode Nepali software?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	I don’t know much about it, but Microsoft believes that language projects help to boost the sales of software. Inclusion is a good business.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Where is Microsoft in the competition of mobile OS among Android, Apple, Simbion and Blackberry?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are number two in India. But worldwide Android is the volume leader, Apple has the profitability and Microsoft had a late entrance to the market. But we have a long history of endurance, which is supported by the best technology in the world. There are very few companies in the world that have had more than one major product success. Microsoft had two or probably three successful products: Windows, Office and the game console X-box.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>You are running various non-profit activities in Nepal like distribution of software to students, language development etc., is it your CSR or business enhancement strategy?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s not non-profit. I don’t think we do anything non-profit. It should be for profit . Our relationship with the start-ups is based on both direct and indirect value to Microsoft. The indirect value to Microsoft is that, as economies grow, we grow. If you have a good boat and the water level is going up, you both are going up. So we are very interested in building good relationships with universities, which is where the talents come from. We want good talents. That engagement with the students and start-ups is vital for us. In this course we make sure that the students have access to our technology with very advantageous prices or for free. In the long run, they are going to be our customers. There is a balance of altruism and profit-motive. And I think that is the right thing for the business.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you track the young talents?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We often work with the universities. We run Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) programs in various universities. The students who are interested in technology can apply for MSP. We accept the eligible students and train them for free. They often end up being evangelists . They often teach their class and earn some respect from their fellow students. We hire some of them. We also take some help from these young energetic people to improve our technologies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Programs like IT Academy, Microsoft Virtual Academy, MIC etc., inspire students to develop something new. MVA provides the training materials online. We help young students to become entrepreneurs and IT professionals.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is your success-mantra to those young aspiring entrepreneurs who face &nbsp;constraints financing their business?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	I would say money is not the primary problem. It was so a decade ago but the situation has changed a lot. There are new elements that make a successful start-up. First, and the obvious, is the Internet. It reached to almost anybody with almost zero friction and zero cost. It means that market, technology and customers are accessible. Promotion is less expensive. Because of social networking, you will get the customers without employing the sales force. And then the technology itself has got incredibly powerful. Now, it takes lot less codes and fewer tools. The tools you need are freely available. It has helped to narrow down the gap between the idea and the successful market. &nbsp;To get a big business idea is hard but your ability as an entrepreneur to develop a program, to get your first consumer, to improve it, to refine it and to market it will not be spoiled by the cost. The cost is just plummeted. So my advice is not to focus on finances but to get the viable product in the hands of your customer. If you can do that, then you can go to the investor. Investors are always ready to finance &nbsp;good ideas and products.&nbsp;</p>
<div>
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			'id' => '1014',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Ensure The Optimum Operational Conditions Of Our Products’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><img alt="Seung Woo Lee, Visiting Business People" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_may2013_seung_woo(1).jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 0 0;" /><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Seung Woo Lee is the General Manager, Sales and Marketing of Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt Ltd, one of the fastest growing manufacturers of excavators in India and in the world. In the last year, Hyundai sold 2034 units of excavator and captured a market share of 14 per cent in the Indian excavator market and consolidated its position at number three. It is also eying Nepali market. Recently, Seung was in Nepal and Siromani Dhungana of New Business Age talked to him regarding business prospects of Hyundai in Nepal.&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What was the purpose of your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are here for launching our products, 22Ton class excavator series. We are launching two excavators, which are Robex220LC-7 and Robex220LC-9s, both manufactured in India. We take this occasion as a chance to interact with our local customers and to provide better service to them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products you are currently supplying to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are currently supplying 14-20ton crawling excavators. That is the category of machines, with its the operating weight.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	There is a big demand for our products in big projects, like hydropower and road constructions. Though such projects are very low in number in Nepal now, the number and speed of the projects will be higher &nbsp;after some time. &nbsp;May be it won’t take a long time to see the boom in the market.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should consumers choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus in better technology, services and operating costs. We have focused in these things both in our previous products and in the new ones. There are various sides and factors in which we have evolved and enhanced ourselves better. We also have improved &nbsp;in after sale services and spare parts. We ensure the optimum operation conditions throughout its lifetime, with higher liability and lesser fuel consumption.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Developing countries &nbsp;have always been a priority for our business, and South Asian countries have a lot of opportunity, being their markets vital for us. The economic effect of the problem in European countries, which started in 2008, had affected South Asian countries including India, which accounts for a big portion in construction market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? Are you satisfied with it?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s fierce. Every single machine should count on. In terms of overall market size, it has significantly decreased at this moment and I really cannot say the exact number. The positive side is that we are maintaining ourselves. The relationship with our customers, our support to them in after sale services and spare parts with our dealer CSPL here is good.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do your products help your customers to enhance their business and revenue?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus on efficiency of our products. In the long run, the operating cost, the fuel efficiency and after sales services matter most to the customers. So we try to lower the maintenance cost by accommodating long life hydraulic and filters.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Seung Woo Lee is the General Manager, Sales and Marketing of Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt Ltd, one of the fastest growing manufacturers of excavators in India and in the world.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1013',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘Android Smartphones Democratise The Market’',
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			'content' => '<p>
	<span style="font-size: 12px;"><img alt="De Finbarr Moynihan, Visiting business people" height="283" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_may2013_finbarr(1).jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 10px 0 0;" width="250" /><strong>Dr Finbarr Moynihan is General Manager, Corporate Business Development for MediaTek. In this role, he manages MediaTek’s global customer, partner and operator relationships. Prior to this, he was Director of Product Marketing for MediaTek’s Smartphone Business Unit – based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. &nbsp;During his recent visit to Nepal, Bijaya Giri of New Business Age talked to him regarding market prospects of MediaTek in Nepal.</strong></span></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What is the purpose of your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Our partner here, Teletalk, is announcing a range of products. We are here for the launching tablets and phablet devices based on our chipsets. Like other markets, we highly value Nepali market and local brands.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Can you briefly tell us about your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We mainly focus on big digital consumer markets – feature phones, smart phones, tablets, DTV, DVD, Set-top boxes and digital home platforms. We also centre our attention on things like WiFi routers and access points. &nbsp;We ship roughly 500-550 million chipset of mobile every year. We are in the mobile market since 2004, however we are still relatively new in the smart phone market – we started shipping 3G smart phone chipsets during the second half of 2011. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products you are currently supplying in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We mostly supply for our local partners here, like Teletalk. Colors mobile, as a local brand, uses our chipset. We mainly supply chipsets and solutions for feature phones - 2G Bar phones, low-cost android phones to higher-performance 4-5 inch phablet phones, which uses quad-core chipsets for higher performances. We also supply chipsets for 3G Data Cards.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Like other markets, we have highly valued the Nepali market and local brands. We don’t make phones, but try to enable our customers and local brand partners, like Colors Mobile, to do so as easily as possible. &nbsp;The adoption of smart phones by the Nepali market is increasing and that is important for us. The emergence of Android smart phones democratise the market, which is heavily occupied by major technological giants. We believe that the consumer adoption of these smart phones, with access to data services, social networks and other varied applications, will continue to have beneficial effects for the societies that adopt them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should consumers choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	Because of the way we approach the market and we plan. We supply the chip but what we deliver to the customer is much more than that. We don’t make the final products but we deliver complete software solutions along with the chipsets. The products our partner delivers, at cost effective prices, are not lower in comparison with high end devices. For good user experience, the power consumption, battery life and multimedia experience fulfil the consumers’ expectations.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s been very important for us. For many years it’s been our major market for the 2G feature phone. The market effect we saw last year in China is now happening in the South Asian market. This means more tablets and more convergence from 2G to 3G. This trend is not going to stop and that’s why we are excited and focused on that. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	The competition in mobile space is always tough. Different brands, different chipset suppliers and so many other factors drive the market. This year, the &nbsp;sales volume of smart phones, as we expected, has been increasing so far in Nepal. The global competition in the smartphone segment is huge and tough for each major or minor player. You have to deliver better, faster and more affordable products to the consumer in order to be able to sustain yourself in the market. That’s part of life in this business.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are your future strategies?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are focusing on 3G and 4G high performing technologies, including smart phones and devices for emerging markets like Nepal. &nbsp;We are also centred on more affordable Data Cards.&nbsp;</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-05-23',
			'modified' => '2013-05-23',
			'keywords' => '‘Android Smartphones Democratise The Market’, Dr Finbarr Moynihan',
			'description' => 'Dr Finbarr Moynihan is General Manager, Corporate Business Development for MediaTek. In this role, he manages MediaTek’s global customer, partner and operator relationships.',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '991',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => 'Developing Countries Offer  A Great Deal Of Opportunity For Our Business',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><span style="font-size: 12px;">Pradeep Kumar acquired his Bachelor in Technology from GB Pant University, Pantnagar. He also earned a Master in Business Administration from Bhartya Vidya Bhawan. He has 30 years of extensive experience in the field of Farm Machinery, Material Handling and Construction Equipment. He has worked with Eicher Tractors Ltd. India from 1978 until 1984, being in charge of sales and service operations. Subsequently, he has worked with Escorts Construction Equipment Ltd. from 1984 until 2001 and Escorts Ltd. from 2001 until 2005 as a General Manager for both companies. During this period, he has been responsible for various functions including business development, sales and marketing of material handling, construction equipment (like mobile cranes, loaders, vibratory road rollers etc.) and exports of tractors. He joined Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. in August 2005.</span></strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	Pradeep Kumar, Vice President of Mahindra and Mahindra for international operations of Auto &amp; Farm sectors in Asia and Australia, was recently in Nepal when he talked to Sujan Dhungana of New Business Age about his company’s business in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What brings you to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	I have visited Nepal several times in the past because it is a strategic market for Mahindra. We are market leaders in the utility vehicle segment and tractors, with two brands, Mahindra and Swaraj. Both brands, together, account for more than 38 percent of market share in the tractor business. We are here to launch our product, the Mahindra XUV 500, a world class SUV which is now blazing a trail across India, Australia, South Africa and Italy . This is one of the most successful vehicles we have launched in India and its demand is increasing.</p>
<p>
	Moreover, this year, I am proud to announce that we have completed 22 years of successful association with our Nepal distributor, Agni, and we would like to use this occasion – the launch of our new 3S facility – as a chance to interact with our local customers and to provide them with the best service possible.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What makes Mahindra stand out in the market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Our products have been developed as per market demand. &nbsp;We have always kept the customer in focus while designing our products, which are reliable. Moreover, the fact that we have won various quality related awards is a testimony of our attention focused on this area.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>When did your company start exporting?</strong></p>
<p>
	We have been exporting our vehicles since the 1960’s but the real growth in export volumes has been experienced within the last ten years.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How is the performence of the products you are currently supplying in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	In Nepal, we supply Mahindra vehicles with annual sales crossing 2000 numbers. We also sell tractors with both the Mahindra and Swaraj badge, with annual sales of about 2000 numbers. We are currently focusing on expanding our product range in all the segments we are present in.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	There is a big demand of our products and our sales are also rising here. &nbsp;The Nepal market is a vital one for us.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should a consumer choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	Aside from the fact that the Mahindra brand is associated with trust, durability and reliability, we have always prided ourselves on high service levels. We keep the customer and his or her needs in mind when designing our products and we focus on getting better technology, services and operating costs.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	The competition is very fierce in this market. South Asian and other developing countries offer a great deal of opportunity for our business. We have been present in this region for a while now and have grown and evolved along with the rapidly changing market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? Are you satisfied with it?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s a very competitive market. The size of the market has decreased but we are confident about the prospects for growth. Mahindra is focusing on customer centricity and ensuring a robust after sales network along with our dealer, Agni.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-05-22',
			'modified' => '2013-06-07',
			'keywords' => 'Developing countries offer a great deal of opportunity for our business, Visiting Business People, Pradeep Kumar',
			'description' => 'Pradeep Kumar, Vice President of Mahindra and Mahindra for international operations of Auto & Farm sectors in Asia and Australia, was recently in Nepal when he talked to Sujan Dhungana of New Business Age about his company’s business in Nepal.',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '975',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘Orient Has A Very Big Potential In Nepal’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Ghurmeet Singh, vice president ,Orient Fans, New Business Age" height="275" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Ghurmeet_Singh_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />Ghurmeet Singh, vice president of Orient Fans was in Nepal to launch Orient Fans series recently. Premier Overseas (P) Ltd is the authorized distributor of Orient Fans in Nepal. Orient Fans is a division, under CK Birla group, and currently it exports its products over 30 countries. Fans, small home appliances and lighting are some of the areas that are served by the division. In an interview with New Business Age, Singh shared his idea on the Nepali market for his products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Nepal is a big market because like India, Nepal is also largely populated with the people who are not so rich. And therefore there is big prospect and market for fans, which is going to remain for long time. And we find that because of the electricity cost as well as the relevancy, fans will be the primary cooling devices for many people for long time. Secondly, brands from India have very good scope here because India and Nepal have worked hand in hand for a long time. And Orient as number two brand in India for many years now has a very big potential here. We were selling here some fans also in the past. Last year we joined hands with Premier Overseas, a part of Sharda Group, so that we can distribute our products more widely. And we are very sure that, with their vast experiences and networks, we get very good stage from here and we will serve the people of Nepal.</p>
<p>
	<strong>It is said that Nepali people love Indian brands. What has been your perception?</strong></p>
<p>
	Yes, that is why I said that Nepal and India have joined hands for a long time. Nepali and Indian people are more or less similar, buying habits are also similar and more importantly they are interested in Indian brands. And we will like to serve Nepali people as well.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are you plans for the Nepali market?</strong></p>
<p>
	It feels good to introducing our products in Nepali market. Initially we are launching fans and small home appliances and later we also plan for our lighting series and try to be number one in the respective market segments.</p>
<p>
	<strong>So what is your market position in India?</strong></p>
<p>
	In India, we are in number one for manufacturing and two for sales. And for exports, we are the undisputed leader with over 55 percent of shares. And we are already exporting to 30 countries and in US. &nbsp;Having our own manufacturing base, we are conscious about the parties and quality of our products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you compare the trend of using your products in Nepal with other South Asian countries?</strong></p>
<p>
	In most of the South Asian countries, people largely use portable fans. And in India and Nepal people mostly use ceiling fans. In India, 75 percent sales are in ceiling and 25 percent portable fans and it is almost same here in Nepal. &nbsp;And most of the South Asian countries use fans as primary cooling devices.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should the people choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are highly quality conscious manufacturers. Our products are energy efficient and continuously receiving exports excellence award and we are rated as ‘Star Performer’ by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India. We pioneered the most famous patented revolutionary concept PSPO in 90’s. We have capacity of nearly 10 million fans per year and in terms of quality we have accomplished various standards and tests. And we have fulfilled each and every requirement in all different countries (where our fans are exported) and we are the only Indian brand to export to US.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are your plans for beating the competition and about the future strategies?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are very lucky that there are very few top brands available here and the competition is very less. And we are very confident that if we are able to appeal the market with good products, good prices and good energy saving products then the competition is not there and then we don’t need much time to become number one. And the second part is if everybody around you is your better competitor then you have to produce better product to sustain yourself and it is all good for the consumer.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
			'modified' => '2013-06-03',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Ghurmeet Singh, vice president of Orient Fans was in Nepal to launch Orient Fans series recently. Premier Overseas (P) Ltd is the authorized distributor of Orient Fans in Nepal. Orient Fans is a division, under CK Birla group, and currently it exports its products over 30 countries.',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '974',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘The Customers Are Required To Get The Full Value For Their Money’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Koji Tanaka, vice president. Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India, New Business Age" height="302" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Koji_Tanaka_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />Koji Tanaka is the vice president of Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India. With over 26 years of experience with Honda Motor Company Ltd, he has been involved with various innovative endeavors of Honda. Recently, Syakar Trading Company, the authorized distributor of Honda Power Product launched the new EP 1000 and EG 1000 series of generators in Nepal and Tanaka was in Kathmandu in this connection. These new generators are small, portable and lighter compared to the previous generators. With the 4 Stroke technology, these models have some unique features like lesser fuel consumption (0.54ltr./ hr), more handling capacity (Rat. 750 VA), environmental friendly and available with decompression mechanism. Tanaka explained more in an interview with New Business Age.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What do you find interesting about your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Its been about three years that I have been living in Delhi. This is the first time that I got an opportunity to visit Nepal. Nepal is well known in Japan. There are many Japanese tourists who come here and many Japanese are also living here. Our purpose of visit is to study the potentiality of the Nepali market for Honda products. As on date, we are exposing two new products – Honda EG 10000 model and Honda EP 1000 model generator. We would also like to study the Nepali market for various Honda products and find areas to expand with 50 % partnership with Syakar group.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the brand value of Honda products in the Nepali market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Honda Company is well reputed throughout the world for its quality products. Without Syakar Trading, it would be difficult to provide quality sales and service. It is not possible to expand in the market without their support. New customers can be treated with better goods and Syakar can provide the premium service towards customers in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How will the newly introduced Honda Spiel Power products affect the Nepali market? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We are happy to find out that dealers from all over the country came to see the two new products. Comparatively, they are more fuel efficient. They consume upto 50% less fuel than the other former products. We are confident that we can expand the business of our products.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What level of competition do you feel is present with regard to the products from Honda?</strong></p>
<p>
	Honda has been selling motorcycles in Nepal for a long time. The major competition is from Bajaj. With regard to power products, Honda is still leading the market very much with help from Syakar Group. In Honda Philosophy, we do not compare ourselves with the competitors but instead compare us with ourselves. The customers are required to get the full value for their money. Honda owns 40% share of Nepali power products market. There are 69 dealers (branches and showrooms) of Honda products throughout Nepal. Honda products are so efficient that they are suitable for even above the altitude of 4000 meters from the sea level.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the future plans of Honda Company?</strong></p>
<p>
	We listen to customer’s voice. Upon receiving special requests, our R&amp;D (Research and Development) department develops these products. We come up with newer products. When we see the potentiality of a product in the market, we further investigate into it with help from the people at R&amp;D. After that, we check if there is a similar demand for such products in other regions as well. Only then, the new products will be developed.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Are you launching any product targeting the agriculture sector?</strong></p>
<p>
	In 2010, we launched a more affordable 5 Hz power tiller in the market. But, currently it is not available in Nepal. With the decreasing number of farm workers, more tillers can be bought in order to do a more efficient agriculture. The process of mechanized agriculture is expanding. Many agricultural tools are also introduced through Honda’s factories in China. With the increasing demand from the consumers, lawn mowers, brush cutters, carriers etc can be introduced in Nepal. Honda’s motto is “Helping people get things done”. We do not limit ourselves to supplying generators only. When there is enough demand in the market, R&amp;D can make new concept products.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
			'modified' => '2013-06-03',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Koji Tanaka is the vice president of Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India. With over 26 years of experience with Honda Motor Company Ltd, he has been involved with various innovative endeavors of Honda.',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '973',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Do Not Want To Become Just A Marketing Company’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="">
	<img align="right" alt="Denis Borisovsky, CEO of PFSOFT, New Business Age" height="302" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Denis_Borisovsky_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />PFSOFT is one of the renowned trading security vendors worldwide. Its corporate client base exceeds thousands of companies located around the globe. The company, established in 2003 with its headquarters at Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine, has its offices in major cities in the world. “The company has a diverse range of clients which includes different sized brokers, top-tier banks and also their white labels partners, who are involved in electronic trading of various asset-classes,” informs Denis Borisovsky, CEO of PFSOFT. In an interview with New Business Age during his recent visit to Nepal, Borisovsky talked about the company’s product Protrader 2 and market prospects of his company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What is Protrader 2 and what are the scopes?</strong></p>
<p>
	Protrader 2 is our platform for trading forex, stocks, futures and other sectors. It is developed for technological brokers and for exchangers in the long run. We started the company about ten years ago and the product Protrader 2 is the result of these ten years. Under this brand, we cover technology products for multiple sectors then go to stock market. We cover trading activities from exchange to traders, money managers, hedge funds, brokers or participants in one technology. Our products are quite unique and there is uniqueness of technology as well. We are not brokers though. We stay independent from brokerage and provide technology to different brokers. We have so many trading technology companies to help the brokers. We import technologies from different countries and bring them to different markets.</p>
<p>
	<strong>You’ve had a diverse career, how did you get into financial trading technologies?</strong></p>
<p>
	I worked 20 years as a programmer. I entered many fields including voice recognition. I also served in various technological firms. And that was difficult. I wanted to do something different, more difficult and challenging. So, I decided to make charts by myself and I found some clients for it. Then I started trading technology for brokerage.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Our company is not that big in terms of people, but in terms of symmetry and our experience, it is quite big. The number of people working in our Ukraine office is around 50-52 and it’s a very good team. We are also focusing our business in emerging economies like China and India. I have just come from India where we have opened up our office. In China, we have been deploying five people for local support. In Europe, we have an office in Ukraine. We already have an office in US. We are also eying Nepal as the political and investment environment are improving.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What makes your company successful?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	First of all, it is focused. It’s very important to focus in something and make it best from any point. &nbsp;Our focus is technology for trading. We have only one thought and that is how to make trading technology more advanced. You need to have focus and extension, but careful extension. And you should keep a very good level of integrity between the company and the clients. Integrity is a key factor in every company. After this, you should be very high target to go.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you pursue the use of trading technology in emerging countries?</strong></p>
<p>
	We come with technology. We don’t want to become a marketing company, that’s why we are looking to the very good partners who have same vision and same expectations in terms of time. Time expectations is very important. If someone is interested in one year, it is one story and if he is looking for ten years, it is another story. My company sees five to ten year forward. So, it is very important for us to find such partners, who have same philosophies and who uses technologies and wants to expand them.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What types of trading applications are being demanded and successful these days?</strong></p>
<p>
	There are lots of technologies right now. But, the main problem is that sometime these do not work in particular circumstances and market. And sometimes it is not useful to the market. So, it is very important to understand local market. &nbsp;It is the task of local partner which maintains adjustment to it. The local partner has to listen to the people, think about not only about making something but in terms of technology which could work in your market. We make customization, which is very important is putting many markets within one platform. And we have to make such things, which is already in demand.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you recall some the challenges you faced during automating stock exchanges and commodity exchanges?</strong></p>
<p>
	Every country is very different. In terms of brokers, more or less everybody has common techniques and it is quite similar. But, in terms of challenges it is totally different. The challenges in US are very different and more developed. And it is also challenging because lots of local participants are there. By the way, Nepal is more advanced. Nepal has seen changes in stock market for more than 20 years while it’s been five years for Ukraine. I mean the number of all types of market participants and functionalists is much lower.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the difference between brokerage automation and exchange automation?</strong></p>
<p>
	Exchange automation is of course a very complex process. We should work on different levels. It needs one to three years to implement and to make it work too. Brokerage automation process takes many years and is difficult as well. We need cooperation mostly from technology and some management level of companies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How can you prove Protrader is better for the success of traders?</strong></p>
<p>
	We always cooperate with traders. We think the most important clients for us are the traders. We get their feedback. And we want them to be involved more. Usually we communicate with brokers and they provide us feedback from traders. If we get lots of feedback, we could pick up fast. Protrader is one of the most functionally useful software.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you please tell us about PFSoft’s future roadmap?</strong></p>
<p>
	We have a plan to promote ourselves. Because in 10 years we mostly worked with brokers, which was much time itself. We believe now technology is one of the best necessities. We will extend our promotion to we will customize the platform. Social trading concerns are new market plans.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Based on your vast experience of establishing ecosystem of trading business in developed and developing countries, what do you think about how countries like Nepal can benefit from trading business?</strong></p>
<p>
	“PFSoft and Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal Ltd have mutually agreed to develop a full-fledged commodity exchange system for Nepal. PFSoft is ready to customize the Information Technology required for Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal and it is great opportunity for us to have a partnership with Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal Ltd. We are making evolution of scalable trading solution of local products produced in Nepal, and we want to integrate that trading to global market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The trading is important in developing countries. Right now for trading to sustain, the political and economic system favor for that. But at the same time, financial system too should help the country’s economic growth.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'PFSOFT is one of the renowned trading security vendors worldwide. Its corporate client base exceeds thousands of companies located around the globe. The company, established in 2003 with its headquarters at Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine, has its offices in major cities in the world.',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '942',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘I Have Identified Planning As A Major Weakness In Most Companies’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="">
	Volker Kleinn is a management expert with a degree in business administration from a German university that he says is about equivalent to MBA. He has held senior managerial positions in American multinationals such as Digital Equipment Corporation (known as DEC which was acquired by Compaq which in turn merged with HP in 2002), Apollo Computer (a leading manufacturer of network workstations until acquired by HP in 1989 and gradually closed down over the next eight years) and Autodesk (Still a major multinational software manufacturer) in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Retired from an active career more than a decade ago, Volker, nevertheless, finds time to help companies in the developing world to improve their management. He has been visiting Nepal regularly since the early 2000s through the Senior Expert Corp (SCE) programme of the Swisscontact and has helped more than a dozen Nepali companies from different sectors. Volker talked with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently for a similar purpose.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p style="">
	<strong>You have been helping private firms, particularly in the developing world, with management issues. How and when did you start this?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	After I retired, I decided to work on a voluntary basis with entrepreneurs and enterprises in the developing countries. This way I wanted to give something back to society. My idea was to contribute to reduce the migration pressure by helping companies in the developing countries to maintain or create employment. So, I registered with the Senior Expert Corps of Swisscontact and through them I came to Nepal.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Could you share with us the common problems faced by companies in the developing world?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	In the industrialized countries with predominantly market economies, business management talent has been developed over a long time and therefore there is an established talent pool for management. In the developing countries (especially in Eastern Europe), market economies did not exist for a long time and therefore there still is not a big enough talent pool for management. Any management role requires creativity, initiative and drive. A manager needs to accept responsibility, accountability and I am glad to note, that there are more and more people here in Nepal who are willing to step up to this requirement.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Which Nepali companies have you already helped to improve their management?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Let me not mention names, but I have been working in several industries, such as IT, Communication, Trading, Media, etc. and I also have been giving management training courses at different organizations.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What problems do you find in the Nepali companies which you have already worked with?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	For me management is a continuous cycle of Planning, Organizing, Monitoring and Controlling. I have identified Planning as a major weakness in most companies. Operational plans and budgets often do not exist. Since I am convinced that you can only mange what you measure, it is very difficult to evaluate the success of any business if there is no goal or plan to compare performance to. As a consequence, management is in most cases is re-active rather than pro-active, which means that managers are not rally managing but rather getting managed by their environment and circumstances.</p>
<p style="">
	The second area that needs a lot of improvement in most of the companies I have worked with is Management Information. I think it is common knowledge that you do accounting not only for shareholder or tax purposes, but also for management purposes. I have experienced, that most companies give priority to tax requirements. Also, a lot of record keeping is still done manually. These facts make it often very difficult to use financial information for management purposes.</p>
<p style="">
	In addition, I am very concerned about the sustainability of my efforts to help. I have often observed what I call ‘the rubber band syndrome’. This means changes are initiated while I am here, i.e. when the rubber band is under tension, but as soon as I leave, i.e. the rubber band is released, things flip back to the old position. One has to keep in mind that the human brain is change-resistant. That means it requires a constant flow of energy to make changes sustainable.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	It’s apparently been nearly a decade since you started advising Nepali private sector companies on management issues. What do you think of Nepal’s private sector?</p>
<p style="">
	The private sector has made the economy function under what are not very favourite conditions. Everywhere in the world, you can see that the biggest roadblocks for development are corruption and unreliable legal system. Both factors have an impact on the business opportunities that the private sector can pursue.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Nepali private sector?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	The private sector is divided into two major categories. On the one hand, there are family-owned businesses, which are mostly hierarchically (or paternalistically) organized. These companies tend to maintain limited transparency. On the other, there are newly founded companies which are trying to be more open, but sometimes lack the courage for the degree of openness as Western companies normally practice. This means that I consider the lack of delegation of authority, i.e. empowerment of senior managers as a weakness of the private sector.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What are the areas that the Nepali companies need to work on to improve their overall management?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	I have experienced a big gap between shareholders (owners) who are often also the most senior managers and the managers who are not owners. This is often because of the lack of confidence and trust. It would be helpful if professional managers were trusted more to contribute in terms of planning and execution. Empowerment of people is important throughout the organization, but it is more important with regard to the top professional managers. I believe that the time is over where information was considered as power. I am convinced that information creates responsibility and therefor owners should be encouraged to be more transparent vis-a-vis their managers with regard to information about strategy and performance.</p>
<p style="">
	In almost all companies I have worked in, I was told that it is difficult to find competent mangers. I know that there are a lot of Nepalis working as expatriates abroad and gaining international management experience. It would be helpful in my opinion if a campaign is started to offer senior positions for expats who want to come home. News- and job-portals could create a special section to attract experienced people to return. On the other hand, it is alarming that most of the college graduates aspire to leave the country. This represents a skill drain which will have a long-term negative impact on businesses here in the country.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What is your impression of the spirit of entrepreneurship in Nepal and the Nepali entrepreneurs?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Based on my observation, the environment in Nepal is not very conducive to entrepreneurial behaviour. Starting a business here is still burdened with bureaucratic requirements. I believe that this is one of the major reasons why well-educated and talented people are leaving the country.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>How do you rate the work culture in the organizations you have worked in? What improvements have you usually suggested?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Empowerment of employees is not very common. The organizations are mostly very hierarchically organized and people rather ask their superiors for taking a decision than deciding for themselves. This is very often a sign of insecurity and lack of self-confidence, but it could also be caused by the unwillingness to accept responsibility.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>How can private sector companies incentivize the performance of their marketing folks in Nepali context?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	When you say marketing folks I assume that you mean sales people. Sales people around the world are normally incentivized by an incentive compensation plan that rewards good performance. Good performance means meeting or exceeding your target. In the organizations that I was responsible for during my professional career, I had always implemented a plan that rewarded over goal performance proportionally. I was always proud when the best sales people earned more than I did.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What sort of good HR practices need to be evolved in the Nepali private sector? Do these practices differ from sector to sector?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="">
	There are certain basic HR practices that should be common in every company. These practices relate to work ethics, loyalty to your employer, confidentiality and attendance discipline. There are other areas where practices would differ, especially in sectors with shift work or other special requirements like workplace security. Attendance discipline is obviously difficult to implement with the frequent bandhs where a few people hold a whole country hostage. This has an enormous negative impact on the productivity and therefore the competitiveness of the private sector.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What sort of socio-political environment you find in Nepal in the context of the growth of enterprises? What are the impediments and how to ameliorate the situation ahead?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Let me just mention two points that come to mind immediately.</p>
<ul>
	<li style="">
		The lack of a functioning mail system requires hand delivery by messengers of a lot of documents, such as newspapers, letters, invoices, etc.</li>
	<li style="">
		Cashless payment systems are not very efficient or customary. This again employs a lot of messengers, who have to collect often cash and sometimes cheques. This keeps a lot of motor bikes on the roads all day.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>',
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			'description' => 'Volker Kleinn is a management expert with a degree in business administration from a German university that he says is about equivalent to MBA. Volker talked with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently for a similar purpose.',
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			'title' => 'Product Is More Important Than Profit',
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			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<img align="right" alt="S.P. Sharma, Godrej Security Solutions India" height="347" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/march2013_visitng_business_people_sp_sharma.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="280" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	S.P. Sarma is the Senior General Manager of the Global Operation for Godrej Security Solutions India. Graduated in Engineering and MBA, Sarma has been working with Godrej for the last 23 years. He served the company with different roles from service, sales and marketing and became the head of the global operation. In an interview with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently, Sarma explained the necessity of the security products in business organizations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>What is the purpose of your current trip to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	My trip is to meet the customers and our partners in Nepal. We organize such kinds of trips time to time because we value our customers very much. We feel that whatever success has been there, It is because we are able to meet the demand of customers. And the expectation of the customers can be fulfilled if we come and listen to them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Could you please tell us about Godrej Security Solutions?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Godrej Security Solutions is a 100 years old division of Godrej Company. Our company is providing security products to financial institutions, jewelry companies, private organizations and households. We started producing these products in 1992 and now we have developed many advanced products according to the demand of customer. We believe that the product is more important than profit. With Godrej security solutions customers can get peace of mind. The other benefit they get is trust. We have been able to live up because of the trust of our customers. Majority of Financial Institutions functioning today are offered our prompt and efficient services.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>What are your business strategies for your security products in the international market?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Our security products are of latest technologies. We are present in Europe, Africa, South East Asia and every year we have valuable partners. Security is running battle . It is essential to keep pace with the latest technology to meet growing needs. This is the reason why we have graduated from simple lever and tumbler locks several years ago to modern, intelligent technologies. We are also doing research and developing in new ways to update our products. So far, as I said, we have been able to win trust of the customers. Our business is also going good and we are planning to put up a new plant in Maharashtra, Mumbai.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We have moved from being simply a seller of security products to a company selling comprehensive security solution. We offer diverse security product solutions including technologically advanced sphere such as cameras with analytics, substance detectors (bomb, bullets, and narcotics), X-ray baggage scanners, biometrics and access control systems, burglary and fire resistant safes, road blockers and marine solutions. Our products are tested stringently at leading testing laboratories i.e. SP Test in Sweden, VDS Test in Germany and the underwriter’s laboratory in the United States. Our plant in Mumbai is rated as one of the finest and largest factories in India. Our passion to offer international quality product with prompt supply, delivery, installation and most importantly after-sales servicing have been commended by many reputed companies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	I think it is very good. We see Nepal being very vibrant and I personally see that Nepal is on the way to development. And I feel that the banks and financial institutes are going to be the lubricants which will further enhance the development. We may offer our service to these banks and financial institutes as our commitment is to win the trust of our customers. Our supply of Godrej products to Nepal Rastra Bank and Nepal Bank Ltd made in the 1960’s still stands strong to this day, same as our sincerity and services towards our customers. We can proudly state that we have been able to come up to our customers’ expectations.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How can Nepali customers get your service in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Our commitment to the services to our customers is delivered almost by our trusted partner; - Nepal Commercial Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. It provides Godrej security equipment, home and office furniture, storage equipment and locks along with numerous retail outlets to our customers in Nepal. They also retail home safes and locks at Bhat-Bhateni and other outlets, making security a convenient purchase around their vicinity. &nbsp;The corporate showroom at Pulchowk offers a wide range of products from locking systems, security solutions, and home and office furniture.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>',
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			'title' => 'Visiting Business People: February 2013',
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			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><span style="font-size:16px;">‘We help people make good change take root’</span></strong></p>
<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Bill Stockton" height="286" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bill_stockton_visiting_business_people(1).jpg" style="margin:5px 0 10px 10px;" width="250" /><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color:#f00;">Bill Stockton</span> is a Senior Advisor of the Verghis Group, a management consulting firm.<span style="text-align: justify;">He is known as the ‘center of gravity’ for knowledge sharing practice and consulting within the financial sector including investment and retail banking and insurance companies in the Verghis Group. Stockton graduated in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served Deutsche Bank for 18 years, mainly in the IT department. &nbsp;He was the director and global head of support and operations for over 20 products including foreign exchange, equities, programme trading, cash management and more. Most recently, he was tapped by Deutsche Bank to institute a global knowledge sharing programme that trained over 3200 IT staff and demonstrated productivity gains. In an interview with Nubiz recently when he was in Kathmandu, Stockton shared the importance and need of knowledge sharing and knowledge management in any organization.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>
	<strong><strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What are your recent engagements?</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	I left Deutsche Bank as a Director and as an IT Manager. I left because I think I can do much more, particularly in the area of knowledge sharing in finance companies. We have three small companies in the Verghis Group. We can resolve things primarily on knowledge sharing and knowledge management. Also, we do a quite a lot of work on measures, metrics and madness which is about stopping measuring activities and reassuring for outcome. We do also have a research wing which conducts very exciting research, mostly on behaviour psychology- the kind of research we primarily conduct.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What brings you to Nepal?</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	My ancestors had been coming to Nepal for a long time. We did not come here for business. We came here because we are interested in all the things we have heard about Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<But my partner, Christina, has come here several times a year for the past ten years. &nbsp;Her visits are mainly aimed at supporting organizations like Sano Paila in Birgunj and other women’s groups for social service. Professionally, she is a doctor in psychology and has done quite a lot of work in areas like peace negotiation and conflict management. She is also from the leadership training which is mostly about working with people who don’t usually talk together productively. So, I joined her on a number of those session conducted here.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	>There are some really exciting possibilities in my mind about knowledge sharing. Many people don’t know what knowledge sharing or knowledge management is. A number of companies need knowledge management. Research show whether it be Deutsche Bank, Mega Bank or Coca-Cola - around 60-90 percent problem is solved by somebody else in the organization. So, knowledge management is about the behaviour and practices required to make that knowledge available to anyone who needs it in the organization.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	What I see is, when you get a really good idea you don’t want anyone else to know that idea. You try it just by yourself. But in today’s new Internet age, if you put your ideas right there, other people can come and collaborate. The more I share what I know, the more valuable I become. People have trouble doing that and they have also trouble believing that.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>How does your strategy help other organizations?&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We teach companies how to capture the intellectual capital of the employees in all sorts of makeshift and inefficient repositories so that once a problem is solved, future occurrences of the same or similar problems will be prevented or resolved much faster.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal? &nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	These are universal problems faced by companies from Wall Street in New York to Kantipath in Kathmandu. We tailor our work to each customer not only to offer services at a good price but also to determine whether or not we think we can add value to our clients.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>&nbsp;What are your plans?&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We have several research projects underway. These projects are about ensuring better client satisfaction during a tech support or services support call. We are also putting together an online site to help make organizational change stick. Change is so difficult to anchor and become “sticky”. We help people make good change take root while helping organizations and businesses prioritize and differentiate between doing the right things and doing things right.</p>',
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<div class="Section1">
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A13"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "><img alt="visting business people" border="1" height="161" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visitng2012_january2012(1).jpg" vspace="10" width="338" /><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></strong></span></p>
</div>
<div class="Section1">
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		 </p>
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A3"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: ">‘Standard Chartered has completed a glorious journey of 25 years in Nepal’<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></strong></span></p>
	<p class="Pa1">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A9">Sunil Kausal was appointed the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited (SCBNL) in 2012. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></strong></span></p>
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: black;">He is also the Regional Chief Executive of the Standard Chartered Bank India and South Asia. He has held several senior positions with the bank across different markets including Global Head- SME Banking and New Ventures in Singapore. Kaushal, who has over 23 years of banking experience, has also worked for Bank of America and HDFC Bank. He was in Kathmandu on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting of SCBNL last month. In an Interview with New Business Age, Kausal he shared Standard Chartered Bank’s current position and future plans in Nepal. Excerpts:<br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">How does it feel to be honored with the title of Bank of the Year-2012 in Nepal? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">It’s a great honor to be recognized as the ‘Bank of the Year 2012’ in Nepal. The prestigious accolade we have got has further boosted our efforts to strive for the best. I believe all the credit goes to the management team working here in Nepal. They have managed capably, albeit, in a difficult situation. We are proud of the fact that we have managed the business very well. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
		<br />
		<img alt="visiting business people" border="1" height="310" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people.jpg" vspace="10" width="200" /><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">How satisfied are you with the performance of Standard Chartered Nepal in the last fiscal year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As I said , we are very glad with our performance, given the tough market situation. So our approach as a bank, not only in Nepal but also globally, is to focus on the basics of banking. The basic factors of good banking - good capital, good liquidity and tight risk management have delivered us a good set of results. Clearly, one would have wanted more growth, but the market conditions are such that you have to be conservative. To be precise, the economy is not growing rapidly and banks are reflection of the economy. Given the present circumstances, the bank has performed very well. <br />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The bank’s profit increased only marginally to Rs 11.7 million in fiscal year 2011/12 from Rs 11.2 million in the previous year. What do you think went wrong? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think anything went wrong. We have rather set and are following a very conservative business model. Clearly, the growth is not as I had expected. Along with growth comes the quality of earning which is extremely good. So, as I have already mentioned, our capital and liquidity ratio are very good. Similarly, if you look at the risk parameters, Non- Performing Assets (NPAs) and coverage ratio; they are extremely strong. We further believe that we’re very well positioned in this market. As the economy revives, we will do much better. <br />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">StanChart seems to have quite a big investible fund at hand as also indicated by its high Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) which is 14 per cent and low credit-deposit (CD) ratio which is 62 per cent as per the bank’s latest quarterly report. Still, the bank looks hesitant to invest. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<p class="Default">
		<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think it is hesitation. In fact, we see this as our strength. As you said, StanChart’s CRAR and CD ratios are strong even at a time when the economy is not doing that well. It means you have the ability to grow strongly when the economy bounces back. Our model is such and we’re comfortable with it. The model is about being conservative and having good quality of earning. In addition, we also help a number of Nepali institutions to do business overseas. So, we’re hopeful about a very strong growth in the future. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></p>
</div>
<p class="Default" style="text-indent:14.0pt;line-height:10.05pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="text-indent:14.0pt;line-height:10.05pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the plans for the current fiscal year and beyond? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we will continue to be in a pretty challenging environment in the current fiscal year as well. Given the current political and economic situations, we don’t see the possibility of any huge increase in our investment. The market situation is very likely to remain tough. But we’ve have a balanced business. We are doing well in consumer as well as wholesale banking. On the consumer side, there is a good momentum. On the wholesale side, there is a good pipeline. The corporate houses are slightly hesitant to invest. When there is more clarity, particularly on the political front, I think you will see corporate investments come through and banks like us benefit. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What about the plans to expand the bank’s coverage and launch new products? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we have a good coverage with our 90 branches, two extension centers and an ATM network. We’re also investing in our front line sales, bringing new products, getting into the SME segment, working with multilateral agencies in terms of supporting some of the project finance transactions. So, there is a lot happening and as a leading international bank and being the only genuine global bank operating in Nepal, we’re able to bring the best practices and latest products into this market. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Would you please say something about SME banking which is regarded as one of the strengths of StanChart? Are there any policy changes? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The SME business is in an early stage. But again, our experience in a different market helps us to get into that segment here. So, we started off building products and offering them for example, loan against property which we call LAP, installment loans, some trade working capital etc. So, we’re getting into it. The SME segment here will benefit from all the best practices and expertise we have. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the changed strategic trusts of the Standard Chartered Group in the world, particularly in this region, for the coming days in view of the changed global perspectives?&nbsp; </b><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think we’re looking at any dramatic changes in the strategy. Our strategy has been very consistent and has delivered very strong results. We had nine years of record growth and profits, even during the crisis period. We were probably the only bank which a record profit. It’s been a huge reinforcement of the strategy we’re following. We just announced our pre-closing training statement. Again we are looking at a very good growth both in terms of the overall income and in the operating profit. So, there is no change in strategy. I think we have to continue doing what we have done so far. We have to continue focusing on the basics of banking — capital, liquidity and risk management which is extremely important. We have the franchise, customers and a good network. I am quite hopeful of better growth in the US, China, India and European nations this year. It seems 2013 would be a much more better year than 2012. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You might have gone through the recent directive of NRB (Nepal Rastra Bank) about the base rate system for interest rates. What improvement would you like to suggest in the directive? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think the base rate is something followed in many markets including India. It’s is up to the banks to come up with their own calculation of base rate. What is required is the transparency of pricing. You have the base rate and margin; the customer knows what the margin is. The calculation of base rate is something that individual banks will have to submit to the central bank as a proof. There it is a process of discussion and understanding about why they are using certain parameters to arrive at their base rate. And, it also differs from bank to bank. It cannot be uniform for all banks. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You have been closely watching the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. So what do you foresee for the exchange rate between US dollar and Indian Rupee? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">A lot depends on the investors’ sentiments in India. If you look at India, it has a structural deficit on the current account. There is also trade deficit. The deficit has to be made up by either FII (Foreign Institutional Investment) flows or FDI flows. Interestingly, the FII flow was very strong in 2012. India received over USD 21 billion in FII in the first eleven and half months or so. But what is going to be most important is FDI coming through and that in turn will depend on the corporate sector’s sentiments to invest in the Indian market. There has been a fair bit of skepticism because of the slowdown in the reform process and delay in some policy level decisions and approvals. If the FII flows continues and FDI flows comes in then it could be a year where the Rupee could be quite stable. We should also watch out the oil import, a major factor in India. We have three big components of import — oil, gold and palm oil. These three goods have big brand values. Exports should also take a pace. We lagged behind in exports because the external markets in Europe and the US were not very strong.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Looking at the QN report for the current fiscal year, it is interesting to know that StanChart Nepal made exactly the same amount of profit as in the previous year while the capital base and reservation also increased. What are we to understand from this?</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;I think our capital base increased because of the previous year’s profit. The bonus issue has been there and obviously the strategic results are kept back. I will again come to the same point. There is not a great deal of corporate activities happening currently in Nepal and the wholesale business, too, is not growing rapidly. We’re seeing a good momentum and I think there is also base year effect as the last year’s first quarter saw a good double-digit growth. So this year the base of last year is quite high. We’re positive, going forward and we have to remember that our model is to be conservative. And we give good quality earning and sustainable returns to our shareholders. So that’s important as we don’t want a growth just for the sake of growth. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">SC was expected to be a big investor in Nepal, particularly for infrastructure projects. Your predecessors and you too had shown such a possibility in our previous talks. But that hasn’t happened so far. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As regards to investing in infrastructure, I think discussions are underway with various multi-lateral institutions and there are also other transactions in the pipeline. At the end of the day, we as a bank can only show the opportunities. The investment has to be made by the cooperate investors. We can’t force the investors. The good news is there is a pipeline for transactions. It is also a matter of time. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">Is there any possibility of StanChart Nepal acquiring another bank or accepting a merger proposal from yet another, given the merger spree in recent times? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;">Our growth is organic. So we focus more on the existing business in an organic way. If something interesting comes up, we will definitely look into it. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The world is still grappling with the aftermath of the global financial crisis. What are the changes you find in the regulatory landscape? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The regulatory landscape has changed quite romantically. We see that in higher capital, liquidity requirements. Clearly, the compliance standard has gone up and the cost of compliance, too, has gone up. I think the objective of making banking a safer business is commendable. We only hope that all regulators are consistent in their approach. Otherwise, for international banks like us, different regulators behave in different ways and it becomes fairly difficult. So we are all for stronger banking and banks. But at the same time, we hope that it is more consistent in terms of regulatory approach across the market. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">What changes you have made in SC’s business in your tenure of around one year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We have to remember that excellent franchise doing very well across the region with a very strong brand is very important. So there is nothing one has to change. But clearly the focus is on efficiency in terms of productivity, the best returns from capital investments, and strategically, how we grow also matters. There is no uniform answer across the market, as we have got a large market like India. For me, it is about focusing on the basics of banking. We’re not a bank trying to grow all of a sudden; it’s a glorious journey of more than 25 years in Nepal. of Nepali institutions to do business overseas. So, we’re hopeful about a very strong growth in the future. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Default">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the plans for the current fiscal year and beyond? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we will continue to be in a pretty challenging environment in the current fiscal year as well. Given the current political and economic situations, we don’t see the possibility of any huge increase in our investment. The market situation is very likely to remain tough. But we’ve have a balanced business. We are doing well in consumer as well as wholesale banking. On the consumer side, there is a good momentum. On the wholesale side, there is a good pipeline. The corporate houses are slightly hesitant to invest. When there is more clarity, particularly on the political front, I think you will see corporate investments come through and banks like us benefit. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What about the plans to expand the bank’s coverage and launch new products? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we have a good coverage with our 90 branches, two extension centers and an ATM network. We’re also investing in our front line sales, bringing new products, getting into the SME segment, working with multilateral agencies in terms of supporting some of the project finance transactions. So, there is a lot happening and as a leading international bank and being the only genuine global bank operating in Nepal, we’re able to bring the best practices and latest products into this market. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Would you please say something about SME banking which is regarded as one of the strengths of StanChart? Are there any policy changes? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The SME business is in an early stage. But again, our experience in a different market helps us to get into that segment here. So, we started off building products and offering them for example, loan against property which we call LAP, installment loans, some trade working capital etc. So, we’re getting into it. The SME segment here will benefit from all the best practices and expertise we have. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the changed strategic trusts of the Standard Chartered Group in the world, particularly in this region, for the coming days in view of the changed global perspectives? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	</b><br />
	I don’t think we’re looking at any dramatic changes in the strategy. Our strategy has been very consistent and has delivered very strong results. We had nine years of record growth and profits, even during the crisis period. We were probably the only bank which a record profit. It’s been a huge reinforcement of the strategy we’re following. We just announced our pre-closing training statement. Again we are looking at a very good growth both in terms of the overall income and in the operating profit. So, there is no change in strategy. I think we have to continue doing what we have done so far. We have to continue focusing on the basics of banking — capital, liquidity and risk management which is extremely important. We have the franchise, customers and a good network. I am quite hopeful of better growth in the US, China, India and European nations this year. It seems 2013 would be a much more better year than 2012. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You might have gone through the recent directive of NRB (Nepal Rastra Bank) about the base rate system for interest rates. What improvement would you like to suggest in the directive? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think the base rate is something followed in many markets including India. It’s is up to the banks to come up with their own calculation of base rate. What is required is the transparency of pricing. You have the base rate and margin; the customer knows what the margin is. The calculation of base rate is something that individual banks will have to submit to the central bank as a proof. There it is a process of discussion and understanding about why they are using certain parameters to arrive at their base rate. And, it also differs from bank to bank. It cannot be uniform for all banks. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You have been closely watching the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. So what do you foresee for the exchange rate between US dollar and Indian Rupee? </b><br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">A lot depends on the investors’ sentiments in India. If you look at India, it has a structural deficit on the current account. There is also trade deficit. The deficit has to be made up by either FII (Foreign Institutional Investment) flows or FDI flows. Interestingly, the FII flow was very strong in 2012. India received over USD 21 billion in FII in the first eleven and half months or so. But what is going to be most important is FDI coming through and that in turn will depend on the corporate sector’s sentiments to invest in the Indian market. There has been a fair bit of skepticism because of the slowdown in the reform process and delay in some policy level decisions and approvals. If the FII flows continues and FDI flows comes in then it could be a year where the Rupee could be quite stable. We should also watch out the oil import, a major factor in India. We have three big components of import — oil, gold and palm oil. These three goods have big brand values. Exports should also take a pace. We lagged behind in exports because the external markets in Europe and the US were not very strong. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Looking at the QN report for the current fiscal year, it is interesting to know that StanChart Nepal made exactly the same amount of profit as in the previous year while the capital base and reservation also increased. What are we to understand from this? </b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think our capital base increased because of the previous year’s profit. The bonus issue has been there and obviously the strategic results are kept back. I will again come to the same point. There is not a great deal of corporate activities happening currently in Nepal and the wholesale business, too, is not growing rapidly. We’re seeing a good momentum and I think there is also base year effect as the last year’s first quarter saw a good double-digit growth. So this year the base of last year is quite high. We’re positive, going forward and we have to remember that our model is to be conservative. And we give good quality <span style="color: black;">earning and sustainable returns to our shareholders. So that’s important as we don’t want a growth just for the sake of growth. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">SC was expected to be a big investor in Nepal, particularly for infrastructure projects. Your predecessors and you too had shown such a possibility in our previous talks. But that hasn’t happened so far. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	As regards to investing in infrastructure, I think discussions are underway with various multi-lateral institutions and there are also other transactions in the pipeline. At the end of the day, we as a bank can only show the opportunities. The investment has to be made by the cooperate investors. We can’t force the investors. The good news is there is a pipeline for transactions. It is also a matter of time. </span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">Is &nbsp;there any possibility of StanChart Nepal acquiring another bank or accepting a merger proposal from yet another, given the merger spree in recent times? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Our growth is organic. So we focus more on the existing business in an organic way. If something interesting comes up, we will definitely look into it. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The world is still grappling with the aftermath of the global financial crisis. What are the changes you find in the regulatory landscape?</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	<br />
	The regulatory landscape has changed quite romantically. We see that in higher capital, liquidity requirements. Clearly, the compliance standard has gone up and the cost of compliance, too, has gone up. I think the objective of making banking a safer business is commendable. We only hope that all regulators are consistent in their approach. Otherwise, for international banks like us, different regulators behave in different ways and it becomes fairly difficult. So we are all for stronger banking and banks. But at the same time, we hope that it is more consistent in terms of regulatory approach across the market.</span><br />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">&nbsp;</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">What changes you have made in SC’s business in your tenure of around one year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	We have to remember that excellent franchise doing very well across the region with a very strong brand is very important. So there is nothing one has to change. But clearly the focus is on efficiency in terms of productivity, the best returns from capital investments, and strategically, how we grow also matters. There is no uniform answer across the market, as we have got a large market like India. For me, it is about focusing on the basics of banking. We’re not a bank trying to grow all of a sudden; it’s a glorious journey of more than 25 years in Nepal.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span> </span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-02-07',
			'modified' => '2013-06-07',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Sunil Kausal was appointed the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited (SCBNL) in 2012. He is also the Regional Chief Executive of the Standard Chartered Bank India and South Asia. He has held several senior positions with the bank across different markets including Global Head- SME Banking and New Ventures in Singapore. Kaushal, who has over 23 years of banking experience, has also worked for Bank of America and HDFC Bank. He was in Kathmandu on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting of SCBNL last month. In an Interview with New Business Age, Kausal he shared Standard Chartered Bank’s current position and future plans in Nepal. Excerpts:',
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			'user_id' => '0'
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '744',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => 'Visiting Business People November 2012',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘We Expect Increased Per Capita Consumption of Plastics in South Asia’<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="Jim Becker" border="1" height="283" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/Jimbecker.jpg" vspace="10" width="189" /></span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Jim Becker <span style="color: rgb(34, 30, 31);">is the President and Managing Director of Chevron Phillips Chemicals Asia Pte Ltd and Chevron Phillips Singapore Chemicals Private Limited.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Chevron Phillips Chemical is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. The company with its joint venture partners, operates 42 manufacturing and research centres. Chevron Phillips is based in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston) and employs over 4,700 employees worldwide. The company, with its joint venture partners, currently has 39 production facilities located in the United States, Colombia, Singapore, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Belgium. Agriculture, automobiles, appliances, adhesives and sealants, electronics, medical, household goods, industrial, and textile are some of the areas that are served by the company among numerous others. Singapore is the regional headquarters for its operations in the Asia-Pacific region. Becker was recently in Kathmandu during a day-long seminar organised by the Nepal Plastic Association. In an interview with New Business Age, Becker shared his idea on the Nepali market for his company among various other issues. Excerpts:</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What brings you to Nepal this time? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We were invited for the Nepal Plastic Association event here. Nepal is an important market for the Chevron Philips Chemical. This is my first trip to Nepal and I was very pleased to come here and meet some of our customers and interact with the Nepal Plastic Association. <br />
	<br />
	</span><strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	You are one of the leading exporters of polymers to Nepal. What led you to achieve this position? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;">We started about 20 years ago with fairly low volume which at that time was around 300 tonnes. We worked hard and closely with an agent here in Nepal and now we sell almost 8,000 tonnes in this country. We see it growing further in the future. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the products that you are currently exporting to Nepal? <br />
	</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	We primarily sell high density polyethylene in Nepal. The Marlex Resin, which is the brand name of our product, is well known across Asia. It is the best quality resin in Asia and is used for many different applications. However, in Nepal, it is mainly used to produce pipe - primarily for water transport, and film for plastic shopping bags When it comes to use of plastic products, environmental issues come into consideration. As a producer of polymers, what is your take on it? <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I am not an expert on technology of sustainability but one of the biggest areas as far as I am concerned is energy consumption. That is one of the major benefits of using plastics. Without plastics, the world would be consuming much more energy because plastics, for example, are much lighter so they make automobiles lighter, packaging lighter, and also make bottles lighter among other things. So, consequently the energy it takes to transport all of these materials is reduced. If your car was heavier it would be much less efficient and would use more energy. The fact that you can make all these things lighter using plastics, is a big benefit. In addition to that, manufacturing polyethylene is more energy efficient in most cases compared with alternatives. If you reduce energy consumption, you reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve energy and reduce emissions of all sorts which are good for the environment. <br />
	<br />
	That, to me, is one of the major impacts that plastics have, on in a positive way, on the environment. Another very important benefit is in the food packaging area where you prevent spoilage of food which means more food for the consumer as well as for everyone else. As an industry, we need to work closely with people like those in Nepal Plastics Association to help educate people on the benefits of plastics. It is not something well understood by a lot of people. Therefore, we need to do a good job educating people to make sure they understand the benefits of plastics. </span></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	<br />
	How do you see the market in South Asia?</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	<br />
	The South Asian region has got a strong future that is why it is an important market to us. If you look at the emerging economies in South Asia, people from the lower income level are moving up to the middle income level. This means they are going to consume many more things including more plastics. When you combine that with strong population growth, we think the future of polyethylene and polypropylene looks pretty strong in South Asia. We expect the per capita consumption of plastics in South Asia to increase over the next decades. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Industrialisation is rather slow in Nepal. How do you see the future in this context and what are your expectations? </span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As I mentioned, we see Nepal as an area of growth for polyethylene. I don’t really know a lot about the specific policies that are being adopted in Nepal to help encourage growth. But we think that we will see the same kind of driving forces that will tend to increase consumption in Nepal similar to what we see in India, China and elsewhere in Asia. Nepal is an important market for us and we expect to be here for a long time. </span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? </span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The Marlex brand is very strong and we are very confident about our products and the brand itself. There is competition in Nepal of course but we will keep doing what we have been doing so far. Our basic business model is to establish close relationships with customers and work with them to develop this market. We have a very talented agent here in Nepal who helps us do this and so we plan to keep doing what we have been doing – working with the customers to help this market grow.</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Visiting Business People</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘We can Help Nepali Tea Earn Credibility in Europe’<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="" border="1" height="317" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/dheeraj.jpg" vspace="10" width="190" /><br />
	</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Dheeraj Rathi <span style="color: rgb(34, 30, 31);">is the Director of South Asia at BM TRADA RKCA Certification Pvt </span>Ltd.<span style="line-height: 115%;"> He has been working for the company since July 2011 and looks after the South Asia operation. BM TRADA is one of the leaders in certifications with a history of more than 75 years in the certification industry across the globe. It has expertise in construction, oil and gas, timber research, sustainable supply chains, food industry and systems design. The company has served about 15,000 organisations in more than 80 countries in systems certifications and management systems design. Rathi heads a team of 18 members and 45 associate auditors and channel partners to serve over a 1,000 clients. He was recently in Nepal to award Chilime Hydropower Company Limited with Quality Management System (QMS) and Environment Management System (EMS) awards. In an Interview with New Business Age, he shared his ideas on certification trends and plans of BM TRADA operations in Nepal. Excerpts:</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What brings you to Nepal this time? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We have certified Chilime Hydropower Company and I wanted personally to come and be a part of something which I feel is a good cause for the society. In the entire world, this is the first hydropower plant which BM TRADA has certified. Certification for hydropower is something which you can get if you are either in the US or in South Asia. That is something which is very unique. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Do you think the certification procedure can be customised to suit the local environment? Are there any such practices? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Customisation is not there because you are actually certifying against the given standards. There are certain standards which are called guidelines. You actually design the process, set a benchmark and tell companies whether they are moving towards that set benchmark. The guidelines report tells us where we are going right or wrong. It does not certify anything. There are certain standards such as Quality Management System, Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Management System and Food Safety Management System. There are certain clauses which are to be followed. We ensure that the application of those clauses is done in totality. We customise to the extent of understanding the local work culture, however, we don’t customise the standards which are internationally recognised. But at the same time, there are certain companies which are much larger and they should look at customising the quality standards for their needs and getting certified by the third party. We are not here just like any other organisations to sell standards; we want quality and recognition to improve at the international level. These customisations are only helpful for bigger companies and government organisations, for example, banks with 500 branches. Their need is not fulfilled by just one standard only. As an accreditation body, we can work with them to create their own standards, and recognise these on international standards. <br />
	<br />
	<strong><br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">In Nepal, ISO certifications are often mistaken to be certificates awarded for the product quality even though they have been awarded for the management and systems implemented. Is BM TRADA planning to carry out educational campaigns for raising awareness?<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I have been talking to local partners here on this matter. We need to carry out awareness campaigns not just about quality standards. There are fundamentally four different types of standards which we look at: process standard that certifies the process, product standard that certifies the product, people standard that certifies people and management standard that certifies overall management. Especially, ISO 9001:2008 has not been certifying a product but the system that is constantly there to give better&nbsp;quality products. When the system is good, the product quality will obviously be good. There are also certain product certifications that we do. We are planning to work on many training programmes which we will be very happy to share. There are broadly three areas in which we want to provide trainings. One is RMS implementation training on standards, second is RMS implementation training on business system and the third is awareness and skill improvement training on human skills. There are various ISO standards for every skill such as quality skills, marketing skills, personality skills, and communication skills etc which are very important for an organisation to have. We want to conduct trainings on these different areas and around international standards mostly working in tandem with various organisations. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">You mentioned about person certification. How are people certified? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">If there is a prospect of personal decision-making in the quality of product, how will you know if the person is competent enough to make that decision? Therefore, we make the basic element of the decision-making. BM TRADA is one of the largest personal certification bodies in the UK for timber quality grading. We design a scheme where a person is being taught how to grade a timber based on various specification of the wood by looking at the wood. When he gives the test result this person’s result is then compared to actual tests and if variation is found to be within amicable number, we issue certification. That certificate is considered in various organisations as certificate of quality. In health care, for example, geriatric nurses can work as qualified nurses anywhere in the world. Their earning can be increased significantly just by a small training. The government should also give some sort of recognition to them. On our part, we can design a scheme to certify these people so that they can get much better accessibility and opportunity. In personal certification, you have to identify that one skill which you want to certify and look at the competency that the person has and certify it. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">You said that BM TRADA is planning to be the largest certification body in Nepal. How do you plan to achieve it? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There are three things that we believe in. Firstly, our focus on integrated management system that is based on quality, healthcare, safety and environment. We have the largest scope, localised partner and the local face of BM TRADA here. Secondly, we will get into food industry such as hotels, restaurants, bakeries, food processing, tea and others. We can help Nepali tea to earn credibility in the European market. A certification logo speaks for itself. Thirdly, we want to focus on forestry supply chain because Nepal would again have a lot of products coming from the forests. There is a lot of scope for improvement in that part of supply chain. You have timber, plywood, paper, honey, perfume and much more. All these things can be certified to get recognition in the global market. We need to train more people in Nepal for this and create employment opportunities here in this country. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the prospects you see in other sectors like tourism and hydropower? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Tourism and power are two sectors we would like to work very closely with. Similarly, trading is another such area. We would like to support a lot of trading organisations who plan to grow big and help their distribution system to grow by certifying their distribution system. A consumer would know that the company with certification will be able to provide good quality products. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the challenges you face here while marketing your brand name as well as the quality certifications? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The biggest challenge for me is to make people aware that they should meet standards. Once there is awareness, the differentiation between a good and a bad company needs to be explored. Today, international standards are issued by 60 companies but one may want to know which countries these companies operate in and the different certificates they issue. It also matters if these companies have certified big names in the countries they have operated in. Ultimately, it is all about a brand name which people can trust. My challenges are firstly, to make people aware that they need standards and secondly, to differentiate between good and bad. I hope that like-minded people will come together and create an environment to do something substantial here. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the plans of BM TRADA for Nepal? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">We are actually thinking very seriously about online training so that we can reach remote places as well as train more people. We are planning to invest heavily in the entire South Asian market. We plan to invest on a portal and work on it so that we can increase the quality of manpower in the region.<br />
	<br />
	</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Visiting Business People</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘It’s High Time for Nepal to have More Investors’<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="fatma" border="1" height="286" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/fatma.jpg" vspace="10" width="274" /></span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Professor Dr Fatma Gunseli Malko is the Honorary Consul General of Nepal in Istanbul, Turkey. &nbsp;She hails from Istanbul, Turkey and has completed PhD in Adult Education from Institute of Social Sciences from Marmara University. She was recently in Nepal with a delegation of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) which is the first formal business delegation from Turkey to Nepal. The Turkish delegation came upon an invitation of Nepal Investment Board (NIB) and with special efforts of Professor Malkoç. Professor Malkoç has worked as a Full Professor in Department of Public Relations, Faculty of Communications in Marmara University, Istanbul. Her teaching faculty ranges from Adult Educations, Adult Psychology to Public Relations and Interpersonal/Institutional Communications among numerous others. In an Interview with New Business Age, Professor Malkoç talked about the potentials of trade and relationship between Turkey and Nepal. Excerpts:</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What brings you to Nepal this time? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">This time, we were in Nepal with the important delegation of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC). I personally believe it is high time to introduce the business community of Turkey to Nepal to bolster ties in trade and bilateral relations. Also, it’s high time for Nepal to have more investors to have rapid development. The construction and power sectors of Turkey are one of the greatest in the world and if Nepal can tap the opportunity, both the countries can have mutual benefit. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Would you share with us about your meetings? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">All of our meetings were fruitful mainly due to the organization and efforts of Radhesh Pant, the CEO of Nepal Investment Board (NIB). We met the Prime Minister and we felt honored with his warm welcome and response. The Prime Minister said that Nepal wants more foreign investment and assured that any type of business would be welcomed from Turkey and support would also be given to Turkish investors. His assurance made the visiting Turkish delegation very happy. We also had a chance to meet the Minister of Industry. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What are your areas of interest to invest in Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">In our talk with Pant, he stressed on sectors like hydropower, infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, mining and also IT in a priority list. These sectors also have good potentials in Turkey. And, in my view, power and infrastructure should be mainly prioritized to invest in Nepal. The frequent electricity cut-off is a nightmare for any of the above mentioned industries. It decreases the efficiency of the factories, and also degrades the quality of life of people. Without infrastructure, power cannot go further at the required pace and better economy leads to the betterment of every life. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What were the decisions made through these meetings? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We further consulted with C P Khetan, the Consular of Turkey in Nepal and Kishore Maharjan, the CEO of Civil Bank. We further learnt about the banking system in Nepal. Our delegation was also much impressed with the establishment of NIB. We have had the idea that the board will be very beneficial in coming days and it’s a revolutionary one. In the 1960s, Turkey also faced a weak economy and foreign investment led us to the road of prosperity and we hope the same thing will be applicable to Nepal. In our talks with FNCCI, they also prioritized areas of investment in power, tourism and infrastructure. With CNI, we had sector-wise discussion. During the CNI meet, we also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and we feel it was one of the concrete developments. We also decided that the Nepali delegation should visit Turkey in the near future, maybe in January 2013. It is also agreed that there should be an exhibition of Turkish products by ICOC in Kathmandu after six months along with a group of Turkish investors. We also met with the Nepal-Turkey Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NTCCI) which visits Turkey every year. This is a very good development which can lead the way for investors by getting to know the country better. An MOU was signed with NTCCI too. I see a bright future of Nepal if there is political stability and strong government. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What could be the area of interest for Turkey’s business community in Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We are thinking in the same direction as NIB. We know each other’s ideas and have mutual trust. From my side, I will try my best to get investment in infrastructure and construction. Whatever NIB’s CEO Pant suggested was very complementary to the potential of Turkey. We are ahead in infrastructure and construction. So, to make tunnels and roads, Turkey has very good investors. We have European quality in moderate Asian prices which will be beneficial for Nepal. Turkey has a lot of experience in hydropower as we have many rivers in Turkey. There are many projects running with latest technologies. If both the hydropower and infrastructure sectors are developed in Nepal, it will be beneficial for other top priority sectors as well. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>We have been enjoying duty free access to US and other few countries. What will be your role to facilitate similarly easier entry for Nepali carpets in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Even though Turkey is one of the best countries for producing quality handmade carpets, Nepali carpets have a big market in Turkey for their design and color. Though there is no economic agreement between Nepal and Turkey so far, I’m trying my best for this. </span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What else are the probable areas of cooperation between Turkey and Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Last year, our Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Nepal and they wanted to start Turkish Airlines service to Nepal via India. But, I think direct flights from Turkey to Nepal will be much more beneficial for both business relations and tourism. So, we have been discussing that there should be a direct flight from Istanbul to Kathmandu. When ICOC and I will be presenting our reports in Turkey, we will definitely highlight this point. Turkey is the gateway to Europe. Qatar Airways is having 4-5 flights a day so I think there is a big demand. It is nice to know that this news has already found space in Turkish newspaper that Nepali business community wants direct flight from Turkey to Nepal. Also, it would a good idea to open an embassy soon to jointly promote economic cooperation between the two countries. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Being in an influential position, how are you planning to publicize Nepal in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I first came to Nepal in 1995-96 as a visiting professor to Kathmandu University. I really love this country and have known Nepal for more than 15 years. We have organized two Nepal Weeks in Turkey and they were big events. All the dancers, musicians and even the royal astrologer Mangal Raj Joshi attended the event. Since I’m a professor, I like to give lectures and I have been giving lectures about Nepal at many places such as Universities, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs etc. Now the people in Turkey recognize Nepal when they think about me. I write articles about Nepal in some newspapers and magazines whenever possible. I am interviewed by media people many times. About a year ago, a TV program was made in my house saying “if you can’t go to Nepal we bring Nepal to your House!” since my house is decorated like a small Nepal. I’m proud of representing Nepal as I have created mini Nepal in my house. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What other things are happening and could be done to facilitate the tourism ties between the two countries? <br />
	<br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I have told Nepal Tourism Board many times that they should start investing in new markets. It is high time to search for new markets besides the regular ones like some European countries and the US. The efforts of the Ministry of Tourism alone are not enough to promote tourism. It is also the responsibility of the business community and travel agencies in Nepal. They should have good communication with the representatives of Nepal abroad and give necessary support to them. Honorary consulates are very important in this respect. By uniting our strengths, we can do much more to facilitate the tourism ties between Nepal and other countries. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Since we don’t have enough aircraft with the national carrier, what could be the best way to promote Nepal in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Turkish Airlines have a big fleet of aircraft. If Nepal needs more aircraft, there are airline companies in Turkey who can come and invest here. There can be joint ventures as well. We also have private companies with inexpensive airfares and strong market share. Flights from Turkey to Nepal are very expensive at the moment and cost about 800 Euros. This should be made much cheaper to attract more tourists to Nepal. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What is the focal point of connecting Nepal and Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Friendly Nepali people and their culture are similar to us. We have similar cultures and family ties are very close like in Nepal. We are also blessed with nature providing variety of outdoor activities just like they are in Nepal. Turkey also has a great and ancient civilization like Nepal. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What are the products that are imported in Nepal from Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">There is a government organization in Turkey and they are promoting trade with foreign countries. They have formed a representation in Nepal and they often visit Turkey. The organization mainly deals in suits, shoes, men’s wear, fertilizers, generators, machine-made carpets, electronic items and food items like noodles, biscuits, candies, oil etc with good quality. I recommend Nepal should buy olive oil and wine from Turkey.</span></span></div>',
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<p>
	Hideto Kawamura, Department Head, Overseas Sales Division of Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd, India recently visited Nepal to officially launch Yamaha Ray, a new scooter from Yamaha. &nbsp;In his 10 years of career in Yamaha Motors, Kawamura has worked in various departments ranging from services to sales and marketing. He joined the company in 2002 as the In-charge of CKD export operation and marketing support for Indonesian Market products. He moved to India in 2012 and has been overseeing export from India. In an interview with New Business Age, Kawamura shared the expansion plan of his company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Would you please describe the Ray Scooter that you just launched?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	The Ray Scooter is specially made for women. The height of the seat is lower than the competitors. Overall, it is very comfortable for female riders. &nbsp;On the other hand, the mileage of the Ray is the best among the scooters segment available in Nepal. And, it has better pick up. The scooter is good enough to ride for two people and it goes smoothly while climbing the slopes.</p>
<p>
	<strong>&nbsp;How do you find the demand of your product in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We see a great market for scooters in Nepal. Though our product is new in Nepali market compared to other products, we are confident that our product will be popular among the riders. The scooter market in Nepal is basically owned by other models like Dio from Honda. But our product is competitive enough to take on them. Ray scooter would win customer’s trust in every aspect; style, pick up, mileage and overall. I believe we will own around 20 per cent market share in Nepal in 2013/2014. We will try our best to achieve that.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the other products that you are planning to launch in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We are considering launching variation models of Ray scooter in Nepal in near future. But I cannot say more about it right now.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How are you expanding your business internationally?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Today, Yamaha sells around 7 million units of two-wheelers a year all over the world including in Japan, USA and European countries. We are also expanding our business in developing countries like Nepal. &nbsp;Now, we have the largest market shares in South East Asia mainly in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. And we are expanding our business in African countries.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Until 2012 December, we sold around 12,000 motorcycles in Nepal. It will expand much more and our sales could see up to 40 per cent growth compared to previous year. We have a plan to launch another variation of scooter that will also contribute to the growth.&nbsp;</p>
<div>
	 </div>',
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			'keywords' => 'Hideto Kawamura, Department Head, Overseas Sales Division of Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd, Business Visitors, Visiting Business People, New Business Age, June 2013, interview',
			'description' => 'Hideto Kawamura, Department Head, Overseas Sales Division of Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd, India recently visited Nepal to officially launch Yamaha Ray, a new scooter from Yamaha.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1079',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Are Confident About The Performance Of Our Products’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	Hiroaki Ashizawa, Director of Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd is also heading Living Environment Air condition division in India. Founded in 1921, Mitsubishi Electric is a leading company in manufacturing and sales of electrical and electronic products. Hiroaki has handled many international markets including USA, Europe and Asia Market and has 35 years of experience in HVAC. In an interview with New Business Age, Hiraoki shared about his business in Nepali market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you please highlight the reasons of your visit?</strong></p>
<p>
	I came here for a launching ceremony of our Air conditioner products in Kathmandu. Since I am supposed to assist and support the business in Nepal, I also wanted to visit Airtech, our business partner here in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products that you just launched?</strong></p>
<p>
	Recently, we launched two air conditioning series namely Mr. Slim Series and CITY MULTI VRF series in Nepali market. &nbsp;Mr. Slim is a series of room air conditioners for private houses and small offices while City Multi VRF Series is for commercial purpose suitable to corporate offices, banks, hospitals, hotels, shopping complexes, villas, apartments, etc. Both these series are widely accepted in global market. With these full ranges of world class products we ensure that Nepalese customers would get the best AC products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Can you tell us the major unique features of the Mitsubishi Electric brand?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus on Mitsubishi Electric Quality promising the best experience in our products, services, partnership and people. Apart from premium quality, energy efficiency, usage of environment friendly green refrigerant R-410A for our product range and our service quality are key features that ensure standards matching to the lifestyle with lesser environmental impact.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How are you expanding your products in the international market?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are one of the leading air conditioner companies in global market including South East Asia. We are now growing rapidly mainly in the countries like India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. We are already market leaders in our inverter segment in USA, UK, Spain, etc. We also enjoy leadership status in many Asian countries including Thailand and Myanmar.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We launched our products in Nepal nearly a year back. With these best products, we are aiming to be the market leader by the year 2015. Seeing the price competition, I believe Nepal is one of the hardest markets in South Asia. It seems very tough but still we are ready to fight and grab the market. We are confident about the performance of our products and I am sure the valued customers in Nepal would pay some premium for our quality products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How can Nepal get benefit from these products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We sell DC inverter type Air Conditioners with after sales services in Nepali market. As DC inverter type Air Conditioner is energy saving product, it could be beneficial for reduction of energy consumption ensuring the lower operating cost.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is your further plan regarding your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are planning to launch the Hot Water Generating system- a highly efficient and eco friendly product especially suited for hotel business in Nepal. &nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Hiroaki Ashizawa, Director of Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd is also heading Living Environment Air condition division in India. Founded in 1921, Mitsubishi Electric is a leading company in manufacturing and sales of electrical and electronic products.',
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			'id' => '1078',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Hope The Market For Our Business Grows Fast In Nepal’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	Cyrus Khambata is the Chief Executive Officer at CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL). &nbsp;He joined Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) in 1999, the date of CDSL’s operation and currently offering his services as an Executive Vice President. CDSL is a leading securities depository in India. &nbsp;Previously, he served Bank of India as a Chief Manager for 20 years. Sushila Budhathoki of New Business Age talked with Khambata during his recent Nepal visit.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What brings you to Nepal this time?</strong></p>
<p>
	I am here for the inauguration of clearing and settlement system started by Central Depository &amp; Settlement Corporation (CDSC). I have been putting my effort to start the system for three years. I am here for technical assistance.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>So, you had a meeting with brokers also?</strong></p>
<p>
	Yes, they had certain questions like how DEMAT operates, how the risks can be minimised etc. And we had to explain them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Now the CDSC has come into full operation. How will it support the capital market of Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	In the physical settlement process, shares traded in the stock exchange have to be transferred manually. That takes a long time to change the ownership. With Dematerialisation (DEMAT), the shares get transferred to the respective stakeholders’ account immediately on the trading day so they can use it during emergency also. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We hope the market for our business grows fast in Nepal. We will target big companies and have started the DEMAT services offered to the shareholders. So, that it would grow rapidly. People who are trading shares will prefer DEMAT because it is less time consuming. But the people who are not trading will take time to familiarize with DEMAT.</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What are other infrastructures necessary for Nepali capital market?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	In the capital market, there are three large infrastructure providers. One is regulator who does a lot of monitoring, second is the exchange which offers trading facilities and the third one is depository which sets up the depository participants to cover the entire population. &nbsp;In India, there are 18, 000 depository centers covering 25,000 pin codes out of 27,000 pin codes in the country. State Bank of India provides DEMAT facilities from its 3000 branches among 10 -12 thousand branches.</p>
<p>
	So, like SBI, Bank of Kathmandu also can be the center for providing DEMAT facilities. It can offer this service from its 500 branches which will cover the entire country.</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What are your suggestions to CDSC for providing services other than normal settlements?</strong></p>
<p>
	It can provide numerous services if permitted. One is e-voting service. It would help the shareholders to participate in the operation of the company that they own. For example, they can even electronically vote for the AGM even if they are not physically present to attend the programme.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Similarly, they can provide KYC (Know Your Client) services. To open a DEMAT account, you have to comply to the KYC rules. It is required by banks, insurance companies and telecom operators to name a few. All the documents need not be collected from the client in each and every step every time he/she transacts somewhere. So, CDSC can become a bank for KYC document and the client can just file his details once and for all for any organisation.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Cyrus Khambata is the Chief Executive Officer at CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL).  He joined Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) in 1999, the date of CDSL’s operation and currently offering his services as an Executive Vice President.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1015',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Don’t Do Anything Non-profit’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong>Cliff Reeves, General Manager of Microsoft Corp. for Strategic &amp; Emerging Business Team, was in Nepal recently to visit the Microsoft Innovation Centre. He looks after the social side of the business and works with young students and business leaders from all over the world. In an interview with Modnath Dhakal,from New Business Age, Reeves shared his ideas and views on Microsoft products, software piracy and IT entrepreneurship.&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What is the purpose of your visit to Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	This is not a special visit, I have come to see Allen (Allen Bailochan Tuladhar) and Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) in Kathmandu. We have more than one hundred MICs around the world and the Kathmandu centre, headed by Allen, is one of the strongest. We have opened 19 MICs in India and I am talking to the people working there. We have just organized MIC summit in Bangalore. We are also planning for a new MIC in Nepal too.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How is Microsoft performing here, in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s doing very well. My focus is entirely on the start-ups, students and entrepreneurs. Therefore, I don’t know exactly about the sales and other areas. &nbsp;We are reaching a significant number of students and have collected significant number of facts in their employability. With programmes like Microsoft Student Partners, Microsoft Virtual Academy and the IT Academy, which actually helps with the certification of their qualifications, we are reaching to them. We are very pleased with the programme and its progress.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Many people in South Asia and developing countries use pirated Windows operating system or other software because of its cheap price. What is your take on this?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Piracy is the practical issue. Pirated software is not worth paying for because it does not come with the extra support that we provide. On the other hand, the cost of software has gone down dramatically. We do want to deal with the piracy, it’s illegal. We do want to get revenue from our products. But we don’t think piracy is our primary problem. Ultimately, people will go for the quality software.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What strategies has Microsoft been putting in action to solve the piracy problem?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	That is not my area of focus. I focus on making sure that the people who need the software, get it. These are the people who are in school or in universities or who are looking for an assistance to set up their businesses. I make sure that they have access to it. We give our software to developers without any cost for three years. Many of the small companies fail. Therefore, we don’t want to be the reason behind their failure because of the high cost of the software. &nbsp;When they succeed, they pay a good premium to our software. It’s a good investment.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Has your business improved here after the development of Unicode Nepali software?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	I don’t know much about it, but Microsoft believes that language projects help to boost the sales of software. Inclusion is a good business.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Where is Microsoft in the competition of mobile OS among Android, Apple, Simbion and Blackberry?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are number two in India. But worldwide Android is the volume leader, Apple has the profitability and Microsoft had a late entrance to the market. But we have a long history of endurance, which is supported by the best technology in the world. There are very few companies in the world that have had more than one major product success. Microsoft had two or probably three successful products: Windows, Office and the game console X-box.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>You are running various non-profit activities in Nepal like distribution of software to students, language development etc., is it your CSR or business enhancement strategy?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s not non-profit. I don’t think we do anything non-profit. It should be for profit . Our relationship with the start-ups is based on both direct and indirect value to Microsoft. The indirect value to Microsoft is that, as economies grow, we grow. If you have a good boat and the water level is going up, you both are going up. So we are very interested in building good relationships with universities, which is where the talents come from. We want good talents. That engagement with the students and start-ups is vital for us. In this course we make sure that the students have access to our technology with very advantageous prices or for free. In the long run, they are going to be our customers. There is a balance of altruism and profit-motive. And I think that is the right thing for the business.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you track the young talents?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We often work with the universities. We run Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) programs in various universities. The students who are interested in technology can apply for MSP. We accept the eligible students and train them for free. They often end up being evangelists . They often teach their class and earn some respect from their fellow students. We hire some of them. We also take some help from these young energetic people to improve our technologies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Programs like IT Academy, Microsoft Virtual Academy, MIC etc., inspire students to develop something new. MVA provides the training materials online. We help young students to become entrepreneurs and IT professionals.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is your success-mantra to those young aspiring entrepreneurs who face &nbsp;constraints financing their business?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	I would say money is not the primary problem. It was so a decade ago but the situation has changed a lot. There are new elements that make a successful start-up. First, and the obvious, is the Internet. It reached to almost anybody with almost zero friction and zero cost. It means that market, technology and customers are accessible. Promotion is less expensive. Because of social networking, you will get the customers without employing the sales force. And then the technology itself has got incredibly powerful. Now, it takes lot less codes and fewer tools. The tools you need are freely available. It has helped to narrow down the gap between the idea and the successful market. &nbsp;To get a big business idea is hard but your ability as an entrepreneur to develop a program, to get your first consumer, to improve it, to refine it and to market it will not be spoiled by the cost. The cost is just plummeted. So my advice is not to focus on finances but to get the viable product in the hands of your customer. If you can do that, then you can go to the investor. Investors are always ready to finance &nbsp;good ideas and products.&nbsp;</p>
<div>
	 </div>',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1014',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Ensure The Optimum Operational Conditions Of Our Products’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><img alt="Seung Woo Lee, Visiting Business People" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_may2013_seung_woo(1).jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 0 0;" /><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Seung Woo Lee is the General Manager, Sales and Marketing of Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt Ltd, one of the fastest growing manufacturers of excavators in India and in the world. In the last year, Hyundai sold 2034 units of excavator and captured a market share of 14 per cent in the Indian excavator market and consolidated its position at number three. It is also eying Nepali market. Recently, Seung was in Nepal and Siromani Dhungana of New Business Age talked to him regarding business prospects of Hyundai in Nepal.&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What was the purpose of your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are here for launching our products, 22Ton class excavator series. We are launching two excavators, which are Robex220LC-7 and Robex220LC-9s, both manufactured in India. We take this occasion as a chance to interact with our local customers and to provide better service to them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products you are currently supplying to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are currently supplying 14-20ton crawling excavators. That is the category of machines, with its the operating weight.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	There is a big demand for our products in big projects, like hydropower and road constructions. Though such projects are very low in number in Nepal now, the number and speed of the projects will be higher &nbsp;after some time. &nbsp;May be it won’t take a long time to see the boom in the market.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should consumers choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus in better technology, services and operating costs. We have focused in these things both in our previous products and in the new ones. There are various sides and factors in which we have evolved and enhanced ourselves better. We also have improved &nbsp;in after sale services and spare parts. We ensure the optimum operation conditions throughout its lifetime, with higher liability and lesser fuel consumption.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Developing countries &nbsp;have always been a priority for our business, and South Asian countries have a lot of opportunity, being their markets vital for us. The economic effect of the problem in European countries, which started in 2008, had affected South Asian countries including India, which accounts for a big portion in construction market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? Are you satisfied with it?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s fierce. Every single machine should count on. In terms of overall market size, it has significantly decreased at this moment and I really cannot say the exact number. The positive side is that we are maintaining ourselves. The relationship with our customers, our support to them in after sale services and spare parts with our dealer CSPL here is good.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do your products help your customers to enhance their business and revenue?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus on efficiency of our products. In the long run, the operating cost, the fuel efficiency and after sales services matter most to the customers. So we try to lower the maintenance cost by accommodating long life hydraulic and filters.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Seung Woo Lee is the General Manager, Sales and Marketing of Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt Ltd, one of the fastest growing manufacturers of excavators in India and in the world.',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1013',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘Android Smartphones Democratise The Market’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<span style="font-size: 12px;"><img alt="De Finbarr Moynihan, Visiting business people" height="283" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_may2013_finbarr(1).jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 10px 0 0;" width="250" /><strong>Dr Finbarr Moynihan is General Manager, Corporate Business Development for MediaTek. In this role, he manages MediaTek’s global customer, partner and operator relationships. Prior to this, he was Director of Product Marketing for MediaTek’s Smartphone Business Unit – based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. &nbsp;During his recent visit to Nepal, Bijaya Giri of New Business Age talked to him regarding market prospects of MediaTek in Nepal.</strong></span></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What is the purpose of your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Our partner here, Teletalk, is announcing a range of products. We are here for the launching tablets and phablet devices based on our chipsets. Like other markets, we highly value Nepali market and local brands.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Can you briefly tell us about your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We mainly focus on big digital consumer markets – feature phones, smart phones, tablets, DTV, DVD, Set-top boxes and digital home platforms. We also centre our attention on things like WiFi routers and access points. &nbsp;We ship roughly 500-550 million chipset of mobile every year. We are in the mobile market since 2004, however we are still relatively new in the smart phone market – we started shipping 3G smart phone chipsets during the second half of 2011. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products you are currently supplying in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We mostly supply for our local partners here, like Teletalk. Colors mobile, as a local brand, uses our chipset. We mainly supply chipsets and solutions for feature phones - 2G Bar phones, low-cost android phones to higher-performance 4-5 inch phablet phones, which uses quad-core chipsets for higher performances. We also supply chipsets for 3G Data Cards.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Like other markets, we have highly valued the Nepali market and local brands. We don’t make phones, but try to enable our customers and local brand partners, like Colors Mobile, to do so as easily as possible. &nbsp;The adoption of smart phones by the Nepali market is increasing and that is important for us. The emergence of Android smart phones democratise the market, which is heavily occupied by major technological giants. We believe that the consumer adoption of these smart phones, with access to data services, social networks and other varied applications, will continue to have beneficial effects for the societies that adopt them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should consumers choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	Because of the way we approach the market and we plan. We supply the chip but what we deliver to the customer is much more than that. We don’t make the final products but we deliver complete software solutions along with the chipsets. The products our partner delivers, at cost effective prices, are not lower in comparison with high end devices. For good user experience, the power consumption, battery life and multimedia experience fulfil the consumers’ expectations.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s been very important for us. For many years it’s been our major market for the 2G feature phone. The market effect we saw last year in China is now happening in the South Asian market. This means more tablets and more convergence from 2G to 3G. This trend is not going to stop and that’s why we are excited and focused on that. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	The competition in mobile space is always tough. Different brands, different chipset suppliers and so many other factors drive the market. This year, the &nbsp;sales volume of smart phones, as we expected, has been increasing so far in Nepal. The global competition in the smartphone segment is huge and tough for each major or minor player. You have to deliver better, faster and more affordable products to the consumer in order to be able to sustain yourself in the market. That’s part of life in this business.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are your future strategies?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are focusing on 3G and 4G high performing technologies, including smart phones and devices for emerging markets like Nepal. &nbsp;We are also centred on more affordable Data Cards.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'keywords' => '‘Android Smartphones Democratise The Market’, Dr Finbarr Moynihan',
			'description' => 'Dr Finbarr Moynihan is General Manager, Corporate Business Development for MediaTek. In this role, he manages MediaTek’s global customer, partner and operator relationships.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '991',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => 'Developing Countries Offer  A Great Deal Of Opportunity For Our Business',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><span style="font-size: 12px;">Pradeep Kumar acquired his Bachelor in Technology from GB Pant University, Pantnagar. He also earned a Master in Business Administration from Bhartya Vidya Bhawan. He has 30 years of extensive experience in the field of Farm Machinery, Material Handling and Construction Equipment. He has worked with Eicher Tractors Ltd. India from 1978 until 1984, being in charge of sales and service operations. Subsequently, he has worked with Escorts Construction Equipment Ltd. from 1984 until 2001 and Escorts Ltd. from 2001 until 2005 as a General Manager for both companies. During this period, he has been responsible for various functions including business development, sales and marketing of material handling, construction equipment (like mobile cranes, loaders, vibratory road rollers etc.) and exports of tractors. He joined Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. in August 2005.</span></strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	Pradeep Kumar, Vice President of Mahindra and Mahindra for international operations of Auto &amp; Farm sectors in Asia and Australia, was recently in Nepal when he talked to Sujan Dhungana of New Business Age about his company’s business in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What brings you to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	I have visited Nepal several times in the past because it is a strategic market for Mahindra. We are market leaders in the utility vehicle segment and tractors, with two brands, Mahindra and Swaraj. Both brands, together, account for more than 38 percent of market share in the tractor business. We are here to launch our product, the Mahindra XUV 500, a world class SUV which is now blazing a trail across India, Australia, South Africa and Italy . This is one of the most successful vehicles we have launched in India and its demand is increasing.</p>
<p>
	Moreover, this year, I am proud to announce that we have completed 22 years of successful association with our Nepal distributor, Agni, and we would like to use this occasion – the launch of our new 3S facility – as a chance to interact with our local customers and to provide them with the best service possible.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What makes Mahindra stand out in the market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Our products have been developed as per market demand. &nbsp;We have always kept the customer in focus while designing our products, which are reliable. Moreover, the fact that we have won various quality related awards is a testimony of our attention focused on this area.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>When did your company start exporting?</strong></p>
<p>
	We have been exporting our vehicles since the 1960’s but the real growth in export volumes has been experienced within the last ten years.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How is the performence of the products you are currently supplying in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	In Nepal, we supply Mahindra vehicles with annual sales crossing 2000 numbers. We also sell tractors with both the Mahindra and Swaraj badge, with annual sales of about 2000 numbers. We are currently focusing on expanding our product range in all the segments we are present in.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	There is a big demand of our products and our sales are also rising here. &nbsp;The Nepal market is a vital one for us.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should a consumer choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	Aside from the fact that the Mahindra brand is associated with trust, durability and reliability, we have always prided ourselves on high service levels. We keep the customer and his or her needs in mind when designing our products and we focus on getting better technology, services and operating costs.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	The competition is very fierce in this market. South Asian and other developing countries offer a great deal of opportunity for our business. We have been present in this region for a while now and have grown and evolved along with the rapidly changing market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? Are you satisfied with it?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s a very competitive market. The size of the market has decreased but we are confident about the prospects for growth. Mahindra is focusing on customer centricity and ensuring a robust after sales network along with our dealer, Agni.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-05-22',
			'modified' => '2013-06-07',
			'keywords' => 'Developing countries offer a great deal of opportunity for our business, Visiting Business People, Pradeep Kumar',
			'description' => 'Pradeep Kumar, Vice President of Mahindra and Mahindra for international operations of Auto & Farm sectors in Asia and Australia, was recently in Nepal when he talked to Sujan Dhungana of New Business Age about his company’s business in Nepal.',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '975',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘Orient Has A Very Big Potential In Nepal’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Ghurmeet Singh, vice president ,Orient Fans, New Business Age" height="275" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Ghurmeet_Singh_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />Ghurmeet Singh, vice president of Orient Fans was in Nepal to launch Orient Fans series recently. Premier Overseas (P) Ltd is the authorized distributor of Orient Fans in Nepal. Orient Fans is a division, under CK Birla group, and currently it exports its products over 30 countries. Fans, small home appliances and lighting are some of the areas that are served by the division. In an interview with New Business Age, Singh shared his idea on the Nepali market for his products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Nepal is a big market because like India, Nepal is also largely populated with the people who are not so rich. And therefore there is big prospect and market for fans, which is going to remain for long time. And we find that because of the electricity cost as well as the relevancy, fans will be the primary cooling devices for many people for long time. Secondly, brands from India have very good scope here because India and Nepal have worked hand in hand for a long time. And Orient as number two brand in India for many years now has a very big potential here. We were selling here some fans also in the past. Last year we joined hands with Premier Overseas, a part of Sharda Group, so that we can distribute our products more widely. And we are very sure that, with their vast experiences and networks, we get very good stage from here and we will serve the people of Nepal.</p>
<p>
	<strong>It is said that Nepali people love Indian brands. What has been your perception?</strong></p>
<p>
	Yes, that is why I said that Nepal and India have joined hands for a long time. Nepali and Indian people are more or less similar, buying habits are also similar and more importantly they are interested in Indian brands. And we will like to serve Nepali people as well.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are you plans for the Nepali market?</strong></p>
<p>
	It feels good to introducing our products in Nepali market. Initially we are launching fans and small home appliances and later we also plan for our lighting series and try to be number one in the respective market segments.</p>
<p>
	<strong>So what is your market position in India?</strong></p>
<p>
	In India, we are in number one for manufacturing and two for sales. And for exports, we are the undisputed leader with over 55 percent of shares. And we are already exporting to 30 countries and in US. &nbsp;Having our own manufacturing base, we are conscious about the parties and quality of our products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you compare the trend of using your products in Nepal with other South Asian countries?</strong></p>
<p>
	In most of the South Asian countries, people largely use portable fans. And in India and Nepal people mostly use ceiling fans. In India, 75 percent sales are in ceiling and 25 percent portable fans and it is almost same here in Nepal. &nbsp;And most of the South Asian countries use fans as primary cooling devices.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should the people choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are highly quality conscious manufacturers. Our products are energy efficient and continuously receiving exports excellence award and we are rated as ‘Star Performer’ by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India. We pioneered the most famous patented revolutionary concept PSPO in 90’s. We have capacity of nearly 10 million fans per year and in terms of quality we have accomplished various standards and tests. And we have fulfilled each and every requirement in all different countries (where our fans are exported) and we are the only Indian brand to export to US.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are your plans for beating the competition and about the future strategies?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are very lucky that there are very few top brands available here and the competition is very less. And we are very confident that if we are able to appeal the market with good products, good prices and good energy saving products then the competition is not there and then we don’t need much time to become number one. And the second part is if everybody around you is your better competitor then you have to produce better product to sustain yourself and it is all good for the consumer.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
			'modified' => '2013-06-03',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Ghurmeet Singh, vice president of Orient Fans was in Nepal to launch Orient Fans series recently. Premier Overseas (P) Ltd is the authorized distributor of Orient Fans in Nepal. Orient Fans is a division, under CK Birla group, and currently it exports its products over 30 countries.',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '974',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘The Customers Are Required To Get The Full Value For Their Money’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Koji Tanaka, vice president. Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India, New Business Age" height="302" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Koji_Tanaka_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />Koji Tanaka is the vice president of Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India. With over 26 years of experience with Honda Motor Company Ltd, he has been involved with various innovative endeavors of Honda. Recently, Syakar Trading Company, the authorized distributor of Honda Power Product launched the new EP 1000 and EG 1000 series of generators in Nepal and Tanaka was in Kathmandu in this connection. These new generators are small, portable and lighter compared to the previous generators. With the 4 Stroke technology, these models have some unique features like lesser fuel consumption (0.54ltr./ hr), more handling capacity (Rat. 750 VA), environmental friendly and available with decompression mechanism. Tanaka explained more in an interview with New Business Age.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What do you find interesting about your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Its been about three years that I have been living in Delhi. This is the first time that I got an opportunity to visit Nepal. Nepal is well known in Japan. There are many Japanese tourists who come here and many Japanese are also living here. Our purpose of visit is to study the potentiality of the Nepali market for Honda products. As on date, we are exposing two new products – Honda EG 10000 model and Honda EP 1000 model generator. We would also like to study the Nepali market for various Honda products and find areas to expand with 50 % partnership with Syakar group.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the brand value of Honda products in the Nepali market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Honda Company is well reputed throughout the world for its quality products. Without Syakar Trading, it would be difficult to provide quality sales and service. It is not possible to expand in the market without their support. New customers can be treated with better goods and Syakar can provide the premium service towards customers in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How will the newly introduced Honda Spiel Power products affect the Nepali market? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We are happy to find out that dealers from all over the country came to see the two new products. Comparatively, they are more fuel efficient. They consume upto 50% less fuel than the other former products. We are confident that we can expand the business of our products.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What level of competition do you feel is present with regard to the products from Honda?</strong></p>
<p>
	Honda has been selling motorcycles in Nepal for a long time. The major competition is from Bajaj. With regard to power products, Honda is still leading the market very much with help from Syakar Group. In Honda Philosophy, we do not compare ourselves with the competitors but instead compare us with ourselves. The customers are required to get the full value for their money. Honda owns 40% share of Nepali power products market. There are 69 dealers (branches and showrooms) of Honda products throughout Nepal. Honda products are so efficient that they are suitable for even above the altitude of 4000 meters from the sea level.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the future plans of Honda Company?</strong></p>
<p>
	We listen to customer’s voice. Upon receiving special requests, our R&amp;D (Research and Development) department develops these products. We come up with newer products. When we see the potentiality of a product in the market, we further investigate into it with help from the people at R&amp;D. After that, we check if there is a similar demand for such products in other regions as well. Only then, the new products will be developed.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Are you launching any product targeting the agriculture sector?</strong></p>
<p>
	In 2010, we launched a more affordable 5 Hz power tiller in the market. But, currently it is not available in Nepal. With the decreasing number of farm workers, more tillers can be bought in order to do a more efficient agriculture. The process of mechanized agriculture is expanding. Many agricultural tools are also introduced through Honda’s factories in China. With the increasing demand from the consumers, lawn mowers, brush cutters, carriers etc can be introduced in Nepal. Honda’s motto is “Helping people get things done”. We do not limit ourselves to supplying generators only. When there is enough demand in the market, R&amp;D can make new concept products.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
			'modified' => '2013-06-03',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Koji Tanaka is the vice president of Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India. With over 26 years of experience with Honda Motor Company Ltd, he has been involved with various innovative endeavors of Honda.',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '973',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Do Not Want To Become Just A Marketing Company’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="">
	<img align="right" alt="Denis Borisovsky, CEO of PFSOFT, New Business Age" height="302" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Denis_Borisovsky_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />PFSOFT is one of the renowned trading security vendors worldwide. Its corporate client base exceeds thousands of companies located around the globe. The company, established in 2003 with its headquarters at Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine, has its offices in major cities in the world. “The company has a diverse range of clients which includes different sized brokers, top-tier banks and also their white labels partners, who are involved in electronic trading of various asset-classes,” informs Denis Borisovsky, CEO of PFSOFT. In an interview with New Business Age during his recent visit to Nepal, Borisovsky talked about the company’s product Protrader 2 and market prospects of his company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What is Protrader 2 and what are the scopes?</strong></p>
<p>
	Protrader 2 is our platform for trading forex, stocks, futures and other sectors. It is developed for technological brokers and for exchangers in the long run. We started the company about ten years ago and the product Protrader 2 is the result of these ten years. Under this brand, we cover technology products for multiple sectors then go to stock market. We cover trading activities from exchange to traders, money managers, hedge funds, brokers or participants in one technology. Our products are quite unique and there is uniqueness of technology as well. We are not brokers though. We stay independent from brokerage and provide technology to different brokers. We have so many trading technology companies to help the brokers. We import technologies from different countries and bring them to different markets.</p>
<p>
	<strong>You’ve had a diverse career, how did you get into financial trading technologies?</strong></p>
<p>
	I worked 20 years as a programmer. I entered many fields including voice recognition. I also served in various technological firms. And that was difficult. I wanted to do something different, more difficult and challenging. So, I decided to make charts by myself and I found some clients for it. Then I started trading technology for brokerage.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Our company is not that big in terms of people, but in terms of symmetry and our experience, it is quite big. The number of people working in our Ukraine office is around 50-52 and it’s a very good team. We are also focusing our business in emerging economies like China and India. I have just come from India where we have opened up our office. In China, we have been deploying five people for local support. In Europe, we have an office in Ukraine. We already have an office in US. We are also eying Nepal as the political and investment environment are improving.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What makes your company successful?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	First of all, it is focused. It’s very important to focus in something and make it best from any point. &nbsp;Our focus is technology for trading. We have only one thought and that is how to make trading technology more advanced. You need to have focus and extension, but careful extension. And you should keep a very good level of integrity between the company and the clients. Integrity is a key factor in every company. After this, you should be very high target to go.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you pursue the use of trading technology in emerging countries?</strong></p>
<p>
	We come with technology. We don’t want to become a marketing company, that’s why we are looking to the very good partners who have same vision and same expectations in terms of time. Time expectations is very important. If someone is interested in one year, it is one story and if he is looking for ten years, it is another story. My company sees five to ten year forward. So, it is very important for us to find such partners, who have same philosophies and who uses technologies and wants to expand them.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What types of trading applications are being demanded and successful these days?</strong></p>
<p>
	There are lots of technologies right now. But, the main problem is that sometime these do not work in particular circumstances and market. And sometimes it is not useful to the market. So, it is very important to understand local market. &nbsp;It is the task of local partner which maintains adjustment to it. The local partner has to listen to the people, think about not only about making something but in terms of technology which could work in your market. We make customization, which is very important is putting many markets within one platform. And we have to make such things, which is already in demand.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you recall some the challenges you faced during automating stock exchanges and commodity exchanges?</strong></p>
<p>
	Every country is very different. In terms of brokers, more or less everybody has common techniques and it is quite similar. But, in terms of challenges it is totally different. The challenges in US are very different and more developed. And it is also challenging because lots of local participants are there. By the way, Nepal is more advanced. Nepal has seen changes in stock market for more than 20 years while it’s been five years for Ukraine. I mean the number of all types of market participants and functionalists is much lower.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the difference between brokerage automation and exchange automation?</strong></p>
<p>
	Exchange automation is of course a very complex process. We should work on different levels. It needs one to three years to implement and to make it work too. Brokerage automation process takes many years and is difficult as well. We need cooperation mostly from technology and some management level of companies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How can you prove Protrader is better for the success of traders?</strong></p>
<p>
	We always cooperate with traders. We think the most important clients for us are the traders. We get their feedback. And we want them to be involved more. Usually we communicate with brokers and they provide us feedback from traders. If we get lots of feedback, we could pick up fast. Protrader is one of the most functionally useful software.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you please tell us about PFSoft’s future roadmap?</strong></p>
<p>
	We have a plan to promote ourselves. Because in 10 years we mostly worked with brokers, which was much time itself. We believe now technology is one of the best necessities. We will extend our promotion to we will customize the platform. Social trading concerns are new market plans.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Based on your vast experience of establishing ecosystem of trading business in developed and developing countries, what do you think about how countries like Nepal can benefit from trading business?</strong></p>
<p>
	“PFSoft and Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal Ltd have mutually agreed to develop a full-fledged commodity exchange system for Nepal. PFSoft is ready to customize the Information Technology required for Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal and it is great opportunity for us to have a partnership with Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal Ltd. We are making evolution of scalable trading solution of local products produced in Nepal, and we want to integrate that trading to global market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The trading is important in developing countries. Right now for trading to sustain, the political and economic system favor for that. But at the same time, financial system too should help the country’s economic growth.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
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			'description' => 'PFSOFT is one of the renowned trading security vendors worldwide. Its corporate client base exceeds thousands of companies located around the globe. The company, established in 2003 with its headquarters at Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine, has its offices in major cities in the world.',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '942',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘I Have Identified Planning As A Major Weakness In Most Companies’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="">
	Volker Kleinn is a management expert with a degree in business administration from a German university that he says is about equivalent to MBA. He has held senior managerial positions in American multinationals such as Digital Equipment Corporation (known as DEC which was acquired by Compaq which in turn merged with HP in 2002), Apollo Computer (a leading manufacturer of network workstations until acquired by HP in 1989 and gradually closed down over the next eight years) and Autodesk (Still a major multinational software manufacturer) in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Retired from an active career more than a decade ago, Volker, nevertheless, finds time to help companies in the developing world to improve their management. He has been visiting Nepal regularly since the early 2000s through the Senior Expert Corp (SCE) programme of the Swisscontact and has helped more than a dozen Nepali companies from different sectors. Volker talked with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently for a similar purpose.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p style="">
	<strong>You have been helping private firms, particularly in the developing world, with management issues. How and when did you start this?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	After I retired, I decided to work on a voluntary basis with entrepreneurs and enterprises in the developing countries. This way I wanted to give something back to society. My idea was to contribute to reduce the migration pressure by helping companies in the developing countries to maintain or create employment. So, I registered with the Senior Expert Corps of Swisscontact and through them I came to Nepal.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Could you share with us the common problems faced by companies in the developing world?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	In the industrialized countries with predominantly market economies, business management talent has been developed over a long time and therefore there is an established talent pool for management. In the developing countries (especially in Eastern Europe), market economies did not exist for a long time and therefore there still is not a big enough talent pool for management. Any management role requires creativity, initiative and drive. A manager needs to accept responsibility, accountability and I am glad to note, that there are more and more people here in Nepal who are willing to step up to this requirement.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Which Nepali companies have you already helped to improve their management?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Let me not mention names, but I have been working in several industries, such as IT, Communication, Trading, Media, etc. and I also have been giving management training courses at different organizations.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What problems do you find in the Nepali companies which you have already worked with?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	For me management is a continuous cycle of Planning, Organizing, Monitoring and Controlling. I have identified Planning as a major weakness in most companies. Operational plans and budgets often do not exist. Since I am convinced that you can only mange what you measure, it is very difficult to evaluate the success of any business if there is no goal or plan to compare performance to. As a consequence, management is in most cases is re-active rather than pro-active, which means that managers are not rally managing but rather getting managed by their environment and circumstances.</p>
<p style="">
	The second area that needs a lot of improvement in most of the companies I have worked with is Management Information. I think it is common knowledge that you do accounting not only for shareholder or tax purposes, but also for management purposes. I have experienced, that most companies give priority to tax requirements. Also, a lot of record keeping is still done manually. These facts make it often very difficult to use financial information for management purposes.</p>
<p style="">
	In addition, I am very concerned about the sustainability of my efforts to help. I have often observed what I call ‘the rubber band syndrome’. This means changes are initiated while I am here, i.e. when the rubber band is under tension, but as soon as I leave, i.e. the rubber band is released, things flip back to the old position. One has to keep in mind that the human brain is change-resistant. That means it requires a constant flow of energy to make changes sustainable.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	It’s apparently been nearly a decade since you started advising Nepali private sector companies on management issues. What do you think of Nepal’s private sector?</p>
<p style="">
	The private sector has made the economy function under what are not very favourite conditions. Everywhere in the world, you can see that the biggest roadblocks for development are corruption and unreliable legal system. Both factors have an impact on the business opportunities that the private sector can pursue.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Nepali private sector?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	The private sector is divided into two major categories. On the one hand, there are family-owned businesses, which are mostly hierarchically (or paternalistically) organized. These companies tend to maintain limited transparency. On the other, there are newly founded companies which are trying to be more open, but sometimes lack the courage for the degree of openness as Western companies normally practice. This means that I consider the lack of delegation of authority, i.e. empowerment of senior managers as a weakness of the private sector.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What are the areas that the Nepali companies need to work on to improve their overall management?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	I have experienced a big gap between shareholders (owners) who are often also the most senior managers and the managers who are not owners. This is often because of the lack of confidence and trust. It would be helpful if professional managers were trusted more to contribute in terms of planning and execution. Empowerment of people is important throughout the organization, but it is more important with regard to the top professional managers. I believe that the time is over where information was considered as power. I am convinced that information creates responsibility and therefor owners should be encouraged to be more transparent vis-a-vis their managers with regard to information about strategy and performance.</p>
<p style="">
	In almost all companies I have worked in, I was told that it is difficult to find competent mangers. I know that there are a lot of Nepalis working as expatriates abroad and gaining international management experience. It would be helpful in my opinion if a campaign is started to offer senior positions for expats who want to come home. News- and job-portals could create a special section to attract experienced people to return. On the other hand, it is alarming that most of the college graduates aspire to leave the country. This represents a skill drain which will have a long-term negative impact on businesses here in the country.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What is your impression of the spirit of entrepreneurship in Nepal and the Nepali entrepreneurs?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Based on my observation, the environment in Nepal is not very conducive to entrepreneurial behaviour. Starting a business here is still burdened with bureaucratic requirements. I believe that this is one of the major reasons why well-educated and talented people are leaving the country.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>How do you rate the work culture in the organizations you have worked in? What improvements have you usually suggested?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Empowerment of employees is not very common. The organizations are mostly very hierarchically organized and people rather ask their superiors for taking a decision than deciding for themselves. This is very often a sign of insecurity and lack of self-confidence, but it could also be caused by the unwillingness to accept responsibility.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>How can private sector companies incentivize the performance of their marketing folks in Nepali context?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	When you say marketing folks I assume that you mean sales people. Sales people around the world are normally incentivized by an incentive compensation plan that rewards good performance. Good performance means meeting or exceeding your target. In the organizations that I was responsible for during my professional career, I had always implemented a plan that rewarded over goal performance proportionally. I was always proud when the best sales people earned more than I did.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What sort of good HR practices need to be evolved in the Nepali private sector? Do these practices differ from sector to sector?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="">
	There are certain basic HR practices that should be common in every company. These practices relate to work ethics, loyalty to your employer, confidentiality and attendance discipline. There are other areas where practices would differ, especially in sectors with shift work or other special requirements like workplace security. Attendance discipline is obviously difficult to implement with the frequent bandhs where a few people hold a whole country hostage. This has an enormous negative impact on the productivity and therefore the competitiveness of the private sector.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What sort of socio-political environment you find in Nepal in the context of the growth of enterprises? What are the impediments and how to ameliorate the situation ahead?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Let me just mention two points that come to mind immediately.</p>
<ul>
	<li style="">
		The lack of a functioning mail system requires hand delivery by messengers of a lot of documents, such as newspapers, letters, invoices, etc.</li>
	<li style="">
		Cashless payment systems are not very efficient or customary. This again employs a lot of messengers, who have to collect often cash and sometimes cheques. This keeps a lot of motor bikes on the roads all day.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>',
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			'description' => 'Volker Kleinn is a management expert with a degree in business administration from a German university that he says is about equivalent to MBA. Volker talked with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently for a similar purpose.',
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			'title' => 'Product Is More Important Than Profit',
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			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<img align="right" alt="S.P. Sharma, Godrej Security Solutions India" height="347" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/march2013_visitng_business_people_sp_sharma.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="280" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	S.P. Sarma is the Senior General Manager of the Global Operation for Godrej Security Solutions India. Graduated in Engineering and MBA, Sarma has been working with Godrej for the last 23 years. He served the company with different roles from service, sales and marketing and became the head of the global operation. In an interview with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently, Sarma explained the necessity of the security products in business organizations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>What is the purpose of your current trip to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	My trip is to meet the customers and our partners in Nepal. We organize such kinds of trips time to time because we value our customers very much. We feel that whatever success has been there, It is because we are able to meet the demand of customers. And the expectation of the customers can be fulfilled if we come and listen to them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Could you please tell us about Godrej Security Solutions?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Godrej Security Solutions is a 100 years old division of Godrej Company. Our company is providing security products to financial institutions, jewelry companies, private organizations and households. We started producing these products in 1992 and now we have developed many advanced products according to the demand of customer. We believe that the product is more important than profit. With Godrej security solutions customers can get peace of mind. The other benefit they get is trust. We have been able to live up because of the trust of our customers. Majority of Financial Institutions functioning today are offered our prompt and efficient services.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>What are your business strategies for your security products in the international market?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Our security products are of latest technologies. We are present in Europe, Africa, South East Asia and every year we have valuable partners. Security is running battle . It is essential to keep pace with the latest technology to meet growing needs. This is the reason why we have graduated from simple lever and tumbler locks several years ago to modern, intelligent technologies. We are also doing research and developing in new ways to update our products. So far, as I said, we have been able to win trust of the customers. Our business is also going good and we are planning to put up a new plant in Maharashtra, Mumbai.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We have moved from being simply a seller of security products to a company selling comprehensive security solution. We offer diverse security product solutions including technologically advanced sphere such as cameras with analytics, substance detectors (bomb, bullets, and narcotics), X-ray baggage scanners, biometrics and access control systems, burglary and fire resistant safes, road blockers and marine solutions. Our products are tested stringently at leading testing laboratories i.e. SP Test in Sweden, VDS Test in Germany and the underwriter’s laboratory in the United States. Our plant in Mumbai is rated as one of the finest and largest factories in India. Our passion to offer international quality product with prompt supply, delivery, installation and most importantly after-sales servicing have been commended by many reputed companies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	I think it is very good. We see Nepal being very vibrant and I personally see that Nepal is on the way to development. And I feel that the banks and financial institutes are going to be the lubricants which will further enhance the development. We may offer our service to these banks and financial institutes as our commitment is to win the trust of our customers. Our supply of Godrej products to Nepal Rastra Bank and Nepal Bank Ltd made in the 1960’s still stands strong to this day, same as our sincerity and services towards our customers. We can proudly state that we have been able to come up to our customers’ expectations.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How can Nepali customers get your service in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Our commitment to the services to our customers is delivered almost by our trusted partner; - Nepal Commercial Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. It provides Godrej security equipment, home and office furniture, storage equipment and locks along with numerous retail outlets to our customers in Nepal. They also retail home safes and locks at Bhat-Bhateni and other outlets, making security a convenient purchase around their vicinity. &nbsp;The corporate showroom at Pulchowk offers a wide range of products from locking systems, security solutions, and home and office furniture.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>',
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			'title' => 'Visiting Business People: February 2013',
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			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><span style="font-size:16px;">‘We help people make good change take root’</span></strong></p>
<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Bill Stockton" height="286" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bill_stockton_visiting_business_people(1).jpg" style="margin:5px 0 10px 10px;" width="250" /><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color:#f00;">Bill Stockton</span> is a Senior Advisor of the Verghis Group, a management consulting firm.<span style="text-align: justify;">He is known as the ‘center of gravity’ for knowledge sharing practice and consulting within the financial sector including investment and retail banking and insurance companies in the Verghis Group. Stockton graduated in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served Deutsche Bank for 18 years, mainly in the IT department. &nbsp;He was the director and global head of support and operations for over 20 products including foreign exchange, equities, programme trading, cash management and more. Most recently, he was tapped by Deutsche Bank to institute a global knowledge sharing programme that trained over 3200 IT staff and demonstrated productivity gains. In an interview with Nubiz recently when he was in Kathmandu, Stockton shared the importance and need of knowledge sharing and knowledge management in any organization.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>
	<strong><strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What are your recent engagements?</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	I left Deutsche Bank as a Director and as an IT Manager. I left because I think I can do much more, particularly in the area of knowledge sharing in finance companies. We have three small companies in the Verghis Group. We can resolve things primarily on knowledge sharing and knowledge management. Also, we do a quite a lot of work on measures, metrics and madness which is about stopping measuring activities and reassuring for outcome. We do also have a research wing which conducts very exciting research, mostly on behaviour psychology- the kind of research we primarily conduct.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What brings you to Nepal?</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	My ancestors had been coming to Nepal for a long time. We did not come here for business. We came here because we are interested in all the things we have heard about Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<But my partner, Christina, has come here several times a year for the past ten years. &nbsp;Her visits are mainly aimed at supporting organizations like Sano Paila in Birgunj and other women’s groups for social service. Professionally, she is a doctor in psychology and has done quite a lot of work in areas like peace negotiation and conflict management. She is also from the leadership training which is mostly about working with people who don’t usually talk together productively. So, I joined her on a number of those session conducted here.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	>There are some really exciting possibilities in my mind about knowledge sharing. Many people don’t know what knowledge sharing or knowledge management is. A number of companies need knowledge management. Research show whether it be Deutsche Bank, Mega Bank or Coca-Cola - around 60-90 percent problem is solved by somebody else in the organization. So, knowledge management is about the behaviour and practices required to make that knowledge available to anyone who needs it in the organization.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	What I see is, when you get a really good idea you don’t want anyone else to know that idea. You try it just by yourself. But in today’s new Internet age, if you put your ideas right there, other people can come and collaborate. The more I share what I know, the more valuable I become. People have trouble doing that and they have also trouble believing that.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>How does your strategy help other organizations?&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We teach companies how to capture the intellectual capital of the employees in all sorts of makeshift and inefficient repositories so that once a problem is solved, future occurrences of the same or similar problems will be prevented or resolved much faster.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal? &nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	These are universal problems faced by companies from Wall Street in New York to Kantipath in Kathmandu. We tailor our work to each customer not only to offer services at a good price but also to determine whether or not we think we can add value to our clients.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>&nbsp;What are your plans?&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We have several research projects underway. These projects are about ensuring better client satisfaction during a tech support or services support call. We are also putting together an online site to help make organizational change stick. Change is so difficult to anchor and become “sticky”. We help people make good change take root while helping organizations and businesses prioritize and differentiate between doing the right things and doing things right.</p>',
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<div class="Section1">
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A13"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "><img alt="visting business people" border="1" height="161" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visitng2012_january2012(1).jpg" vspace="10" width="338" /><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></strong></span></p>
</div>
<div class="Section1">
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		 </p>
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A3"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: ">‘Standard Chartered has completed a glorious journey of 25 years in Nepal’<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></strong></span></p>
	<p class="Pa1">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A9">Sunil Kausal was appointed the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited (SCBNL) in 2012. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></strong></span></p>
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: black;">He is also the Regional Chief Executive of the Standard Chartered Bank India and South Asia. He has held several senior positions with the bank across different markets including Global Head- SME Banking and New Ventures in Singapore. Kaushal, who has over 23 years of banking experience, has also worked for Bank of America and HDFC Bank. He was in Kathmandu on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting of SCBNL last month. In an Interview with New Business Age, Kausal he shared Standard Chartered Bank’s current position and future plans in Nepal. Excerpts:<br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">How does it feel to be honored with the title of Bank of the Year-2012 in Nepal? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">It’s a great honor to be recognized as the ‘Bank of the Year 2012’ in Nepal. The prestigious accolade we have got has further boosted our efforts to strive for the best. I believe all the credit goes to the management team working here in Nepal. They have managed capably, albeit, in a difficult situation. We are proud of the fact that we have managed the business very well. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
		<br />
		<img alt="visiting business people" border="1" height="310" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people.jpg" vspace="10" width="200" /><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">How satisfied are you with the performance of Standard Chartered Nepal in the last fiscal year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As I said , we are very glad with our performance, given the tough market situation. So our approach as a bank, not only in Nepal but also globally, is to focus on the basics of banking. The basic factors of good banking - good capital, good liquidity and tight risk management have delivered us a good set of results. Clearly, one would have wanted more growth, but the market conditions are such that you have to be conservative. To be precise, the economy is not growing rapidly and banks are reflection of the economy. Given the present circumstances, the bank has performed very well. <br />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The bank’s profit increased only marginally to Rs 11.7 million in fiscal year 2011/12 from Rs 11.2 million in the previous year. What do you think went wrong? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think anything went wrong. We have rather set and are following a very conservative business model. Clearly, the growth is not as I had expected. Along with growth comes the quality of earning which is extremely good. So, as I have already mentioned, our capital and liquidity ratio are very good. Similarly, if you look at the risk parameters, Non- Performing Assets (NPAs) and coverage ratio; they are extremely strong. We further believe that we’re very well positioned in this market. As the economy revives, we will do much better. <br />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">StanChart seems to have quite a big investible fund at hand as also indicated by its high Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) which is 14 per cent and low credit-deposit (CD) ratio which is 62 per cent as per the bank’s latest quarterly report. Still, the bank looks hesitant to invest. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<p class="Default">
		<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think it is hesitation. In fact, we see this as our strength. As you said, StanChart’s CRAR and CD ratios are strong even at a time when the economy is not doing that well. It means you have the ability to grow strongly when the economy bounces back. Our model is such and we’re comfortable with it. The model is about being conservative and having good quality of earning. In addition, we also help a number of Nepali institutions to do business overseas. So, we’re hopeful about a very strong growth in the future. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></p>
</div>
<p class="Default" style="text-indent:14.0pt;line-height:10.05pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="text-indent:14.0pt;line-height:10.05pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the plans for the current fiscal year and beyond? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we will continue to be in a pretty challenging environment in the current fiscal year as well. Given the current political and economic situations, we don’t see the possibility of any huge increase in our investment. The market situation is very likely to remain tough. But we’ve have a balanced business. We are doing well in consumer as well as wholesale banking. On the consumer side, there is a good momentum. On the wholesale side, there is a good pipeline. The corporate houses are slightly hesitant to invest. When there is more clarity, particularly on the political front, I think you will see corporate investments come through and banks like us benefit. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What about the plans to expand the bank’s coverage and launch new products? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we have a good coverage with our 90 branches, two extension centers and an ATM network. We’re also investing in our front line sales, bringing new products, getting into the SME segment, working with multilateral agencies in terms of supporting some of the project finance transactions. So, there is a lot happening and as a leading international bank and being the only genuine global bank operating in Nepal, we’re able to bring the best practices and latest products into this market. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Would you please say something about SME banking which is regarded as one of the strengths of StanChart? Are there any policy changes? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The SME business is in an early stage. But again, our experience in a different market helps us to get into that segment here. So, we started off building products and offering them for example, loan against property which we call LAP, installment loans, some trade working capital etc. So, we’re getting into it. The SME segment here will benefit from all the best practices and expertise we have. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the changed strategic trusts of the Standard Chartered Group in the world, particularly in this region, for the coming days in view of the changed global perspectives?&nbsp; </b><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think we’re looking at any dramatic changes in the strategy. Our strategy has been very consistent and has delivered very strong results. We had nine years of record growth and profits, even during the crisis period. We were probably the only bank which a record profit. It’s been a huge reinforcement of the strategy we’re following. We just announced our pre-closing training statement. Again we are looking at a very good growth both in terms of the overall income and in the operating profit. So, there is no change in strategy. I think we have to continue doing what we have done so far. We have to continue focusing on the basics of banking — capital, liquidity and risk management which is extremely important. We have the franchise, customers and a good network. I am quite hopeful of better growth in the US, China, India and European nations this year. It seems 2013 would be a much more better year than 2012. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You might have gone through the recent directive of NRB (Nepal Rastra Bank) about the base rate system for interest rates. What improvement would you like to suggest in the directive? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think the base rate is something followed in many markets including India. It’s is up to the banks to come up with their own calculation of base rate. What is required is the transparency of pricing. You have the base rate and margin; the customer knows what the margin is. The calculation of base rate is something that individual banks will have to submit to the central bank as a proof. There it is a process of discussion and understanding about why they are using certain parameters to arrive at their base rate. And, it also differs from bank to bank. It cannot be uniform for all banks. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You have been closely watching the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. So what do you foresee for the exchange rate between US dollar and Indian Rupee? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">A lot depends on the investors’ sentiments in India. If you look at India, it has a structural deficit on the current account. There is also trade deficit. The deficit has to be made up by either FII (Foreign Institutional Investment) flows or FDI flows. Interestingly, the FII flow was very strong in 2012. India received over USD 21 billion in FII in the first eleven and half months or so. But what is going to be most important is FDI coming through and that in turn will depend on the corporate sector’s sentiments to invest in the Indian market. There has been a fair bit of skepticism because of the slowdown in the reform process and delay in some policy level decisions and approvals. If the FII flows continues and FDI flows comes in then it could be a year where the Rupee could be quite stable. We should also watch out the oil import, a major factor in India. We have three big components of import — oil, gold and palm oil. These three goods have big brand values. Exports should also take a pace. We lagged behind in exports because the external markets in Europe and the US were not very strong.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Looking at the QN report for the current fiscal year, it is interesting to know that StanChart Nepal made exactly the same amount of profit as in the previous year while the capital base and reservation also increased. What are we to understand from this?</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;I think our capital base increased because of the previous year’s profit. The bonus issue has been there and obviously the strategic results are kept back. I will again come to the same point. There is not a great deal of corporate activities happening currently in Nepal and the wholesale business, too, is not growing rapidly. We’re seeing a good momentum and I think there is also base year effect as the last year’s first quarter saw a good double-digit growth. So this year the base of last year is quite high. We’re positive, going forward and we have to remember that our model is to be conservative. And we give good quality earning and sustainable returns to our shareholders. So that’s important as we don’t want a growth just for the sake of growth. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">SC was expected to be a big investor in Nepal, particularly for infrastructure projects. Your predecessors and you too had shown such a possibility in our previous talks. But that hasn’t happened so far. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As regards to investing in infrastructure, I think discussions are underway with various multi-lateral institutions and there are also other transactions in the pipeline. At the end of the day, we as a bank can only show the opportunities. The investment has to be made by the cooperate investors. We can’t force the investors. The good news is there is a pipeline for transactions. It is also a matter of time. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">Is there any possibility of StanChart Nepal acquiring another bank or accepting a merger proposal from yet another, given the merger spree in recent times? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;">Our growth is organic. So we focus more on the existing business in an organic way. If something interesting comes up, we will definitely look into it. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The world is still grappling with the aftermath of the global financial crisis. What are the changes you find in the regulatory landscape? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The regulatory landscape has changed quite romantically. We see that in higher capital, liquidity requirements. Clearly, the compliance standard has gone up and the cost of compliance, too, has gone up. I think the objective of making banking a safer business is commendable. We only hope that all regulators are consistent in their approach. Otherwise, for international banks like us, different regulators behave in different ways and it becomes fairly difficult. So we are all for stronger banking and banks. But at the same time, we hope that it is more consistent in terms of regulatory approach across the market. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">What changes you have made in SC’s business in your tenure of around one year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We have to remember that excellent franchise doing very well across the region with a very strong brand is very important. So there is nothing one has to change. But clearly the focus is on efficiency in terms of productivity, the best returns from capital investments, and strategically, how we grow also matters. There is no uniform answer across the market, as we have got a large market like India. For me, it is about focusing on the basics of banking. We’re not a bank trying to grow all of a sudden; it’s a glorious journey of more than 25 years in Nepal. of Nepali institutions to do business overseas. So, we’re hopeful about a very strong growth in the future. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Default">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the plans for the current fiscal year and beyond? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we will continue to be in a pretty challenging environment in the current fiscal year as well. Given the current political and economic situations, we don’t see the possibility of any huge increase in our investment. The market situation is very likely to remain tough. But we’ve have a balanced business. We are doing well in consumer as well as wholesale banking. On the consumer side, there is a good momentum. On the wholesale side, there is a good pipeline. The corporate houses are slightly hesitant to invest. When there is more clarity, particularly on the political front, I think you will see corporate investments come through and banks like us benefit. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What about the plans to expand the bank’s coverage and launch new products? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we have a good coverage with our 90 branches, two extension centers and an ATM network. We’re also investing in our front line sales, bringing new products, getting into the SME segment, working with multilateral agencies in terms of supporting some of the project finance transactions. So, there is a lot happening and as a leading international bank and being the only genuine global bank operating in Nepal, we’re able to bring the best practices and latest products into this market. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Would you please say something about SME banking which is regarded as one of the strengths of StanChart? Are there any policy changes? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The SME business is in an early stage. But again, our experience in a different market helps us to get into that segment here. So, we started off building products and offering them for example, loan against property which we call LAP, installment loans, some trade working capital etc. So, we’re getting into it. The SME segment here will benefit from all the best practices and expertise we have. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the changed strategic trusts of the Standard Chartered Group in the world, particularly in this region, for the coming days in view of the changed global perspectives? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	</b><br />
	I don’t think we’re looking at any dramatic changes in the strategy. Our strategy has been very consistent and has delivered very strong results. We had nine years of record growth and profits, even during the crisis period. We were probably the only bank which a record profit. It’s been a huge reinforcement of the strategy we’re following. We just announced our pre-closing training statement. Again we are looking at a very good growth both in terms of the overall income and in the operating profit. So, there is no change in strategy. I think we have to continue doing what we have done so far. We have to continue focusing on the basics of banking — capital, liquidity and risk management which is extremely important. We have the franchise, customers and a good network. I am quite hopeful of better growth in the US, China, India and European nations this year. It seems 2013 would be a much more better year than 2012. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You might have gone through the recent directive of NRB (Nepal Rastra Bank) about the base rate system for interest rates. What improvement would you like to suggest in the directive? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think the base rate is something followed in many markets including India. It’s is up to the banks to come up with their own calculation of base rate. What is required is the transparency of pricing. You have the base rate and margin; the customer knows what the margin is. The calculation of base rate is something that individual banks will have to submit to the central bank as a proof. There it is a process of discussion and understanding about why they are using certain parameters to arrive at their base rate. And, it also differs from bank to bank. It cannot be uniform for all banks. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You have been closely watching the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. So what do you foresee for the exchange rate between US dollar and Indian Rupee? </b><br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">A lot depends on the investors’ sentiments in India. If you look at India, it has a structural deficit on the current account. There is also trade deficit. The deficit has to be made up by either FII (Foreign Institutional Investment) flows or FDI flows. Interestingly, the FII flow was very strong in 2012. India received over USD 21 billion in FII in the first eleven and half months or so. But what is going to be most important is FDI coming through and that in turn will depend on the corporate sector’s sentiments to invest in the Indian market. There has been a fair bit of skepticism because of the slowdown in the reform process and delay in some policy level decisions and approvals. If the FII flows continues and FDI flows comes in then it could be a year where the Rupee could be quite stable. We should also watch out the oil import, a major factor in India. We have three big components of import — oil, gold and palm oil. These three goods have big brand values. Exports should also take a pace. We lagged behind in exports because the external markets in Europe and the US were not very strong. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Looking at the QN report for the current fiscal year, it is interesting to know that StanChart Nepal made exactly the same amount of profit as in the previous year while the capital base and reservation also increased. What are we to understand from this? </b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think our capital base increased because of the previous year’s profit. The bonus issue has been there and obviously the strategic results are kept back. I will again come to the same point. There is not a great deal of corporate activities happening currently in Nepal and the wholesale business, too, is not growing rapidly. We’re seeing a good momentum and I think there is also base year effect as the last year’s first quarter saw a good double-digit growth. So this year the base of last year is quite high. We’re positive, going forward and we have to remember that our model is to be conservative. And we give good quality <span style="color: black;">earning and sustainable returns to our shareholders. So that’s important as we don’t want a growth just for the sake of growth. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">SC was expected to be a big investor in Nepal, particularly for infrastructure projects. Your predecessors and you too had shown such a possibility in our previous talks. But that hasn’t happened so far. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	As regards to investing in infrastructure, I think discussions are underway with various multi-lateral institutions and there are also other transactions in the pipeline. At the end of the day, we as a bank can only show the opportunities. The investment has to be made by the cooperate investors. We can’t force the investors. The good news is there is a pipeline for transactions. It is also a matter of time. </span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">Is &nbsp;there any possibility of StanChart Nepal acquiring another bank or accepting a merger proposal from yet another, given the merger spree in recent times? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Our growth is organic. So we focus more on the existing business in an organic way. If something interesting comes up, we will definitely look into it. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The world is still grappling with the aftermath of the global financial crisis. What are the changes you find in the regulatory landscape?</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	<br />
	The regulatory landscape has changed quite romantically. We see that in higher capital, liquidity requirements. Clearly, the compliance standard has gone up and the cost of compliance, too, has gone up. I think the objective of making banking a safer business is commendable. We only hope that all regulators are consistent in their approach. Otherwise, for international banks like us, different regulators behave in different ways and it becomes fairly difficult. So we are all for stronger banking and banks. But at the same time, we hope that it is more consistent in terms of regulatory approach across the market.</span><br />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">&nbsp;</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">What changes you have made in SC’s business in your tenure of around one year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	We have to remember that excellent franchise doing very well across the region with a very strong brand is very important. So there is nothing one has to change. But clearly the focus is on efficiency in terms of productivity, the best returns from capital investments, and strategically, how we grow also matters. There is no uniform answer across the market, as we have got a large market like India. For me, it is about focusing on the basics of banking. We’re not a bank trying to grow all of a sudden; it’s a glorious journey of more than 25 years in Nepal.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span> </span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-02-07',
			'modified' => '2013-06-07',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Sunil Kausal was appointed the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited (SCBNL) in 2012. He is also the Regional Chief Executive of the Standard Chartered Bank India and South Asia. He has held several senior positions with the bank across different markets including Global Head- SME Banking and New Ventures in Singapore. Kaushal, who has over 23 years of banking experience, has also worked for Bank of America and HDFC Bank. He was in Kathmandu on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting of SCBNL last month. In an Interview with New Business Age, Kausal he shared Standard Chartered Bank’s current position and future plans in Nepal. Excerpts:',
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '744',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => 'Visiting Business People November 2012',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘We Expect Increased Per Capita Consumption of Plastics in South Asia’<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="Jim Becker" border="1" height="283" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/Jimbecker.jpg" vspace="10" width="189" /></span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Jim Becker <span style="color: rgb(34, 30, 31);">is the President and Managing Director of Chevron Phillips Chemicals Asia Pte Ltd and Chevron Phillips Singapore Chemicals Private Limited.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Chevron Phillips Chemical is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. The company with its joint venture partners, operates 42 manufacturing and research centres. Chevron Phillips is based in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston) and employs over 4,700 employees worldwide. The company, with its joint venture partners, currently has 39 production facilities located in the United States, Colombia, Singapore, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Belgium. Agriculture, automobiles, appliances, adhesives and sealants, electronics, medical, household goods, industrial, and textile are some of the areas that are served by the company among numerous others. Singapore is the regional headquarters for its operations in the Asia-Pacific region. Becker was recently in Kathmandu during a day-long seminar organised by the Nepal Plastic Association. In an interview with New Business Age, Becker shared his idea on the Nepali market for his company among various other issues. Excerpts:</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What brings you to Nepal this time? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We were invited for the Nepal Plastic Association event here. Nepal is an important market for the Chevron Philips Chemical. This is my first trip to Nepal and I was very pleased to come here and meet some of our customers and interact with the Nepal Plastic Association. <br />
	<br />
	</span><strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	You are one of the leading exporters of polymers to Nepal. What led you to achieve this position? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;">We started about 20 years ago with fairly low volume which at that time was around 300 tonnes. We worked hard and closely with an agent here in Nepal and now we sell almost 8,000 tonnes in this country. We see it growing further in the future. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the products that you are currently exporting to Nepal? <br />
	</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	We primarily sell high density polyethylene in Nepal. The Marlex Resin, which is the brand name of our product, is well known across Asia. It is the best quality resin in Asia and is used for many different applications. However, in Nepal, it is mainly used to produce pipe - primarily for water transport, and film for plastic shopping bags When it comes to use of plastic products, environmental issues come into consideration. As a producer of polymers, what is your take on it? <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I am not an expert on technology of sustainability but one of the biggest areas as far as I am concerned is energy consumption. That is one of the major benefits of using plastics. Without plastics, the world would be consuming much more energy because plastics, for example, are much lighter so they make automobiles lighter, packaging lighter, and also make bottles lighter among other things. So, consequently the energy it takes to transport all of these materials is reduced. If your car was heavier it would be much less efficient and would use more energy. The fact that you can make all these things lighter using plastics, is a big benefit. In addition to that, manufacturing polyethylene is more energy efficient in most cases compared with alternatives. If you reduce energy consumption, you reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve energy and reduce emissions of all sorts which are good for the environment. <br />
	<br />
	That, to me, is one of the major impacts that plastics have, on in a positive way, on the environment. Another very important benefit is in the food packaging area where you prevent spoilage of food which means more food for the consumer as well as for everyone else. As an industry, we need to work closely with people like those in Nepal Plastics Association to help educate people on the benefits of plastics. It is not something well understood by a lot of people. Therefore, we need to do a good job educating people to make sure they understand the benefits of plastics. </span></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	<br />
	How do you see the market in South Asia?</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	<br />
	The South Asian region has got a strong future that is why it is an important market to us. If you look at the emerging economies in South Asia, people from the lower income level are moving up to the middle income level. This means they are going to consume many more things including more plastics. When you combine that with strong population growth, we think the future of polyethylene and polypropylene looks pretty strong in South Asia. We expect the per capita consumption of plastics in South Asia to increase over the next decades. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Industrialisation is rather slow in Nepal. How do you see the future in this context and what are your expectations? </span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As I mentioned, we see Nepal as an area of growth for polyethylene. I don’t really know a lot about the specific policies that are being adopted in Nepal to help encourage growth. But we think that we will see the same kind of driving forces that will tend to increase consumption in Nepal similar to what we see in India, China and elsewhere in Asia. Nepal is an important market for us and we expect to be here for a long time. </span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? </span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The Marlex brand is very strong and we are very confident about our products and the brand itself. There is competition in Nepal of course but we will keep doing what we have been doing so far. Our basic business model is to establish close relationships with customers and work with them to develop this market. We have a very talented agent here in Nepal who helps us do this and so we plan to keep doing what we have been doing – working with the customers to help this market grow.</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Visiting Business People</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘We can Help Nepali Tea Earn Credibility in Europe’<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="" border="1" height="317" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/dheeraj.jpg" vspace="10" width="190" /><br />
	</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Dheeraj Rathi <span style="color: rgb(34, 30, 31);">is the Director of South Asia at BM TRADA RKCA Certification Pvt </span>Ltd.<span style="line-height: 115%;"> He has been working for the company since July 2011 and looks after the South Asia operation. BM TRADA is one of the leaders in certifications with a history of more than 75 years in the certification industry across the globe. It has expertise in construction, oil and gas, timber research, sustainable supply chains, food industry and systems design. The company has served about 15,000 organisations in more than 80 countries in systems certifications and management systems design. Rathi heads a team of 18 members and 45 associate auditors and channel partners to serve over a 1,000 clients. He was recently in Nepal to award Chilime Hydropower Company Limited with Quality Management System (QMS) and Environment Management System (EMS) awards. In an Interview with New Business Age, he shared his ideas on certification trends and plans of BM TRADA operations in Nepal. Excerpts:</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What brings you to Nepal this time? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We have certified Chilime Hydropower Company and I wanted personally to come and be a part of something which I feel is a good cause for the society. In the entire world, this is the first hydropower plant which BM TRADA has certified. Certification for hydropower is something which you can get if you are either in the US or in South Asia. That is something which is very unique. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Do you think the certification procedure can be customised to suit the local environment? Are there any such practices? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Customisation is not there because you are actually certifying against the given standards. There are certain standards which are called guidelines. You actually design the process, set a benchmark and tell companies whether they are moving towards that set benchmark. The guidelines report tells us where we are going right or wrong. It does not certify anything. There are certain standards such as Quality Management System, Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Management System and Food Safety Management System. There are certain clauses which are to be followed. We ensure that the application of those clauses is done in totality. We customise to the extent of understanding the local work culture, however, we don’t customise the standards which are internationally recognised. But at the same time, there are certain companies which are much larger and they should look at customising the quality standards for their needs and getting certified by the third party. We are not here just like any other organisations to sell standards; we want quality and recognition to improve at the international level. These customisations are only helpful for bigger companies and government organisations, for example, banks with 500 branches. Their need is not fulfilled by just one standard only. As an accreditation body, we can work with them to create their own standards, and recognise these on international standards. <br />
	<br />
	<strong><br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">In Nepal, ISO certifications are often mistaken to be certificates awarded for the product quality even though they have been awarded for the management and systems implemented. Is BM TRADA planning to carry out educational campaigns for raising awareness?<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I have been talking to local partners here on this matter. We need to carry out awareness campaigns not just about quality standards. There are fundamentally four different types of standards which we look at: process standard that certifies the process, product standard that certifies the product, people standard that certifies people and management standard that certifies overall management. Especially, ISO 9001:2008 has not been certifying a product but the system that is constantly there to give better&nbsp;quality products. When the system is good, the product quality will obviously be good. There are also certain product certifications that we do. We are planning to work on many training programmes which we will be very happy to share. There are broadly three areas in which we want to provide trainings. One is RMS implementation training on standards, second is RMS implementation training on business system and the third is awareness and skill improvement training on human skills. There are various ISO standards for every skill such as quality skills, marketing skills, personality skills, and communication skills etc which are very important for an organisation to have. We want to conduct trainings on these different areas and around international standards mostly working in tandem with various organisations. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">You mentioned about person certification. How are people certified? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">If there is a prospect of personal decision-making in the quality of product, how will you know if the person is competent enough to make that decision? Therefore, we make the basic element of the decision-making. BM TRADA is one of the largest personal certification bodies in the UK for timber quality grading. We design a scheme where a person is being taught how to grade a timber based on various specification of the wood by looking at the wood. When he gives the test result this person’s result is then compared to actual tests and if variation is found to be within amicable number, we issue certification. That certificate is considered in various organisations as certificate of quality. In health care, for example, geriatric nurses can work as qualified nurses anywhere in the world. Their earning can be increased significantly just by a small training. The government should also give some sort of recognition to them. On our part, we can design a scheme to certify these people so that they can get much better accessibility and opportunity. In personal certification, you have to identify that one skill which you want to certify and look at the competency that the person has and certify it. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">You said that BM TRADA is planning to be the largest certification body in Nepal. How do you plan to achieve it? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There are three things that we believe in. Firstly, our focus on integrated management system that is based on quality, healthcare, safety and environment. We have the largest scope, localised partner and the local face of BM TRADA here. Secondly, we will get into food industry such as hotels, restaurants, bakeries, food processing, tea and others. We can help Nepali tea to earn credibility in the European market. A certification logo speaks for itself. Thirdly, we want to focus on forestry supply chain because Nepal would again have a lot of products coming from the forests. There is a lot of scope for improvement in that part of supply chain. You have timber, plywood, paper, honey, perfume and much more. All these things can be certified to get recognition in the global market. We need to train more people in Nepal for this and create employment opportunities here in this country. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the prospects you see in other sectors like tourism and hydropower? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Tourism and power are two sectors we would like to work very closely with. Similarly, trading is another such area. We would like to support a lot of trading organisations who plan to grow big and help their distribution system to grow by certifying their distribution system. A consumer would know that the company with certification will be able to provide good quality products. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the challenges you face here while marketing your brand name as well as the quality certifications? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The biggest challenge for me is to make people aware that they should meet standards. Once there is awareness, the differentiation between a good and a bad company needs to be explored. Today, international standards are issued by 60 companies but one may want to know which countries these companies operate in and the different certificates they issue. It also matters if these companies have certified big names in the countries they have operated in. Ultimately, it is all about a brand name which people can trust. My challenges are firstly, to make people aware that they need standards and secondly, to differentiate between good and bad. I hope that like-minded people will come together and create an environment to do something substantial here. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the plans of BM TRADA for Nepal? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">We are actually thinking very seriously about online training so that we can reach remote places as well as train more people. We are planning to invest heavily in the entire South Asian market. We plan to invest on a portal and work on it so that we can increase the quality of manpower in the region.<br />
	<br />
	</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Visiting Business People</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘It’s High Time for Nepal to have More Investors’<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="fatma" border="1" height="286" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/fatma.jpg" vspace="10" width="274" /></span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Professor Dr Fatma Gunseli Malko is the Honorary Consul General of Nepal in Istanbul, Turkey. &nbsp;She hails from Istanbul, Turkey and has completed PhD in Adult Education from Institute of Social Sciences from Marmara University. She was recently in Nepal with a delegation of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) which is the first formal business delegation from Turkey to Nepal. The Turkish delegation came upon an invitation of Nepal Investment Board (NIB) and with special efforts of Professor Malkoç. Professor Malkoç has worked as a Full Professor in Department of Public Relations, Faculty of Communications in Marmara University, Istanbul. Her teaching faculty ranges from Adult Educations, Adult Psychology to Public Relations and Interpersonal/Institutional Communications among numerous others. In an Interview with New Business Age, Professor Malkoç talked about the potentials of trade and relationship between Turkey and Nepal. Excerpts:</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What brings you to Nepal this time? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">This time, we were in Nepal with the important delegation of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC). I personally believe it is high time to introduce the business community of Turkey to Nepal to bolster ties in trade and bilateral relations. Also, it’s high time for Nepal to have more investors to have rapid development. The construction and power sectors of Turkey are one of the greatest in the world and if Nepal can tap the opportunity, both the countries can have mutual benefit. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Would you share with us about your meetings? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">All of our meetings were fruitful mainly due to the organization and efforts of Radhesh Pant, the CEO of Nepal Investment Board (NIB). We met the Prime Minister and we felt honored with his warm welcome and response. The Prime Minister said that Nepal wants more foreign investment and assured that any type of business would be welcomed from Turkey and support would also be given to Turkish investors. His assurance made the visiting Turkish delegation very happy. We also had a chance to meet the Minister of Industry. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What are your areas of interest to invest in Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">In our talk with Pant, he stressed on sectors like hydropower, infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, mining and also IT in a priority list. These sectors also have good potentials in Turkey. And, in my view, power and infrastructure should be mainly prioritized to invest in Nepal. The frequent electricity cut-off is a nightmare for any of the above mentioned industries. It decreases the efficiency of the factories, and also degrades the quality of life of people. Without infrastructure, power cannot go further at the required pace and better economy leads to the betterment of every life. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What were the decisions made through these meetings? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We further consulted with C P Khetan, the Consular of Turkey in Nepal and Kishore Maharjan, the CEO of Civil Bank. We further learnt about the banking system in Nepal. Our delegation was also much impressed with the establishment of NIB. We have had the idea that the board will be very beneficial in coming days and it’s a revolutionary one. In the 1960s, Turkey also faced a weak economy and foreign investment led us to the road of prosperity and we hope the same thing will be applicable to Nepal. In our talks with FNCCI, they also prioritized areas of investment in power, tourism and infrastructure. With CNI, we had sector-wise discussion. During the CNI meet, we also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and we feel it was one of the concrete developments. We also decided that the Nepali delegation should visit Turkey in the near future, maybe in January 2013. It is also agreed that there should be an exhibition of Turkish products by ICOC in Kathmandu after six months along with a group of Turkish investors. We also met with the Nepal-Turkey Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NTCCI) which visits Turkey every year. This is a very good development which can lead the way for investors by getting to know the country better. An MOU was signed with NTCCI too. I see a bright future of Nepal if there is political stability and strong government. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What could be the area of interest for Turkey’s business community in Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We are thinking in the same direction as NIB. We know each other’s ideas and have mutual trust. From my side, I will try my best to get investment in infrastructure and construction. Whatever NIB’s CEO Pant suggested was very complementary to the potential of Turkey. We are ahead in infrastructure and construction. So, to make tunnels and roads, Turkey has very good investors. We have European quality in moderate Asian prices which will be beneficial for Nepal. Turkey has a lot of experience in hydropower as we have many rivers in Turkey. There are many projects running with latest technologies. If both the hydropower and infrastructure sectors are developed in Nepal, it will be beneficial for other top priority sectors as well. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>We have been enjoying duty free access to US and other few countries. What will be your role to facilitate similarly easier entry for Nepali carpets in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Even though Turkey is one of the best countries for producing quality handmade carpets, Nepali carpets have a big market in Turkey for their design and color. Though there is no economic agreement between Nepal and Turkey so far, I’m trying my best for this. </span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What else are the probable areas of cooperation between Turkey and Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Last year, our Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Nepal and they wanted to start Turkish Airlines service to Nepal via India. But, I think direct flights from Turkey to Nepal will be much more beneficial for both business relations and tourism. So, we have been discussing that there should be a direct flight from Istanbul to Kathmandu. When ICOC and I will be presenting our reports in Turkey, we will definitely highlight this point. Turkey is the gateway to Europe. Qatar Airways is having 4-5 flights a day so I think there is a big demand. It is nice to know that this news has already found space in Turkish newspaper that Nepali business community wants direct flight from Turkey to Nepal. Also, it would a good idea to open an embassy soon to jointly promote economic cooperation between the two countries. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Being in an influential position, how are you planning to publicize Nepal in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I first came to Nepal in 1995-96 as a visiting professor to Kathmandu University. I really love this country and have known Nepal for more than 15 years. We have organized two Nepal Weeks in Turkey and they were big events. All the dancers, musicians and even the royal astrologer Mangal Raj Joshi attended the event. Since I’m a professor, I like to give lectures and I have been giving lectures about Nepal at many places such as Universities, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs etc. Now the people in Turkey recognize Nepal when they think about me. I write articles about Nepal in some newspapers and magazines whenever possible. I am interviewed by media people many times. About a year ago, a TV program was made in my house saying “if you can’t go to Nepal we bring Nepal to your House!” since my house is decorated like a small Nepal. I’m proud of representing Nepal as I have created mini Nepal in my house. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What other things are happening and could be done to facilitate the tourism ties between the two countries? <br />
	<br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I have told Nepal Tourism Board many times that they should start investing in new markets. It is high time to search for new markets besides the regular ones like some European countries and the US. The efforts of the Ministry of Tourism alone are not enough to promote tourism. It is also the responsibility of the business community and travel agencies in Nepal. They should have good communication with the representatives of Nepal abroad and give necessary support to them. Honorary consulates are very important in this respect. By uniting our strengths, we can do much more to facilitate the tourism ties between Nepal and other countries. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Since we don’t have enough aircraft with the national carrier, what could be the best way to promote Nepal in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Turkish Airlines have a big fleet of aircraft. If Nepal needs more aircraft, there are airline companies in Turkey who can come and invest here. There can be joint ventures as well. We also have private companies with inexpensive airfares and strong market share. Flights from Turkey to Nepal are very expensive at the moment and cost about 800 Euros. This should be made much cheaper to attract more tourists to Nepal. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What is the focal point of connecting Nepal and Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Friendly Nepali people and their culture are similar to us. We have similar cultures and family ties are very close like in Nepal. We are also blessed with nature providing variety of outdoor activities just like they are in Nepal. Turkey also has a great and ancient civilization like Nepal. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What are the products that are imported in Nepal from Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">There is a government organization in Turkey and they are promoting trade with foreign countries. They have formed a representation in Nepal and they often visit Turkey. The organization mainly deals in suits, shoes, men’s wear, fertilizers, generators, machine-made carpets, electronic items and food items like noodles, biscuits, candies, oil etc with good quality. I recommend Nepal should buy olive oil and wine from Turkey.</span></span></div>',
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<p>
	Hideto Kawamura, Department Head, Overseas Sales Division of Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd, India recently visited Nepal to officially launch Yamaha Ray, a new scooter from Yamaha. &nbsp;In his 10 years of career in Yamaha Motors, Kawamura has worked in various departments ranging from services to sales and marketing. He joined the company in 2002 as the In-charge of CKD export operation and marketing support for Indonesian Market products. He moved to India in 2012 and has been overseeing export from India. In an interview with New Business Age, Kawamura shared the expansion plan of his company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Would you please describe the Ray Scooter that you just launched?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	The Ray Scooter is specially made for women. The height of the seat is lower than the competitors. Overall, it is very comfortable for female riders. &nbsp;On the other hand, the mileage of the Ray is the best among the scooters segment available in Nepal. And, it has better pick up. The scooter is good enough to ride for two people and it goes smoothly while climbing the slopes.</p>
<p>
	<strong>&nbsp;How do you find the demand of your product in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We see a great market for scooters in Nepal. Though our product is new in Nepali market compared to other products, we are confident that our product will be popular among the riders. The scooter market in Nepal is basically owned by other models like Dio from Honda. But our product is competitive enough to take on them. Ray scooter would win customer’s trust in every aspect; style, pick up, mileage and overall. I believe we will own around 20 per cent market share in Nepal in 2013/2014. We will try our best to achieve that.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the other products that you are planning to launch in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We are considering launching variation models of Ray scooter in Nepal in near future. But I cannot say more about it right now.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How are you expanding your business internationally?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Today, Yamaha sells around 7 million units of two-wheelers a year all over the world including in Japan, USA and European countries. We are also expanding our business in developing countries like Nepal. &nbsp;Now, we have the largest market shares in South East Asia mainly in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. And we are expanding our business in African countries.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Until 2012 December, we sold around 12,000 motorcycles in Nepal. It will expand much more and our sales could see up to 40 per cent growth compared to previous year. We have a plan to launch another variation of scooter that will also contribute to the growth.&nbsp;</p>
<div>
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<p>
	Hiroaki Ashizawa, Director of Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd is also heading Living Environment Air condition division in India. Founded in 1921, Mitsubishi Electric is a leading company in manufacturing and sales of electrical and electronic products. Hiroaki has handled many international markets including USA, Europe and Asia Market and has 35 years of experience in HVAC. In an interview with New Business Age, Hiraoki shared about his business in Nepali market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you please highlight the reasons of your visit?</strong></p>
<p>
	I came here for a launching ceremony of our Air conditioner products in Kathmandu. Since I am supposed to assist and support the business in Nepal, I also wanted to visit Airtech, our business partner here in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products that you just launched?</strong></p>
<p>
	Recently, we launched two air conditioning series namely Mr. Slim Series and CITY MULTI VRF series in Nepali market. &nbsp;Mr. Slim is a series of room air conditioners for private houses and small offices while City Multi VRF Series is for commercial purpose suitable to corporate offices, banks, hospitals, hotels, shopping complexes, villas, apartments, etc. Both these series are widely accepted in global market. With these full ranges of world class products we ensure that Nepalese customers would get the best AC products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Can you tell us the major unique features of the Mitsubishi Electric brand?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus on Mitsubishi Electric Quality promising the best experience in our products, services, partnership and people. Apart from premium quality, energy efficiency, usage of environment friendly green refrigerant R-410A for our product range and our service quality are key features that ensure standards matching to the lifestyle with lesser environmental impact.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How are you expanding your products in the international market?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are one of the leading air conditioner companies in global market including South East Asia. We are now growing rapidly mainly in the countries like India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. We are already market leaders in our inverter segment in USA, UK, Spain, etc. We also enjoy leadership status in many Asian countries including Thailand and Myanmar.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We launched our products in Nepal nearly a year back. With these best products, we are aiming to be the market leader by the year 2015. Seeing the price competition, I believe Nepal is one of the hardest markets in South Asia. It seems very tough but still we are ready to fight and grab the market. We are confident about the performance of our products and I am sure the valued customers in Nepal would pay some premium for our quality products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How can Nepal get benefit from these products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We sell DC inverter type Air Conditioners with after sales services in Nepali market. As DC inverter type Air Conditioner is energy saving product, it could be beneficial for reduction of energy consumption ensuring the lower operating cost.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is your further plan regarding your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are planning to launch the Hot Water Generating system- a highly efficient and eco friendly product especially suited for hotel business in Nepal. &nbsp;</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-06-08',
			'modified' => '2013-06-08',
			'keywords' => 'Hiroaki Ashizawa, Director , Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd, Living Environment Air condition, Mitsubishi Electric, Business Visitors, Visiting Business People, New Business Age, June2013',
			'description' => 'Hiroaki Ashizawa, Director of Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd is also heading Living Environment Air condition division in India. Founded in 1921, Mitsubishi Electric is a leading company in manufacturing and sales of electrical and electronic products.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1078',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Hope The Market For Our Business Grows Fast In Nepal’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	Cyrus Khambata is the Chief Executive Officer at CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL). &nbsp;He joined Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) in 1999, the date of CDSL’s operation and currently offering his services as an Executive Vice President. CDSL is a leading securities depository in India. &nbsp;Previously, he served Bank of India as a Chief Manager for 20 years. Sushila Budhathoki of New Business Age talked with Khambata during his recent Nepal visit.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What brings you to Nepal this time?</strong></p>
<p>
	I am here for the inauguration of clearing and settlement system started by Central Depository &amp; Settlement Corporation (CDSC). I have been putting my effort to start the system for three years. I am here for technical assistance.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>So, you had a meeting with brokers also?</strong></p>
<p>
	Yes, they had certain questions like how DEMAT operates, how the risks can be minimised etc. And we had to explain them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Now the CDSC has come into full operation. How will it support the capital market of Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	In the physical settlement process, shares traded in the stock exchange have to be transferred manually. That takes a long time to change the ownership. With Dematerialisation (DEMAT), the shares get transferred to the respective stakeholders’ account immediately on the trading day so they can use it during emergency also. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We hope the market for our business grows fast in Nepal. We will target big companies and have started the DEMAT services offered to the shareholders. So, that it would grow rapidly. People who are trading shares will prefer DEMAT because it is less time consuming. But the people who are not trading will take time to familiarize with DEMAT.</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What are other infrastructures necessary for Nepali capital market?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	In the capital market, there are three large infrastructure providers. One is regulator who does a lot of monitoring, second is the exchange which offers trading facilities and the third one is depository which sets up the depository participants to cover the entire population. &nbsp;In India, there are 18, 000 depository centers covering 25,000 pin codes out of 27,000 pin codes in the country. State Bank of India provides DEMAT facilities from its 3000 branches among 10 -12 thousand branches.</p>
<p>
	So, like SBI, Bank of Kathmandu also can be the center for providing DEMAT facilities. It can offer this service from its 500 branches which will cover the entire country.</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What are your suggestions to CDSC for providing services other than normal settlements?</strong></p>
<p>
	It can provide numerous services if permitted. One is e-voting service. It would help the shareholders to participate in the operation of the company that they own. For example, they can even electronically vote for the AGM even if they are not physically present to attend the programme.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Similarly, they can provide KYC (Know Your Client) services. To open a DEMAT account, you have to comply to the KYC rules. It is required by banks, insurance companies and telecom operators to name a few. All the documents need not be collected from the client in each and every step every time he/she transacts somewhere. So, CDSC can become a bank for KYC document and the client can just file his details once and for all for any organisation.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'created' => '2013-06-08',
			'modified' => '2013-06-08',
			'keywords' => 'Business Visitors, Visiting Business People, Cyrus Khambata, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL), New Business Age, June 2013',
			'description' => 'Cyrus Khambata is the Chief Executive Officer at CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL).  He joined Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) in 1999, the date of CDSL’s operation and currently offering his services as an Executive Vice President.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1015',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Don’t Do Anything Non-profit’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong>Cliff Reeves, General Manager of Microsoft Corp. for Strategic &amp; Emerging Business Team, was in Nepal recently to visit the Microsoft Innovation Centre. He looks after the social side of the business and works with young students and business leaders from all over the world. In an interview with Modnath Dhakal,from New Business Age, Reeves shared his ideas and views on Microsoft products, software piracy and IT entrepreneurship.&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What is the purpose of your visit to Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	This is not a special visit, I have come to see Allen (Allen Bailochan Tuladhar) and Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) in Kathmandu. We have more than one hundred MICs around the world and the Kathmandu centre, headed by Allen, is one of the strongest. We have opened 19 MICs in India and I am talking to the people working there. We have just organized MIC summit in Bangalore. We are also planning for a new MIC in Nepal too.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How is Microsoft performing here, in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s doing very well. My focus is entirely on the start-ups, students and entrepreneurs. Therefore, I don’t know exactly about the sales and other areas. &nbsp;We are reaching a significant number of students and have collected significant number of facts in their employability. With programmes like Microsoft Student Partners, Microsoft Virtual Academy and the IT Academy, which actually helps with the certification of their qualifications, we are reaching to them. We are very pleased with the programme and its progress.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Many people in South Asia and developing countries use pirated Windows operating system or other software because of its cheap price. What is your take on this?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Piracy is the practical issue. Pirated software is not worth paying for because it does not come with the extra support that we provide. On the other hand, the cost of software has gone down dramatically. We do want to deal with the piracy, it’s illegal. We do want to get revenue from our products. But we don’t think piracy is our primary problem. Ultimately, people will go for the quality software.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What strategies has Microsoft been putting in action to solve the piracy problem?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	That is not my area of focus. I focus on making sure that the people who need the software, get it. These are the people who are in school or in universities or who are looking for an assistance to set up their businesses. I make sure that they have access to it. We give our software to developers without any cost for three years. Many of the small companies fail. Therefore, we don’t want to be the reason behind their failure because of the high cost of the software. &nbsp;When they succeed, they pay a good premium to our software. It’s a good investment.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Has your business improved here after the development of Unicode Nepali software?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	I don’t know much about it, but Microsoft believes that language projects help to boost the sales of software. Inclusion is a good business.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Where is Microsoft in the competition of mobile OS among Android, Apple, Simbion and Blackberry?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are number two in India. But worldwide Android is the volume leader, Apple has the profitability and Microsoft had a late entrance to the market. But we have a long history of endurance, which is supported by the best technology in the world. There are very few companies in the world that have had more than one major product success. Microsoft had two or probably three successful products: Windows, Office and the game console X-box.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>You are running various non-profit activities in Nepal like distribution of software to students, language development etc., is it your CSR or business enhancement strategy?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s not non-profit. I don’t think we do anything non-profit. It should be for profit . Our relationship with the start-ups is based on both direct and indirect value to Microsoft. The indirect value to Microsoft is that, as economies grow, we grow. If you have a good boat and the water level is going up, you both are going up. So we are very interested in building good relationships with universities, which is where the talents come from. We want good talents. That engagement with the students and start-ups is vital for us. In this course we make sure that the students have access to our technology with very advantageous prices or for free. In the long run, they are going to be our customers. There is a balance of altruism and profit-motive. And I think that is the right thing for the business.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you track the young talents?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We often work with the universities. We run Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) programs in various universities. The students who are interested in technology can apply for MSP. We accept the eligible students and train them for free. They often end up being evangelists . They often teach their class and earn some respect from their fellow students. We hire some of them. We also take some help from these young energetic people to improve our technologies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Programs like IT Academy, Microsoft Virtual Academy, MIC etc., inspire students to develop something new. MVA provides the training materials online. We help young students to become entrepreneurs and IT professionals.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is your success-mantra to those young aspiring entrepreneurs who face &nbsp;constraints financing their business?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	I would say money is not the primary problem. It was so a decade ago but the situation has changed a lot. There are new elements that make a successful start-up. First, and the obvious, is the Internet. It reached to almost anybody with almost zero friction and zero cost. It means that market, technology and customers are accessible. Promotion is less expensive. Because of social networking, you will get the customers without employing the sales force. And then the technology itself has got incredibly powerful. Now, it takes lot less codes and fewer tools. The tools you need are freely available. It has helped to narrow down the gap between the idea and the successful market. &nbsp;To get a big business idea is hard but your ability as an entrepreneur to develop a program, to get your first consumer, to improve it, to refine it and to market it will not be spoiled by the cost. The cost is just plummeted. So my advice is not to focus on finances but to get the viable product in the hands of your customer. If you can do that, then you can go to the investor. Investors are always ready to finance &nbsp;good ideas and products.&nbsp;</p>
<div>
	 </div>',
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			'description' => 'Cliff Reeves, General Manager of Microsoft Corp. for Strategic & Emerging Business Team, was in Nepal recently to visit the Microsoft Innovation Centre.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1014',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Ensure The Optimum Operational Conditions Of Our Products’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><img alt="Seung Woo Lee, Visiting Business People" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_may2013_seung_woo(1).jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 0 0;" /><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Seung Woo Lee is the General Manager, Sales and Marketing of Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt Ltd, one of the fastest growing manufacturers of excavators in India and in the world. In the last year, Hyundai sold 2034 units of excavator and captured a market share of 14 per cent in the Indian excavator market and consolidated its position at number three. It is also eying Nepali market. Recently, Seung was in Nepal and Siromani Dhungana of New Business Age talked to him regarding business prospects of Hyundai in Nepal.&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What was the purpose of your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are here for launching our products, 22Ton class excavator series. We are launching two excavators, which are Robex220LC-7 and Robex220LC-9s, both manufactured in India. We take this occasion as a chance to interact with our local customers and to provide better service to them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products you are currently supplying to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are currently supplying 14-20ton crawling excavators. That is the category of machines, with its the operating weight.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	There is a big demand for our products in big projects, like hydropower and road constructions. Though such projects are very low in number in Nepal now, the number and speed of the projects will be higher &nbsp;after some time. &nbsp;May be it won’t take a long time to see the boom in the market.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should consumers choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus in better technology, services and operating costs. We have focused in these things both in our previous products and in the new ones. There are various sides and factors in which we have evolved and enhanced ourselves better. We also have improved &nbsp;in after sale services and spare parts. We ensure the optimum operation conditions throughout its lifetime, with higher liability and lesser fuel consumption.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Developing countries &nbsp;have always been a priority for our business, and South Asian countries have a lot of opportunity, being their markets vital for us. The economic effect of the problem in European countries, which started in 2008, had affected South Asian countries including India, which accounts for a big portion in construction market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? Are you satisfied with it?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s fierce. Every single machine should count on. In terms of overall market size, it has significantly decreased at this moment and I really cannot say the exact number. The positive side is that we are maintaining ourselves. The relationship with our customers, our support to them in after sale services and spare parts with our dealer CSPL here is good.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do your products help your customers to enhance their business and revenue?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus on efficiency of our products. In the long run, the operating cost, the fuel efficiency and after sales services matter most to the customers. So we try to lower the maintenance cost by accommodating long life hydraulic and filters.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'keywords' => 'We Ensure The Optimum Operational Conditions Of Our Products, Seung Woo Lee',
			'description' => 'Seung Woo Lee is the General Manager, Sales and Marketing of Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt Ltd, one of the fastest growing manufacturers of excavators in India and in the world.',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1013',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘Android Smartphones Democratise The Market’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<span style="font-size: 12px;"><img alt="De Finbarr Moynihan, Visiting business people" height="283" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_may2013_finbarr(1).jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 10px 0 0;" width="250" /><strong>Dr Finbarr Moynihan is General Manager, Corporate Business Development for MediaTek. In this role, he manages MediaTek’s global customer, partner and operator relationships. Prior to this, he was Director of Product Marketing for MediaTek’s Smartphone Business Unit – based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. &nbsp;During his recent visit to Nepal, Bijaya Giri of New Business Age talked to him regarding market prospects of MediaTek in Nepal.</strong></span></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What is the purpose of your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Our partner here, Teletalk, is announcing a range of products. We are here for the launching tablets and phablet devices based on our chipsets. Like other markets, we highly value Nepali market and local brands.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Can you briefly tell us about your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We mainly focus on big digital consumer markets – feature phones, smart phones, tablets, DTV, DVD, Set-top boxes and digital home platforms. We also centre our attention on things like WiFi routers and access points. &nbsp;We ship roughly 500-550 million chipset of mobile every year. We are in the mobile market since 2004, however we are still relatively new in the smart phone market – we started shipping 3G smart phone chipsets during the second half of 2011. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products you are currently supplying in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We mostly supply for our local partners here, like Teletalk. Colors mobile, as a local brand, uses our chipset. We mainly supply chipsets and solutions for feature phones - 2G Bar phones, low-cost android phones to higher-performance 4-5 inch phablet phones, which uses quad-core chipsets for higher performances. We also supply chipsets for 3G Data Cards.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Like other markets, we have highly valued the Nepali market and local brands. We don’t make phones, but try to enable our customers and local brand partners, like Colors Mobile, to do so as easily as possible. &nbsp;The adoption of smart phones by the Nepali market is increasing and that is important for us. The emergence of Android smart phones democratise the market, which is heavily occupied by major technological giants. We believe that the consumer adoption of these smart phones, with access to data services, social networks and other varied applications, will continue to have beneficial effects for the societies that adopt them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should consumers choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	Because of the way we approach the market and we plan. We supply the chip but what we deliver to the customer is much more than that. We don’t make the final products but we deliver complete software solutions along with the chipsets. The products our partner delivers, at cost effective prices, are not lower in comparison with high end devices. For good user experience, the power consumption, battery life and multimedia experience fulfil the consumers’ expectations.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s been very important for us. For many years it’s been our major market for the 2G feature phone. The market effect we saw last year in China is now happening in the South Asian market. This means more tablets and more convergence from 2G to 3G. This trend is not going to stop and that’s why we are excited and focused on that. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	The competition in mobile space is always tough. Different brands, different chipset suppliers and so many other factors drive the market. This year, the &nbsp;sales volume of smart phones, as we expected, has been increasing so far in Nepal. The global competition in the smartphone segment is huge and tough for each major or minor player. You have to deliver better, faster and more affordable products to the consumer in order to be able to sustain yourself in the market. That’s part of life in this business.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are your future strategies?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are focusing on 3G and 4G high performing technologies, including smart phones and devices for emerging markets like Nepal. &nbsp;We are also centred on more affordable Data Cards.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Dr Finbarr Moynihan is General Manager, Corporate Business Development for MediaTek. In this role, he manages MediaTek’s global customer, partner and operator relationships.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '991',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => 'Developing Countries Offer  A Great Deal Of Opportunity For Our Business',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><span style="font-size: 12px;">Pradeep Kumar acquired his Bachelor in Technology from GB Pant University, Pantnagar. He also earned a Master in Business Administration from Bhartya Vidya Bhawan. He has 30 years of extensive experience in the field of Farm Machinery, Material Handling and Construction Equipment. He has worked with Eicher Tractors Ltd. India from 1978 until 1984, being in charge of sales and service operations. Subsequently, he has worked with Escorts Construction Equipment Ltd. from 1984 until 2001 and Escorts Ltd. from 2001 until 2005 as a General Manager for both companies. During this period, he has been responsible for various functions including business development, sales and marketing of material handling, construction equipment (like mobile cranes, loaders, vibratory road rollers etc.) and exports of tractors. He joined Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. in August 2005.</span></strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	Pradeep Kumar, Vice President of Mahindra and Mahindra for international operations of Auto &amp; Farm sectors in Asia and Australia, was recently in Nepal when he talked to Sujan Dhungana of New Business Age about his company’s business in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What brings you to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	I have visited Nepal several times in the past because it is a strategic market for Mahindra. We are market leaders in the utility vehicle segment and tractors, with two brands, Mahindra and Swaraj. Both brands, together, account for more than 38 percent of market share in the tractor business. We are here to launch our product, the Mahindra XUV 500, a world class SUV which is now blazing a trail across India, Australia, South Africa and Italy . This is one of the most successful vehicles we have launched in India and its demand is increasing.</p>
<p>
	Moreover, this year, I am proud to announce that we have completed 22 years of successful association with our Nepal distributor, Agni, and we would like to use this occasion – the launch of our new 3S facility – as a chance to interact with our local customers and to provide them with the best service possible.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What makes Mahindra stand out in the market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Our products have been developed as per market demand. &nbsp;We have always kept the customer in focus while designing our products, which are reliable. Moreover, the fact that we have won various quality related awards is a testimony of our attention focused on this area.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>When did your company start exporting?</strong></p>
<p>
	We have been exporting our vehicles since the 1960’s but the real growth in export volumes has been experienced within the last ten years.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How is the performence of the products you are currently supplying in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	In Nepal, we supply Mahindra vehicles with annual sales crossing 2000 numbers. We also sell tractors with both the Mahindra and Swaraj badge, with annual sales of about 2000 numbers. We are currently focusing on expanding our product range in all the segments we are present in.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	There is a big demand of our products and our sales are also rising here. &nbsp;The Nepal market is a vital one for us.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should a consumer choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	Aside from the fact that the Mahindra brand is associated with trust, durability and reliability, we have always prided ourselves on high service levels. We keep the customer and his or her needs in mind when designing our products and we focus on getting better technology, services and operating costs.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	The competition is very fierce in this market. South Asian and other developing countries offer a great deal of opportunity for our business. We have been present in this region for a while now and have grown and evolved along with the rapidly changing market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? Are you satisfied with it?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s a very competitive market. The size of the market has decreased but we are confident about the prospects for growth. Mahindra is focusing on customer centricity and ensuring a robust after sales network along with our dealer, Agni.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-05-22',
			'modified' => '2013-06-07',
			'keywords' => 'Developing countries offer a great deal of opportunity for our business, Visiting Business People, Pradeep Kumar',
			'description' => 'Pradeep Kumar, Vice President of Mahindra and Mahindra for international operations of Auto & Farm sectors in Asia and Australia, was recently in Nepal when he talked to Sujan Dhungana of New Business Age about his company’s business in Nepal.',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '975',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘Orient Has A Very Big Potential In Nepal’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Ghurmeet Singh, vice president ,Orient Fans, New Business Age" height="275" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Ghurmeet_Singh_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />Ghurmeet Singh, vice president of Orient Fans was in Nepal to launch Orient Fans series recently. Premier Overseas (P) Ltd is the authorized distributor of Orient Fans in Nepal. Orient Fans is a division, under CK Birla group, and currently it exports its products over 30 countries. Fans, small home appliances and lighting are some of the areas that are served by the division. In an interview with New Business Age, Singh shared his idea on the Nepali market for his products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Nepal is a big market because like India, Nepal is also largely populated with the people who are not so rich. And therefore there is big prospect and market for fans, which is going to remain for long time. And we find that because of the electricity cost as well as the relevancy, fans will be the primary cooling devices for many people for long time. Secondly, brands from India have very good scope here because India and Nepal have worked hand in hand for a long time. And Orient as number two brand in India for many years now has a very big potential here. We were selling here some fans also in the past. Last year we joined hands with Premier Overseas, a part of Sharda Group, so that we can distribute our products more widely. And we are very sure that, with their vast experiences and networks, we get very good stage from here and we will serve the people of Nepal.</p>
<p>
	<strong>It is said that Nepali people love Indian brands. What has been your perception?</strong></p>
<p>
	Yes, that is why I said that Nepal and India have joined hands for a long time. Nepali and Indian people are more or less similar, buying habits are also similar and more importantly they are interested in Indian brands. And we will like to serve Nepali people as well.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are you plans for the Nepali market?</strong></p>
<p>
	It feels good to introducing our products in Nepali market. Initially we are launching fans and small home appliances and later we also plan for our lighting series and try to be number one in the respective market segments.</p>
<p>
	<strong>So what is your market position in India?</strong></p>
<p>
	In India, we are in number one for manufacturing and two for sales. And for exports, we are the undisputed leader with over 55 percent of shares. And we are already exporting to 30 countries and in US. &nbsp;Having our own manufacturing base, we are conscious about the parties and quality of our products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you compare the trend of using your products in Nepal with other South Asian countries?</strong></p>
<p>
	In most of the South Asian countries, people largely use portable fans. And in India and Nepal people mostly use ceiling fans. In India, 75 percent sales are in ceiling and 25 percent portable fans and it is almost same here in Nepal. &nbsp;And most of the South Asian countries use fans as primary cooling devices.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should the people choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are highly quality conscious manufacturers. Our products are energy efficient and continuously receiving exports excellence award and we are rated as ‘Star Performer’ by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India. We pioneered the most famous patented revolutionary concept PSPO in 90’s. We have capacity of nearly 10 million fans per year and in terms of quality we have accomplished various standards and tests. And we have fulfilled each and every requirement in all different countries (where our fans are exported) and we are the only Indian brand to export to US.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are your plans for beating the competition and about the future strategies?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are very lucky that there are very few top brands available here and the competition is very less. And we are very confident that if we are able to appeal the market with good products, good prices and good energy saving products then the competition is not there and then we don’t need much time to become number one. And the second part is if everybody around you is your better competitor then you have to produce better product to sustain yourself and it is all good for the consumer.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
			'modified' => '2013-06-03',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Ghurmeet Singh, vice president of Orient Fans was in Nepal to launch Orient Fans series recently. Premier Overseas (P) Ltd is the authorized distributor of Orient Fans in Nepal. Orient Fans is a division, under CK Birla group, and currently it exports its products over 30 countries.',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '974',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘The Customers Are Required To Get The Full Value For Their Money’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Koji Tanaka, vice president. Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India, New Business Age" height="302" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Koji_Tanaka_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />Koji Tanaka is the vice president of Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India. With over 26 years of experience with Honda Motor Company Ltd, he has been involved with various innovative endeavors of Honda. Recently, Syakar Trading Company, the authorized distributor of Honda Power Product launched the new EP 1000 and EG 1000 series of generators in Nepal and Tanaka was in Kathmandu in this connection. These new generators are small, portable and lighter compared to the previous generators. With the 4 Stroke technology, these models have some unique features like lesser fuel consumption (0.54ltr./ hr), more handling capacity (Rat. 750 VA), environmental friendly and available with decompression mechanism. Tanaka explained more in an interview with New Business Age.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What do you find interesting about your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Its been about three years that I have been living in Delhi. This is the first time that I got an opportunity to visit Nepal. Nepal is well known in Japan. There are many Japanese tourists who come here and many Japanese are also living here. Our purpose of visit is to study the potentiality of the Nepali market for Honda products. As on date, we are exposing two new products – Honda EG 10000 model and Honda EP 1000 model generator. We would also like to study the Nepali market for various Honda products and find areas to expand with 50 % partnership with Syakar group.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the brand value of Honda products in the Nepali market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Honda Company is well reputed throughout the world for its quality products. Without Syakar Trading, it would be difficult to provide quality sales and service. It is not possible to expand in the market without their support. New customers can be treated with better goods and Syakar can provide the premium service towards customers in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How will the newly introduced Honda Spiel Power products affect the Nepali market? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We are happy to find out that dealers from all over the country came to see the two new products. Comparatively, they are more fuel efficient. They consume upto 50% less fuel than the other former products. We are confident that we can expand the business of our products.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What level of competition do you feel is present with regard to the products from Honda?</strong></p>
<p>
	Honda has been selling motorcycles in Nepal for a long time. The major competition is from Bajaj. With regard to power products, Honda is still leading the market very much with help from Syakar Group. In Honda Philosophy, we do not compare ourselves with the competitors but instead compare us with ourselves. The customers are required to get the full value for their money. Honda owns 40% share of Nepali power products market. There are 69 dealers (branches and showrooms) of Honda products throughout Nepal. Honda products are so efficient that they are suitable for even above the altitude of 4000 meters from the sea level.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the future plans of Honda Company?</strong></p>
<p>
	We listen to customer’s voice. Upon receiving special requests, our R&amp;D (Research and Development) department develops these products. We come up with newer products. When we see the potentiality of a product in the market, we further investigate into it with help from the people at R&amp;D. After that, we check if there is a similar demand for such products in other regions as well. Only then, the new products will be developed.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Are you launching any product targeting the agriculture sector?</strong></p>
<p>
	In 2010, we launched a more affordable 5 Hz power tiller in the market. But, currently it is not available in Nepal. With the decreasing number of farm workers, more tillers can be bought in order to do a more efficient agriculture. The process of mechanized agriculture is expanding. Many agricultural tools are also introduced through Honda’s factories in China. With the increasing demand from the consumers, lawn mowers, brush cutters, carriers etc can be introduced in Nepal. Honda’s motto is “Helping people get things done”. We do not limit ourselves to supplying generators only. When there is enough demand in the market, R&amp;D can make new concept products.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
			'modified' => '2013-06-03',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Koji Tanaka is the vice president of Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India. With over 26 years of experience with Honda Motor Company Ltd, he has been involved with various innovative endeavors of Honda.',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '973',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Do Not Want To Become Just A Marketing Company’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="">
	<img align="right" alt="Denis Borisovsky, CEO of PFSOFT, New Business Age" height="302" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Denis_Borisovsky_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />PFSOFT is one of the renowned trading security vendors worldwide. Its corporate client base exceeds thousands of companies located around the globe. The company, established in 2003 with its headquarters at Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine, has its offices in major cities in the world. “The company has a diverse range of clients which includes different sized brokers, top-tier banks and also their white labels partners, who are involved in electronic trading of various asset-classes,” informs Denis Borisovsky, CEO of PFSOFT. In an interview with New Business Age during his recent visit to Nepal, Borisovsky talked about the company’s product Protrader 2 and market prospects of his company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What is Protrader 2 and what are the scopes?</strong></p>
<p>
	Protrader 2 is our platform for trading forex, stocks, futures and other sectors. It is developed for technological brokers and for exchangers in the long run. We started the company about ten years ago and the product Protrader 2 is the result of these ten years. Under this brand, we cover technology products for multiple sectors then go to stock market. We cover trading activities from exchange to traders, money managers, hedge funds, brokers or participants in one technology. Our products are quite unique and there is uniqueness of technology as well. We are not brokers though. We stay independent from brokerage and provide technology to different brokers. We have so many trading technology companies to help the brokers. We import technologies from different countries and bring them to different markets.</p>
<p>
	<strong>You’ve had a diverse career, how did you get into financial trading technologies?</strong></p>
<p>
	I worked 20 years as a programmer. I entered many fields including voice recognition. I also served in various technological firms. And that was difficult. I wanted to do something different, more difficult and challenging. So, I decided to make charts by myself and I found some clients for it. Then I started trading technology for brokerage.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Our company is not that big in terms of people, but in terms of symmetry and our experience, it is quite big. The number of people working in our Ukraine office is around 50-52 and it’s a very good team. We are also focusing our business in emerging economies like China and India. I have just come from India where we have opened up our office. In China, we have been deploying five people for local support. In Europe, we have an office in Ukraine. We already have an office in US. We are also eying Nepal as the political and investment environment are improving.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What makes your company successful?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	First of all, it is focused. It’s very important to focus in something and make it best from any point. &nbsp;Our focus is technology for trading. We have only one thought and that is how to make trading technology more advanced. You need to have focus and extension, but careful extension. And you should keep a very good level of integrity between the company and the clients. Integrity is a key factor in every company. After this, you should be very high target to go.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you pursue the use of trading technology in emerging countries?</strong></p>
<p>
	We come with technology. We don’t want to become a marketing company, that’s why we are looking to the very good partners who have same vision and same expectations in terms of time. Time expectations is very important. If someone is interested in one year, it is one story and if he is looking for ten years, it is another story. My company sees five to ten year forward. So, it is very important for us to find such partners, who have same philosophies and who uses technologies and wants to expand them.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What types of trading applications are being demanded and successful these days?</strong></p>
<p>
	There are lots of technologies right now. But, the main problem is that sometime these do not work in particular circumstances and market. And sometimes it is not useful to the market. So, it is very important to understand local market. &nbsp;It is the task of local partner which maintains adjustment to it. The local partner has to listen to the people, think about not only about making something but in terms of technology which could work in your market. We make customization, which is very important is putting many markets within one platform. And we have to make such things, which is already in demand.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you recall some the challenges you faced during automating stock exchanges and commodity exchanges?</strong></p>
<p>
	Every country is very different. In terms of brokers, more or less everybody has common techniques and it is quite similar. But, in terms of challenges it is totally different. The challenges in US are very different and more developed. And it is also challenging because lots of local participants are there. By the way, Nepal is more advanced. Nepal has seen changes in stock market for more than 20 years while it’s been five years for Ukraine. I mean the number of all types of market participants and functionalists is much lower.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the difference between brokerage automation and exchange automation?</strong></p>
<p>
	Exchange automation is of course a very complex process. We should work on different levels. It needs one to three years to implement and to make it work too. Brokerage automation process takes many years and is difficult as well. We need cooperation mostly from technology and some management level of companies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How can you prove Protrader is better for the success of traders?</strong></p>
<p>
	We always cooperate with traders. We think the most important clients for us are the traders. We get their feedback. And we want them to be involved more. Usually we communicate with brokers and they provide us feedback from traders. If we get lots of feedback, we could pick up fast. Protrader is one of the most functionally useful software.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you please tell us about PFSoft’s future roadmap?</strong></p>
<p>
	We have a plan to promote ourselves. Because in 10 years we mostly worked with brokers, which was much time itself. We believe now technology is one of the best necessities. We will extend our promotion to we will customize the platform. Social trading concerns are new market plans.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Based on your vast experience of establishing ecosystem of trading business in developed and developing countries, what do you think about how countries like Nepal can benefit from trading business?</strong></p>
<p>
	“PFSoft and Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal Ltd have mutually agreed to develop a full-fledged commodity exchange system for Nepal. PFSoft is ready to customize the Information Technology required for Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal and it is great opportunity for us to have a partnership with Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal Ltd. We are making evolution of scalable trading solution of local products produced in Nepal, and we want to integrate that trading to global market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The trading is important in developing countries. Right now for trading to sustain, the political and economic system favor for that. But at the same time, financial system too should help the country’s economic growth.</p>',
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			'description' => 'PFSOFT is one of the renowned trading security vendors worldwide. Its corporate client base exceeds thousands of companies located around the globe. The company, established in 2003 with its headquarters at Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine, has its offices in major cities in the world.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '942',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘I Have Identified Planning As A Major Weakness In Most Companies’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="">
	Volker Kleinn is a management expert with a degree in business administration from a German university that he says is about equivalent to MBA. He has held senior managerial positions in American multinationals such as Digital Equipment Corporation (known as DEC which was acquired by Compaq which in turn merged with HP in 2002), Apollo Computer (a leading manufacturer of network workstations until acquired by HP in 1989 and gradually closed down over the next eight years) and Autodesk (Still a major multinational software manufacturer) in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Retired from an active career more than a decade ago, Volker, nevertheless, finds time to help companies in the developing world to improve their management. He has been visiting Nepal regularly since the early 2000s through the Senior Expert Corp (SCE) programme of the Swisscontact and has helped more than a dozen Nepali companies from different sectors. Volker talked with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently for a similar purpose.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p style="">
	<strong>You have been helping private firms, particularly in the developing world, with management issues. How and when did you start this?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	After I retired, I decided to work on a voluntary basis with entrepreneurs and enterprises in the developing countries. This way I wanted to give something back to society. My idea was to contribute to reduce the migration pressure by helping companies in the developing countries to maintain or create employment. So, I registered with the Senior Expert Corps of Swisscontact and through them I came to Nepal.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Could you share with us the common problems faced by companies in the developing world?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	In the industrialized countries with predominantly market economies, business management talent has been developed over a long time and therefore there is an established talent pool for management. In the developing countries (especially in Eastern Europe), market economies did not exist for a long time and therefore there still is not a big enough talent pool for management. Any management role requires creativity, initiative and drive. A manager needs to accept responsibility, accountability and I am glad to note, that there are more and more people here in Nepal who are willing to step up to this requirement.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Which Nepali companies have you already helped to improve their management?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Let me not mention names, but I have been working in several industries, such as IT, Communication, Trading, Media, etc. and I also have been giving management training courses at different organizations.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What problems do you find in the Nepali companies which you have already worked with?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	For me management is a continuous cycle of Planning, Organizing, Monitoring and Controlling. I have identified Planning as a major weakness in most companies. Operational plans and budgets often do not exist. Since I am convinced that you can only mange what you measure, it is very difficult to evaluate the success of any business if there is no goal or plan to compare performance to. As a consequence, management is in most cases is re-active rather than pro-active, which means that managers are not rally managing but rather getting managed by their environment and circumstances.</p>
<p style="">
	The second area that needs a lot of improvement in most of the companies I have worked with is Management Information. I think it is common knowledge that you do accounting not only for shareholder or tax purposes, but also for management purposes. I have experienced, that most companies give priority to tax requirements. Also, a lot of record keeping is still done manually. These facts make it often very difficult to use financial information for management purposes.</p>
<p style="">
	In addition, I am very concerned about the sustainability of my efforts to help. I have often observed what I call ‘the rubber band syndrome’. This means changes are initiated while I am here, i.e. when the rubber band is under tension, but as soon as I leave, i.e. the rubber band is released, things flip back to the old position. One has to keep in mind that the human brain is change-resistant. That means it requires a constant flow of energy to make changes sustainable.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	It’s apparently been nearly a decade since you started advising Nepali private sector companies on management issues. What do you think of Nepal’s private sector?</p>
<p style="">
	The private sector has made the economy function under what are not very favourite conditions. Everywhere in the world, you can see that the biggest roadblocks for development are corruption and unreliable legal system. Both factors have an impact on the business opportunities that the private sector can pursue.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Nepali private sector?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	The private sector is divided into two major categories. On the one hand, there are family-owned businesses, which are mostly hierarchically (or paternalistically) organized. These companies tend to maintain limited transparency. On the other, there are newly founded companies which are trying to be more open, but sometimes lack the courage for the degree of openness as Western companies normally practice. This means that I consider the lack of delegation of authority, i.e. empowerment of senior managers as a weakness of the private sector.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What are the areas that the Nepali companies need to work on to improve their overall management?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	I have experienced a big gap between shareholders (owners) who are often also the most senior managers and the managers who are not owners. This is often because of the lack of confidence and trust. It would be helpful if professional managers were trusted more to contribute in terms of planning and execution. Empowerment of people is important throughout the organization, but it is more important with regard to the top professional managers. I believe that the time is over where information was considered as power. I am convinced that information creates responsibility and therefor owners should be encouraged to be more transparent vis-a-vis their managers with regard to information about strategy and performance.</p>
<p style="">
	In almost all companies I have worked in, I was told that it is difficult to find competent mangers. I know that there are a lot of Nepalis working as expatriates abroad and gaining international management experience. It would be helpful in my opinion if a campaign is started to offer senior positions for expats who want to come home. News- and job-portals could create a special section to attract experienced people to return. On the other hand, it is alarming that most of the college graduates aspire to leave the country. This represents a skill drain which will have a long-term negative impact on businesses here in the country.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What is your impression of the spirit of entrepreneurship in Nepal and the Nepali entrepreneurs?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Based on my observation, the environment in Nepal is not very conducive to entrepreneurial behaviour. Starting a business here is still burdened with bureaucratic requirements. I believe that this is one of the major reasons why well-educated and talented people are leaving the country.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>How do you rate the work culture in the organizations you have worked in? What improvements have you usually suggested?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Empowerment of employees is not very common. The organizations are mostly very hierarchically organized and people rather ask their superiors for taking a decision than deciding for themselves. This is very often a sign of insecurity and lack of self-confidence, but it could also be caused by the unwillingness to accept responsibility.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>How can private sector companies incentivize the performance of their marketing folks in Nepali context?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	When you say marketing folks I assume that you mean sales people. Sales people around the world are normally incentivized by an incentive compensation plan that rewards good performance. Good performance means meeting or exceeding your target. In the organizations that I was responsible for during my professional career, I had always implemented a plan that rewarded over goal performance proportionally. I was always proud when the best sales people earned more than I did.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What sort of good HR practices need to be evolved in the Nepali private sector? Do these practices differ from sector to sector?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="">
	There are certain basic HR practices that should be common in every company. These practices relate to work ethics, loyalty to your employer, confidentiality and attendance discipline. There are other areas where practices would differ, especially in sectors with shift work or other special requirements like workplace security. Attendance discipline is obviously difficult to implement with the frequent bandhs where a few people hold a whole country hostage. This has an enormous negative impact on the productivity and therefore the competitiveness of the private sector.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What sort of socio-political environment you find in Nepal in the context of the growth of enterprises? What are the impediments and how to ameliorate the situation ahead?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Let me just mention two points that come to mind immediately.</p>
<ul>
	<li style="">
		The lack of a functioning mail system requires hand delivery by messengers of a lot of documents, such as newspapers, letters, invoices, etc.</li>
	<li style="">
		Cashless payment systems are not very efficient or customary. This again employs a lot of messengers, who have to collect often cash and sometimes cheques. This keeps a lot of motor bikes on the roads all day.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>',
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			'description' => 'Volker Kleinn is a management expert with a degree in business administration from a German university that he says is about equivalent to MBA. Volker talked with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently for a similar purpose.',
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	<img align="right" alt="S.P. Sharma, Godrej Security Solutions India" height="347" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/march2013_visitng_business_people_sp_sharma.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="280" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	S.P. Sarma is the Senior General Manager of the Global Operation for Godrej Security Solutions India. Graduated in Engineering and MBA, Sarma has been working with Godrej for the last 23 years. He served the company with different roles from service, sales and marketing and became the head of the global operation. In an interview with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently, Sarma explained the necessity of the security products in business organizations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>What is the purpose of your current trip to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	My trip is to meet the customers and our partners in Nepal. We organize such kinds of trips time to time because we value our customers very much. We feel that whatever success has been there, It is because we are able to meet the demand of customers. And the expectation of the customers can be fulfilled if we come and listen to them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Could you please tell us about Godrej Security Solutions?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Godrej Security Solutions is a 100 years old division of Godrej Company. Our company is providing security products to financial institutions, jewelry companies, private organizations and households. We started producing these products in 1992 and now we have developed many advanced products according to the demand of customer. We believe that the product is more important than profit. With Godrej security solutions customers can get peace of mind. The other benefit they get is trust. We have been able to live up because of the trust of our customers. Majority of Financial Institutions functioning today are offered our prompt and efficient services.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>What are your business strategies for your security products in the international market?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Our security products are of latest technologies. We are present in Europe, Africa, South East Asia and every year we have valuable partners. Security is running battle . It is essential to keep pace with the latest technology to meet growing needs. This is the reason why we have graduated from simple lever and tumbler locks several years ago to modern, intelligent technologies. We are also doing research and developing in new ways to update our products. So far, as I said, we have been able to win trust of the customers. Our business is also going good and we are planning to put up a new plant in Maharashtra, Mumbai.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We have moved from being simply a seller of security products to a company selling comprehensive security solution. We offer diverse security product solutions including technologically advanced sphere such as cameras with analytics, substance detectors (bomb, bullets, and narcotics), X-ray baggage scanners, biometrics and access control systems, burglary and fire resistant safes, road blockers and marine solutions. Our products are tested stringently at leading testing laboratories i.e. SP Test in Sweden, VDS Test in Germany and the underwriter’s laboratory in the United States. Our plant in Mumbai is rated as one of the finest and largest factories in India. Our passion to offer international quality product with prompt supply, delivery, installation and most importantly after-sales servicing have been commended by many reputed companies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	I think it is very good. We see Nepal being very vibrant and I personally see that Nepal is on the way to development. And I feel that the banks and financial institutes are going to be the lubricants which will further enhance the development. We may offer our service to these banks and financial institutes as our commitment is to win the trust of our customers. Our supply of Godrej products to Nepal Rastra Bank and Nepal Bank Ltd made in the 1960’s still stands strong to this day, same as our sincerity and services towards our customers. We can proudly state that we have been able to come up to our customers’ expectations.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How can Nepali customers get your service in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Our commitment to the services to our customers is delivered almost by our trusted partner; - Nepal Commercial Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. It provides Godrej security equipment, home and office furniture, storage equipment and locks along with numerous retail outlets to our customers in Nepal. They also retail home safes and locks at Bhat-Bhateni and other outlets, making security a convenient purchase around their vicinity. &nbsp;The corporate showroom at Pulchowk offers a wide range of products from locking systems, security solutions, and home and office furniture.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>',
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			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><span style="font-size:16px;">‘We help people make good change take root’</span></strong></p>
<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Bill Stockton" height="286" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bill_stockton_visiting_business_people(1).jpg" style="margin:5px 0 10px 10px;" width="250" /><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color:#f00;">Bill Stockton</span> is a Senior Advisor of the Verghis Group, a management consulting firm.<span style="text-align: justify;">He is known as the ‘center of gravity’ for knowledge sharing practice and consulting within the financial sector including investment and retail banking and insurance companies in the Verghis Group. Stockton graduated in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served Deutsche Bank for 18 years, mainly in the IT department. &nbsp;He was the director and global head of support and operations for over 20 products including foreign exchange, equities, programme trading, cash management and more. Most recently, he was tapped by Deutsche Bank to institute a global knowledge sharing programme that trained over 3200 IT staff and demonstrated productivity gains. In an interview with Nubiz recently when he was in Kathmandu, Stockton shared the importance and need of knowledge sharing and knowledge management in any organization.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>
	<strong><strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What are your recent engagements?</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	I left Deutsche Bank as a Director and as an IT Manager. I left because I think I can do much more, particularly in the area of knowledge sharing in finance companies. We have three small companies in the Verghis Group. We can resolve things primarily on knowledge sharing and knowledge management. Also, we do a quite a lot of work on measures, metrics and madness which is about stopping measuring activities and reassuring for outcome. We do also have a research wing which conducts very exciting research, mostly on behaviour psychology- the kind of research we primarily conduct.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What brings you to Nepal?</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	My ancestors had been coming to Nepal for a long time. We did not come here for business. We came here because we are interested in all the things we have heard about Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<But my partner, Christina, has come here several times a year for the past ten years. &nbsp;Her visits are mainly aimed at supporting organizations like Sano Paila in Birgunj and other women’s groups for social service. Professionally, she is a doctor in psychology and has done quite a lot of work in areas like peace negotiation and conflict management. She is also from the leadership training which is mostly about working with people who don’t usually talk together productively. So, I joined her on a number of those session conducted here.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	>There are some really exciting possibilities in my mind about knowledge sharing. Many people don’t know what knowledge sharing or knowledge management is. A number of companies need knowledge management. Research show whether it be Deutsche Bank, Mega Bank or Coca-Cola - around 60-90 percent problem is solved by somebody else in the organization. So, knowledge management is about the behaviour and practices required to make that knowledge available to anyone who needs it in the organization.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	What I see is, when you get a really good idea you don’t want anyone else to know that idea. You try it just by yourself. But in today’s new Internet age, if you put your ideas right there, other people can come and collaborate. The more I share what I know, the more valuable I become. People have trouble doing that and they have also trouble believing that.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>How does your strategy help other organizations?&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We teach companies how to capture the intellectual capital of the employees in all sorts of makeshift and inefficient repositories so that once a problem is solved, future occurrences of the same or similar problems will be prevented or resolved much faster.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal? &nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	These are universal problems faced by companies from Wall Street in New York to Kantipath in Kathmandu. We tailor our work to each customer not only to offer services at a good price but also to determine whether or not we think we can add value to our clients.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>&nbsp;What are your plans?&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We have several research projects underway. These projects are about ensuring better client satisfaction during a tech support or services support call. We are also putting together an online site to help make organizational change stick. Change is so difficult to anchor and become “sticky”. We help people make good change take root while helping organizations and businesses prioritize and differentiate between doing the right things and doing things right.</p>',
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<div class="Section1">
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A13"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "><img alt="visting business people" border="1" height="161" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visitng2012_january2012(1).jpg" vspace="10" width="338" /><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></strong></span></p>
</div>
<div class="Section1">
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		 </p>
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A3"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: ">‘Standard Chartered has completed a glorious journey of 25 years in Nepal’<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></strong></span></p>
	<p class="Pa1">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A9">Sunil Kausal was appointed the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited (SCBNL) in 2012. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></strong></span></p>
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: black;">He is also the Regional Chief Executive of the Standard Chartered Bank India and South Asia. He has held several senior positions with the bank across different markets including Global Head- SME Banking and New Ventures in Singapore. Kaushal, who has over 23 years of banking experience, has also worked for Bank of America and HDFC Bank. He was in Kathmandu on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting of SCBNL last month. In an Interview with New Business Age, Kausal he shared Standard Chartered Bank’s current position and future plans in Nepal. Excerpts:<br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">How does it feel to be honored with the title of Bank of the Year-2012 in Nepal? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">It’s a great honor to be recognized as the ‘Bank of the Year 2012’ in Nepal. The prestigious accolade we have got has further boosted our efforts to strive for the best. I believe all the credit goes to the management team working here in Nepal. They have managed capably, albeit, in a difficult situation. We are proud of the fact that we have managed the business very well. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
		<br />
		<img alt="visiting business people" border="1" height="310" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people.jpg" vspace="10" width="200" /><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">How satisfied are you with the performance of Standard Chartered Nepal in the last fiscal year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As I said , we are very glad with our performance, given the tough market situation. So our approach as a bank, not only in Nepal but also globally, is to focus on the basics of banking. The basic factors of good banking - good capital, good liquidity and tight risk management have delivered us a good set of results. Clearly, one would have wanted more growth, but the market conditions are such that you have to be conservative. To be precise, the economy is not growing rapidly and banks are reflection of the economy. Given the present circumstances, the bank has performed very well. <br />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The bank’s profit increased only marginally to Rs 11.7 million in fiscal year 2011/12 from Rs 11.2 million in the previous year. What do you think went wrong? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think anything went wrong. We have rather set and are following a very conservative business model. Clearly, the growth is not as I had expected. Along with growth comes the quality of earning which is extremely good. So, as I have already mentioned, our capital and liquidity ratio are very good. Similarly, if you look at the risk parameters, Non- Performing Assets (NPAs) and coverage ratio; they are extremely strong. We further believe that we’re very well positioned in this market. As the economy revives, we will do much better. <br />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">StanChart seems to have quite a big investible fund at hand as also indicated by its high Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) which is 14 per cent and low credit-deposit (CD) ratio which is 62 per cent as per the bank’s latest quarterly report. Still, the bank looks hesitant to invest. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<p class="Default">
		<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think it is hesitation. In fact, we see this as our strength. As you said, StanChart’s CRAR and CD ratios are strong even at a time when the economy is not doing that well. It means you have the ability to grow strongly when the economy bounces back. Our model is such and we’re comfortable with it. The model is about being conservative and having good quality of earning. In addition, we also help a number of Nepali institutions to do business overseas. So, we’re hopeful about a very strong growth in the future. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></p>
</div>
<p class="Default" style="text-indent:14.0pt;line-height:10.05pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="text-indent:14.0pt;line-height:10.05pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the plans for the current fiscal year and beyond? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we will continue to be in a pretty challenging environment in the current fiscal year as well. Given the current political and economic situations, we don’t see the possibility of any huge increase in our investment. The market situation is very likely to remain tough. But we’ve have a balanced business. We are doing well in consumer as well as wholesale banking. On the consumer side, there is a good momentum. On the wholesale side, there is a good pipeline. The corporate houses are slightly hesitant to invest. When there is more clarity, particularly on the political front, I think you will see corporate investments come through and banks like us benefit. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What about the plans to expand the bank’s coverage and launch new products? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we have a good coverage with our 90 branches, two extension centers and an ATM network. We’re also investing in our front line sales, bringing new products, getting into the SME segment, working with multilateral agencies in terms of supporting some of the project finance transactions. So, there is a lot happening and as a leading international bank and being the only genuine global bank operating in Nepal, we’re able to bring the best practices and latest products into this market. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Would you please say something about SME banking which is regarded as one of the strengths of StanChart? Are there any policy changes? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The SME business is in an early stage. But again, our experience in a different market helps us to get into that segment here. So, we started off building products and offering them for example, loan against property which we call LAP, installment loans, some trade working capital etc. So, we’re getting into it. The SME segment here will benefit from all the best practices and expertise we have. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the changed strategic trusts of the Standard Chartered Group in the world, particularly in this region, for the coming days in view of the changed global perspectives?&nbsp; </b><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think we’re looking at any dramatic changes in the strategy. Our strategy has been very consistent and has delivered very strong results. We had nine years of record growth and profits, even during the crisis period. We were probably the only bank which a record profit. It’s been a huge reinforcement of the strategy we’re following. We just announced our pre-closing training statement. Again we are looking at a very good growth both in terms of the overall income and in the operating profit. So, there is no change in strategy. I think we have to continue doing what we have done so far. We have to continue focusing on the basics of banking — capital, liquidity and risk management which is extremely important. We have the franchise, customers and a good network. I am quite hopeful of better growth in the US, China, India and European nations this year. It seems 2013 would be a much more better year than 2012. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You might have gone through the recent directive of NRB (Nepal Rastra Bank) about the base rate system for interest rates. What improvement would you like to suggest in the directive? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think the base rate is something followed in many markets including India. It’s is up to the banks to come up with their own calculation of base rate. What is required is the transparency of pricing. You have the base rate and margin; the customer knows what the margin is. The calculation of base rate is something that individual banks will have to submit to the central bank as a proof. There it is a process of discussion and understanding about why they are using certain parameters to arrive at their base rate. And, it also differs from bank to bank. It cannot be uniform for all banks. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You have been closely watching the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. So what do you foresee for the exchange rate between US dollar and Indian Rupee? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">A lot depends on the investors’ sentiments in India. If you look at India, it has a structural deficit on the current account. There is also trade deficit. The deficit has to be made up by either FII (Foreign Institutional Investment) flows or FDI flows. Interestingly, the FII flow was very strong in 2012. India received over USD 21 billion in FII in the first eleven and half months or so. But what is going to be most important is FDI coming through and that in turn will depend on the corporate sector’s sentiments to invest in the Indian market. There has been a fair bit of skepticism because of the slowdown in the reform process and delay in some policy level decisions and approvals. If the FII flows continues and FDI flows comes in then it could be a year where the Rupee could be quite stable. We should also watch out the oil import, a major factor in India. We have three big components of import — oil, gold and palm oil. These three goods have big brand values. Exports should also take a pace. We lagged behind in exports because the external markets in Europe and the US were not very strong.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Looking at the QN report for the current fiscal year, it is interesting to know that StanChart Nepal made exactly the same amount of profit as in the previous year while the capital base and reservation also increased. What are we to understand from this?</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;I think our capital base increased because of the previous year’s profit. The bonus issue has been there and obviously the strategic results are kept back. I will again come to the same point. There is not a great deal of corporate activities happening currently in Nepal and the wholesale business, too, is not growing rapidly. We’re seeing a good momentum and I think there is also base year effect as the last year’s first quarter saw a good double-digit growth. So this year the base of last year is quite high. We’re positive, going forward and we have to remember that our model is to be conservative. And we give good quality earning and sustainable returns to our shareholders. So that’s important as we don’t want a growth just for the sake of growth. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">SC was expected to be a big investor in Nepal, particularly for infrastructure projects. Your predecessors and you too had shown such a possibility in our previous talks. But that hasn’t happened so far. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As regards to investing in infrastructure, I think discussions are underway with various multi-lateral institutions and there are also other transactions in the pipeline. At the end of the day, we as a bank can only show the opportunities. The investment has to be made by the cooperate investors. We can’t force the investors. The good news is there is a pipeline for transactions. It is also a matter of time. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">Is there any possibility of StanChart Nepal acquiring another bank or accepting a merger proposal from yet another, given the merger spree in recent times? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;">Our growth is organic. So we focus more on the existing business in an organic way. If something interesting comes up, we will definitely look into it. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The world is still grappling with the aftermath of the global financial crisis. What are the changes you find in the regulatory landscape? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The regulatory landscape has changed quite romantically. We see that in higher capital, liquidity requirements. Clearly, the compliance standard has gone up and the cost of compliance, too, has gone up. I think the objective of making banking a safer business is commendable. We only hope that all regulators are consistent in their approach. Otherwise, for international banks like us, different regulators behave in different ways and it becomes fairly difficult. So we are all for stronger banking and banks. But at the same time, we hope that it is more consistent in terms of regulatory approach across the market. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">What changes you have made in SC’s business in your tenure of around one year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We have to remember that excellent franchise doing very well across the region with a very strong brand is very important. So there is nothing one has to change. But clearly the focus is on efficiency in terms of productivity, the best returns from capital investments, and strategically, how we grow also matters. There is no uniform answer across the market, as we have got a large market like India. For me, it is about focusing on the basics of banking. We’re not a bank trying to grow all of a sudden; it’s a glorious journey of more than 25 years in Nepal. of Nepali institutions to do business overseas. So, we’re hopeful about a very strong growth in the future. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Default">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the plans for the current fiscal year and beyond? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we will continue to be in a pretty challenging environment in the current fiscal year as well. Given the current political and economic situations, we don’t see the possibility of any huge increase in our investment. The market situation is very likely to remain tough. But we’ve have a balanced business. We are doing well in consumer as well as wholesale banking. On the consumer side, there is a good momentum. On the wholesale side, there is a good pipeline. The corporate houses are slightly hesitant to invest. When there is more clarity, particularly on the political front, I think you will see corporate investments come through and banks like us benefit. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What about the plans to expand the bank’s coverage and launch new products? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we have a good coverage with our 90 branches, two extension centers and an ATM network. We’re also investing in our front line sales, bringing new products, getting into the SME segment, working with multilateral agencies in terms of supporting some of the project finance transactions. So, there is a lot happening and as a leading international bank and being the only genuine global bank operating in Nepal, we’re able to bring the best practices and latest products into this market. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Would you please say something about SME banking which is regarded as one of the strengths of StanChart? Are there any policy changes? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The SME business is in an early stage. But again, our experience in a different market helps us to get into that segment here. So, we started off building products and offering them for example, loan against property which we call LAP, installment loans, some trade working capital etc. So, we’re getting into it. The SME segment here will benefit from all the best practices and expertise we have. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the changed strategic trusts of the Standard Chartered Group in the world, particularly in this region, for the coming days in view of the changed global perspectives? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	</b><br />
	I don’t think we’re looking at any dramatic changes in the strategy. Our strategy has been very consistent and has delivered very strong results. We had nine years of record growth and profits, even during the crisis period. We were probably the only bank which a record profit. It’s been a huge reinforcement of the strategy we’re following. We just announced our pre-closing training statement. Again we are looking at a very good growth both in terms of the overall income and in the operating profit. So, there is no change in strategy. I think we have to continue doing what we have done so far. We have to continue focusing on the basics of banking — capital, liquidity and risk management which is extremely important. We have the franchise, customers and a good network. I am quite hopeful of better growth in the US, China, India and European nations this year. It seems 2013 would be a much more better year than 2012. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You might have gone through the recent directive of NRB (Nepal Rastra Bank) about the base rate system for interest rates. What improvement would you like to suggest in the directive? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think the base rate is something followed in many markets including India. It’s is up to the banks to come up with their own calculation of base rate. What is required is the transparency of pricing. You have the base rate and margin; the customer knows what the margin is. The calculation of base rate is something that individual banks will have to submit to the central bank as a proof. There it is a process of discussion and understanding about why they are using certain parameters to arrive at their base rate. And, it also differs from bank to bank. It cannot be uniform for all banks. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You have been closely watching the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. So what do you foresee for the exchange rate between US dollar and Indian Rupee? </b><br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">A lot depends on the investors’ sentiments in India. If you look at India, it has a structural deficit on the current account. There is also trade deficit. The deficit has to be made up by either FII (Foreign Institutional Investment) flows or FDI flows. Interestingly, the FII flow was very strong in 2012. India received over USD 21 billion in FII in the first eleven and half months or so. But what is going to be most important is FDI coming through and that in turn will depend on the corporate sector’s sentiments to invest in the Indian market. There has been a fair bit of skepticism because of the slowdown in the reform process and delay in some policy level decisions and approvals. If the FII flows continues and FDI flows comes in then it could be a year where the Rupee could be quite stable. We should also watch out the oil import, a major factor in India. We have three big components of import — oil, gold and palm oil. These three goods have big brand values. Exports should also take a pace. We lagged behind in exports because the external markets in Europe and the US were not very strong. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Looking at the QN report for the current fiscal year, it is interesting to know that StanChart Nepal made exactly the same amount of profit as in the previous year while the capital base and reservation also increased. What are we to understand from this? </b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think our capital base increased because of the previous year’s profit. The bonus issue has been there and obviously the strategic results are kept back. I will again come to the same point. There is not a great deal of corporate activities happening currently in Nepal and the wholesale business, too, is not growing rapidly. We’re seeing a good momentum and I think there is also base year effect as the last year’s first quarter saw a good double-digit growth. So this year the base of last year is quite high. We’re positive, going forward and we have to remember that our model is to be conservative. And we give good quality <span style="color: black;">earning and sustainable returns to our shareholders. So that’s important as we don’t want a growth just for the sake of growth. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">SC was expected to be a big investor in Nepal, particularly for infrastructure projects. Your predecessors and you too had shown such a possibility in our previous talks. But that hasn’t happened so far. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	As regards to investing in infrastructure, I think discussions are underway with various multi-lateral institutions and there are also other transactions in the pipeline. At the end of the day, we as a bank can only show the opportunities. The investment has to be made by the cooperate investors. We can’t force the investors. The good news is there is a pipeline for transactions. It is also a matter of time. </span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">Is &nbsp;there any possibility of StanChart Nepal acquiring another bank or accepting a merger proposal from yet another, given the merger spree in recent times? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Our growth is organic. So we focus more on the existing business in an organic way. If something interesting comes up, we will definitely look into it. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The world is still grappling with the aftermath of the global financial crisis. What are the changes you find in the regulatory landscape?</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	<br />
	The regulatory landscape has changed quite romantically. We see that in higher capital, liquidity requirements. Clearly, the compliance standard has gone up and the cost of compliance, too, has gone up. I think the objective of making banking a safer business is commendable. We only hope that all regulators are consistent in their approach. Otherwise, for international banks like us, different regulators behave in different ways and it becomes fairly difficult. So we are all for stronger banking and banks. But at the same time, we hope that it is more consistent in terms of regulatory approach across the market.</span><br />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">&nbsp;</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">What changes you have made in SC’s business in your tenure of around one year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	We have to remember that excellent franchise doing very well across the region with a very strong brand is very important. So there is nothing one has to change. But clearly the focus is on efficiency in terms of productivity, the best returns from capital investments, and strategically, how we grow also matters. There is no uniform answer across the market, as we have got a large market like India. For me, it is about focusing on the basics of banking. We’re not a bank trying to grow all of a sudden; it’s a glorious journey of more than 25 years in Nepal.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span> </span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-02-07',
			'modified' => '2013-06-07',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Sunil Kausal was appointed the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited (SCBNL) in 2012. He is also the Regional Chief Executive of the Standard Chartered Bank India and South Asia. He has held several senior positions with the bank across different markets including Global Head- SME Banking and New Ventures in Singapore. Kaushal, who has over 23 years of banking experience, has also worked for Bank of America and HDFC Bank. He was in Kathmandu on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting of SCBNL last month. In an Interview with New Business Age, Kausal he shared Standard Chartered Bank’s current position and future plans in Nepal. Excerpts:',
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '744',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => 'Visiting Business People November 2012',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘We Expect Increased Per Capita Consumption of Plastics in South Asia’<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="Jim Becker" border="1" height="283" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/Jimbecker.jpg" vspace="10" width="189" /></span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Jim Becker <span style="color: rgb(34, 30, 31);">is the President and Managing Director of Chevron Phillips Chemicals Asia Pte Ltd and Chevron Phillips Singapore Chemicals Private Limited.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Chevron Phillips Chemical is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. The company with its joint venture partners, operates 42 manufacturing and research centres. Chevron Phillips is based in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston) and employs over 4,700 employees worldwide. The company, with its joint venture partners, currently has 39 production facilities located in the United States, Colombia, Singapore, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Belgium. Agriculture, automobiles, appliances, adhesives and sealants, electronics, medical, household goods, industrial, and textile are some of the areas that are served by the company among numerous others. Singapore is the regional headquarters for its operations in the Asia-Pacific region. Becker was recently in Kathmandu during a day-long seminar organised by the Nepal Plastic Association. In an interview with New Business Age, Becker shared his idea on the Nepali market for his company among various other issues. Excerpts:</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What brings you to Nepal this time? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We were invited for the Nepal Plastic Association event here. Nepal is an important market for the Chevron Philips Chemical. This is my first trip to Nepal and I was very pleased to come here and meet some of our customers and interact with the Nepal Plastic Association. <br />
	<br />
	</span><strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	You are one of the leading exporters of polymers to Nepal. What led you to achieve this position? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;">We started about 20 years ago with fairly low volume which at that time was around 300 tonnes. We worked hard and closely with an agent here in Nepal and now we sell almost 8,000 tonnes in this country. We see it growing further in the future. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the products that you are currently exporting to Nepal? <br />
	</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	We primarily sell high density polyethylene in Nepal. The Marlex Resin, which is the brand name of our product, is well known across Asia. It is the best quality resin in Asia and is used for many different applications. However, in Nepal, it is mainly used to produce pipe - primarily for water transport, and film for plastic shopping bags When it comes to use of plastic products, environmental issues come into consideration. As a producer of polymers, what is your take on it? <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I am not an expert on technology of sustainability but one of the biggest areas as far as I am concerned is energy consumption. That is one of the major benefits of using plastics. Without plastics, the world would be consuming much more energy because plastics, for example, are much lighter so they make automobiles lighter, packaging lighter, and also make bottles lighter among other things. So, consequently the energy it takes to transport all of these materials is reduced. If your car was heavier it would be much less efficient and would use more energy. The fact that you can make all these things lighter using plastics, is a big benefit. In addition to that, manufacturing polyethylene is more energy efficient in most cases compared with alternatives. If you reduce energy consumption, you reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve energy and reduce emissions of all sorts which are good for the environment. <br />
	<br />
	That, to me, is one of the major impacts that plastics have, on in a positive way, on the environment. Another very important benefit is in the food packaging area where you prevent spoilage of food which means more food for the consumer as well as for everyone else. As an industry, we need to work closely with people like those in Nepal Plastics Association to help educate people on the benefits of plastics. It is not something well understood by a lot of people. Therefore, we need to do a good job educating people to make sure they understand the benefits of plastics. </span></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	<br />
	How do you see the market in South Asia?</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	<br />
	The South Asian region has got a strong future that is why it is an important market to us. If you look at the emerging economies in South Asia, people from the lower income level are moving up to the middle income level. This means they are going to consume many more things including more plastics. When you combine that with strong population growth, we think the future of polyethylene and polypropylene looks pretty strong in South Asia. We expect the per capita consumption of plastics in South Asia to increase over the next decades. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Industrialisation is rather slow in Nepal. How do you see the future in this context and what are your expectations? </span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As I mentioned, we see Nepal as an area of growth for polyethylene. I don’t really know a lot about the specific policies that are being adopted in Nepal to help encourage growth. But we think that we will see the same kind of driving forces that will tend to increase consumption in Nepal similar to what we see in India, China and elsewhere in Asia. Nepal is an important market for us and we expect to be here for a long time. </span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? </span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The Marlex brand is very strong and we are very confident about our products and the brand itself. There is competition in Nepal of course but we will keep doing what we have been doing so far. Our basic business model is to establish close relationships with customers and work with them to develop this market. We have a very talented agent here in Nepal who helps us do this and so we plan to keep doing what we have been doing – working with the customers to help this market grow.</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Visiting Business People</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘We can Help Nepali Tea Earn Credibility in Europe’<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="" border="1" height="317" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/dheeraj.jpg" vspace="10" width="190" /><br />
	</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Dheeraj Rathi <span style="color: rgb(34, 30, 31);">is the Director of South Asia at BM TRADA RKCA Certification Pvt </span>Ltd.<span style="line-height: 115%;"> He has been working for the company since July 2011 and looks after the South Asia operation. BM TRADA is one of the leaders in certifications with a history of more than 75 years in the certification industry across the globe. It has expertise in construction, oil and gas, timber research, sustainable supply chains, food industry and systems design. The company has served about 15,000 organisations in more than 80 countries in systems certifications and management systems design. Rathi heads a team of 18 members and 45 associate auditors and channel partners to serve over a 1,000 clients. He was recently in Nepal to award Chilime Hydropower Company Limited with Quality Management System (QMS) and Environment Management System (EMS) awards. In an Interview with New Business Age, he shared his ideas on certification trends and plans of BM TRADA operations in Nepal. Excerpts:</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What brings you to Nepal this time? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We have certified Chilime Hydropower Company and I wanted personally to come and be a part of something which I feel is a good cause for the society. In the entire world, this is the first hydropower plant which BM TRADA has certified. Certification for hydropower is something which you can get if you are either in the US or in South Asia. That is something which is very unique. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Do you think the certification procedure can be customised to suit the local environment? Are there any such practices? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Customisation is not there because you are actually certifying against the given standards. There are certain standards which are called guidelines. You actually design the process, set a benchmark and tell companies whether they are moving towards that set benchmark. The guidelines report tells us where we are going right or wrong. It does not certify anything. There are certain standards such as Quality Management System, Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Management System and Food Safety Management System. There are certain clauses which are to be followed. We ensure that the application of those clauses is done in totality. We customise to the extent of understanding the local work culture, however, we don’t customise the standards which are internationally recognised. But at the same time, there are certain companies which are much larger and they should look at customising the quality standards for their needs and getting certified by the third party. We are not here just like any other organisations to sell standards; we want quality and recognition to improve at the international level. These customisations are only helpful for bigger companies and government organisations, for example, banks with 500 branches. Their need is not fulfilled by just one standard only. As an accreditation body, we can work with them to create their own standards, and recognise these on international standards. <br />
	<br />
	<strong><br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">In Nepal, ISO certifications are often mistaken to be certificates awarded for the product quality even though they have been awarded for the management and systems implemented. Is BM TRADA planning to carry out educational campaigns for raising awareness?<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I have been talking to local partners here on this matter. We need to carry out awareness campaigns not just about quality standards. There are fundamentally four different types of standards which we look at: process standard that certifies the process, product standard that certifies the product, people standard that certifies people and management standard that certifies overall management. Especially, ISO 9001:2008 has not been certifying a product but the system that is constantly there to give better&nbsp;quality products. When the system is good, the product quality will obviously be good. There are also certain product certifications that we do. We are planning to work on many training programmes which we will be very happy to share. There are broadly three areas in which we want to provide trainings. One is RMS implementation training on standards, second is RMS implementation training on business system and the third is awareness and skill improvement training on human skills. There are various ISO standards for every skill such as quality skills, marketing skills, personality skills, and communication skills etc which are very important for an organisation to have. We want to conduct trainings on these different areas and around international standards mostly working in tandem with various organisations. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">You mentioned about person certification. How are people certified? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">If there is a prospect of personal decision-making in the quality of product, how will you know if the person is competent enough to make that decision? Therefore, we make the basic element of the decision-making. BM TRADA is one of the largest personal certification bodies in the UK for timber quality grading. We design a scheme where a person is being taught how to grade a timber based on various specification of the wood by looking at the wood. When he gives the test result this person’s result is then compared to actual tests and if variation is found to be within amicable number, we issue certification. That certificate is considered in various organisations as certificate of quality. In health care, for example, geriatric nurses can work as qualified nurses anywhere in the world. Their earning can be increased significantly just by a small training. The government should also give some sort of recognition to them. On our part, we can design a scheme to certify these people so that they can get much better accessibility and opportunity. In personal certification, you have to identify that one skill which you want to certify and look at the competency that the person has and certify it. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">You said that BM TRADA is planning to be the largest certification body in Nepal. How do you plan to achieve it? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There are three things that we believe in. Firstly, our focus on integrated management system that is based on quality, healthcare, safety and environment. We have the largest scope, localised partner and the local face of BM TRADA here. Secondly, we will get into food industry such as hotels, restaurants, bakeries, food processing, tea and others. We can help Nepali tea to earn credibility in the European market. A certification logo speaks for itself. Thirdly, we want to focus on forestry supply chain because Nepal would again have a lot of products coming from the forests. There is a lot of scope for improvement in that part of supply chain. You have timber, plywood, paper, honey, perfume and much more. All these things can be certified to get recognition in the global market. We need to train more people in Nepal for this and create employment opportunities here in this country. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the prospects you see in other sectors like tourism and hydropower? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Tourism and power are two sectors we would like to work very closely with. Similarly, trading is another such area. We would like to support a lot of trading organisations who plan to grow big and help their distribution system to grow by certifying their distribution system. A consumer would know that the company with certification will be able to provide good quality products. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the challenges you face here while marketing your brand name as well as the quality certifications? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The biggest challenge for me is to make people aware that they should meet standards. Once there is awareness, the differentiation between a good and a bad company needs to be explored. Today, international standards are issued by 60 companies but one may want to know which countries these companies operate in and the different certificates they issue. It also matters if these companies have certified big names in the countries they have operated in. Ultimately, it is all about a brand name which people can trust. My challenges are firstly, to make people aware that they need standards and secondly, to differentiate between good and bad. I hope that like-minded people will come together and create an environment to do something substantial here. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the plans of BM TRADA for Nepal? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">We are actually thinking very seriously about online training so that we can reach remote places as well as train more people. We are planning to invest heavily in the entire South Asian market. We plan to invest on a portal and work on it so that we can increase the quality of manpower in the region.<br />
	<br />
	</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Visiting Business People</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘It’s High Time for Nepal to have More Investors’<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="fatma" border="1" height="286" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/fatma.jpg" vspace="10" width="274" /></span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Professor Dr Fatma Gunseli Malko is the Honorary Consul General of Nepal in Istanbul, Turkey. &nbsp;She hails from Istanbul, Turkey and has completed PhD in Adult Education from Institute of Social Sciences from Marmara University. She was recently in Nepal with a delegation of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) which is the first formal business delegation from Turkey to Nepal. The Turkish delegation came upon an invitation of Nepal Investment Board (NIB) and with special efforts of Professor Malkoç. Professor Malkoç has worked as a Full Professor in Department of Public Relations, Faculty of Communications in Marmara University, Istanbul. Her teaching faculty ranges from Adult Educations, Adult Psychology to Public Relations and Interpersonal/Institutional Communications among numerous others. In an Interview with New Business Age, Professor Malkoç talked about the potentials of trade and relationship between Turkey and Nepal. Excerpts:</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What brings you to Nepal this time? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">This time, we were in Nepal with the important delegation of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC). I personally believe it is high time to introduce the business community of Turkey to Nepal to bolster ties in trade and bilateral relations. Also, it’s high time for Nepal to have more investors to have rapid development. The construction and power sectors of Turkey are one of the greatest in the world and if Nepal can tap the opportunity, both the countries can have mutual benefit. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Would you share with us about your meetings? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">All of our meetings were fruitful mainly due to the organization and efforts of Radhesh Pant, the CEO of Nepal Investment Board (NIB). We met the Prime Minister and we felt honored with his warm welcome and response. The Prime Minister said that Nepal wants more foreign investment and assured that any type of business would be welcomed from Turkey and support would also be given to Turkish investors. His assurance made the visiting Turkish delegation very happy. We also had a chance to meet the Minister of Industry. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What are your areas of interest to invest in Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">In our talk with Pant, he stressed on sectors like hydropower, infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, mining and also IT in a priority list. These sectors also have good potentials in Turkey. And, in my view, power and infrastructure should be mainly prioritized to invest in Nepal. The frequent electricity cut-off is a nightmare for any of the above mentioned industries. It decreases the efficiency of the factories, and also degrades the quality of life of people. Without infrastructure, power cannot go further at the required pace and better economy leads to the betterment of every life. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What were the decisions made through these meetings? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We further consulted with C P Khetan, the Consular of Turkey in Nepal and Kishore Maharjan, the CEO of Civil Bank. We further learnt about the banking system in Nepal. Our delegation was also much impressed with the establishment of NIB. We have had the idea that the board will be very beneficial in coming days and it’s a revolutionary one. In the 1960s, Turkey also faced a weak economy and foreign investment led us to the road of prosperity and we hope the same thing will be applicable to Nepal. In our talks with FNCCI, they also prioritized areas of investment in power, tourism and infrastructure. With CNI, we had sector-wise discussion. During the CNI meet, we also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and we feel it was one of the concrete developments. We also decided that the Nepali delegation should visit Turkey in the near future, maybe in January 2013. It is also agreed that there should be an exhibition of Turkish products by ICOC in Kathmandu after six months along with a group of Turkish investors. We also met with the Nepal-Turkey Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NTCCI) which visits Turkey every year. This is a very good development which can lead the way for investors by getting to know the country better. An MOU was signed with NTCCI too. I see a bright future of Nepal if there is political stability and strong government. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What could be the area of interest for Turkey’s business community in Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We are thinking in the same direction as NIB. We know each other’s ideas and have mutual trust. From my side, I will try my best to get investment in infrastructure and construction. Whatever NIB’s CEO Pant suggested was very complementary to the potential of Turkey. We are ahead in infrastructure and construction. So, to make tunnels and roads, Turkey has very good investors. We have European quality in moderate Asian prices which will be beneficial for Nepal. Turkey has a lot of experience in hydropower as we have many rivers in Turkey. There are many projects running with latest technologies. If both the hydropower and infrastructure sectors are developed in Nepal, it will be beneficial for other top priority sectors as well. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>We have been enjoying duty free access to US and other few countries. What will be your role to facilitate similarly easier entry for Nepali carpets in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Even though Turkey is one of the best countries for producing quality handmade carpets, Nepali carpets have a big market in Turkey for their design and color. Though there is no economic agreement between Nepal and Turkey so far, I’m trying my best for this. </span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What else are the probable areas of cooperation between Turkey and Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Last year, our Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Nepal and they wanted to start Turkish Airlines service to Nepal via India. But, I think direct flights from Turkey to Nepal will be much more beneficial for both business relations and tourism. So, we have been discussing that there should be a direct flight from Istanbul to Kathmandu. When ICOC and I will be presenting our reports in Turkey, we will definitely highlight this point. Turkey is the gateway to Europe. Qatar Airways is having 4-5 flights a day so I think there is a big demand. It is nice to know that this news has already found space in Turkish newspaper that Nepali business community wants direct flight from Turkey to Nepal. Also, it would a good idea to open an embassy soon to jointly promote economic cooperation between the two countries. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Being in an influential position, how are you planning to publicize Nepal in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I first came to Nepal in 1995-96 as a visiting professor to Kathmandu University. I really love this country and have known Nepal for more than 15 years. We have organized two Nepal Weeks in Turkey and they were big events. All the dancers, musicians and even the royal astrologer Mangal Raj Joshi attended the event. Since I’m a professor, I like to give lectures and I have been giving lectures about Nepal at many places such as Universities, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs etc. Now the people in Turkey recognize Nepal when they think about me. I write articles about Nepal in some newspapers and magazines whenever possible. I am interviewed by media people many times. About a year ago, a TV program was made in my house saying “if you can’t go to Nepal we bring Nepal to your House!” since my house is decorated like a small Nepal. I’m proud of representing Nepal as I have created mini Nepal in my house. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What other things are happening and could be done to facilitate the tourism ties between the two countries? <br />
	<br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I have told Nepal Tourism Board many times that they should start investing in new markets. It is high time to search for new markets besides the regular ones like some European countries and the US. The efforts of the Ministry of Tourism alone are not enough to promote tourism. It is also the responsibility of the business community and travel agencies in Nepal. They should have good communication with the representatives of Nepal abroad and give necessary support to them. Honorary consulates are very important in this respect. By uniting our strengths, we can do much more to facilitate the tourism ties between Nepal and other countries. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Since we don’t have enough aircraft with the national carrier, what could be the best way to promote Nepal in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Turkish Airlines have a big fleet of aircraft. If Nepal needs more aircraft, there are airline companies in Turkey who can come and invest here. There can be joint ventures as well. We also have private companies with inexpensive airfares and strong market share. Flights from Turkey to Nepal are very expensive at the moment and cost about 800 Euros. This should be made much cheaper to attract more tourists to Nepal. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What is the focal point of connecting Nepal and Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Friendly Nepali people and their culture are similar to us. We have similar cultures and family ties are very close like in Nepal. We are also blessed with nature providing variety of outdoor activities just like they are in Nepal. Turkey also has a great and ancient civilization like Nepal. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What are the products that are imported in Nepal from Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">There is a government organization in Turkey and they are promoting trade with foreign countries. They have formed a representation in Nepal and they often visit Turkey. The organization mainly deals in suits, shoes, men’s wear, fertilizers, generators, machine-made carpets, electronic items and food items like noodles, biscuits, candies, oil etc with good quality. I recommend Nepal should buy olive oil and wine from Turkey.</span></span></div>',
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<p>
	Hideto Kawamura, Department Head, Overseas Sales Division of Yamaha Motor Pvt Ltd, India recently visited Nepal to officially launch Yamaha Ray, a new scooter from Yamaha. &nbsp;In his 10 years of career in Yamaha Motors, Kawamura has worked in various departments ranging from services to sales and marketing. He joined the company in 2002 as the In-charge of CKD export operation and marketing support for Indonesian Market products. He moved to India in 2012 and has been overseeing export from India. In an interview with New Business Age, Kawamura shared the expansion plan of his company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Would you please describe the Ray Scooter that you just launched?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	The Ray Scooter is specially made for women. The height of the seat is lower than the competitors. Overall, it is very comfortable for female riders. &nbsp;On the other hand, the mileage of the Ray is the best among the scooters segment available in Nepal. And, it has better pick up. The scooter is good enough to ride for two people and it goes smoothly while climbing the slopes.</p>
<p>
	<strong>&nbsp;How do you find the demand of your product in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We see a great market for scooters in Nepal. Though our product is new in Nepali market compared to other products, we are confident that our product will be popular among the riders. The scooter market in Nepal is basically owned by other models like Dio from Honda. But our product is competitive enough to take on them. Ray scooter would win customer’s trust in every aspect; style, pick up, mileage and overall. I believe we will own around 20 per cent market share in Nepal in 2013/2014. We will try our best to achieve that.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the other products that you are planning to launch in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We are considering launching variation models of Ray scooter in Nepal in near future. But I cannot say more about it right now.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How are you expanding your business internationally?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Today, Yamaha sells around 7 million units of two-wheelers a year all over the world including in Japan, USA and European countries. We are also expanding our business in developing countries like Nepal. &nbsp;Now, we have the largest market shares in South East Asia mainly in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. And we are expanding our business in African countries.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Until 2012 December, we sold around 12,000 motorcycles in Nepal. It will expand much more and our sales could see up to 40 per cent growth compared to previous year. We have a plan to launch another variation of scooter that will also contribute to the growth.&nbsp;</p>
<div>
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<p>
	Hiroaki Ashizawa, Director of Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd is also heading Living Environment Air condition division in India. Founded in 1921, Mitsubishi Electric is a leading company in manufacturing and sales of electrical and electronic products. Hiroaki has handled many international markets including USA, Europe and Asia Market and has 35 years of experience in HVAC. In an interview with New Business Age, Hiraoki shared about his business in Nepali market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you please highlight the reasons of your visit?</strong></p>
<p>
	I came here for a launching ceremony of our Air conditioner products in Kathmandu. Since I am supposed to assist and support the business in Nepal, I also wanted to visit Airtech, our business partner here in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products that you just launched?</strong></p>
<p>
	Recently, we launched two air conditioning series namely Mr. Slim Series and CITY MULTI VRF series in Nepali market. &nbsp;Mr. Slim is a series of room air conditioners for private houses and small offices while City Multi VRF Series is for commercial purpose suitable to corporate offices, banks, hospitals, hotels, shopping complexes, villas, apartments, etc. Both these series are widely accepted in global market. With these full ranges of world class products we ensure that Nepalese customers would get the best AC products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Can you tell us the major unique features of the Mitsubishi Electric brand?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus on Mitsubishi Electric Quality promising the best experience in our products, services, partnership and people. Apart from premium quality, energy efficiency, usage of environment friendly green refrigerant R-410A for our product range and our service quality are key features that ensure standards matching to the lifestyle with lesser environmental impact.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How are you expanding your products in the international market?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are one of the leading air conditioner companies in global market including South East Asia. We are now growing rapidly mainly in the countries like India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh. We are already market leaders in our inverter segment in USA, UK, Spain, etc. We also enjoy leadership status in many Asian countries including Thailand and Myanmar.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We launched our products in Nepal nearly a year back. With these best products, we are aiming to be the market leader by the year 2015. Seeing the price competition, I believe Nepal is one of the hardest markets in South Asia. It seems very tough but still we are ready to fight and grab the market. We are confident about the performance of our products and I am sure the valued customers in Nepal would pay some premium for our quality products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How can Nepal get benefit from these products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We sell DC inverter type Air Conditioners with after sales services in Nepali market. As DC inverter type Air Conditioner is energy saving product, it could be beneficial for reduction of energy consumption ensuring the lower operating cost.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is your further plan regarding your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are planning to launch the Hot Water Generating system- a highly efficient and eco friendly product especially suited for hotel business in Nepal. &nbsp;</p>',
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<p>
	Cyrus Khambata is the Chief Executive Officer at CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL). &nbsp;He joined Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) in 1999, the date of CDSL’s operation and currently offering his services as an Executive Vice President. CDSL is a leading securities depository in India. &nbsp;Previously, he served Bank of India as a Chief Manager for 20 years. Sushila Budhathoki of New Business Age talked with Khambata during his recent Nepal visit.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What brings you to Nepal this time?</strong></p>
<p>
	I am here for the inauguration of clearing and settlement system started by Central Depository &amp; Settlement Corporation (CDSC). I have been putting my effort to start the system for three years. I am here for technical assistance.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>So, you had a meeting with brokers also?</strong></p>
<p>
	Yes, they had certain questions like how DEMAT operates, how the risks can be minimised etc. And we had to explain them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Now the CDSC has come into full operation. How will it support the capital market of Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	In the physical settlement process, shares traded in the stock exchange have to be transferred manually. That takes a long time to change the ownership. With Dematerialisation (DEMAT), the shares get transferred to the respective stakeholders’ account immediately on the trading day so they can use it during emergency also. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We hope the market for our business grows fast in Nepal. We will target big companies and have started the DEMAT services offered to the shareholders. So, that it would grow rapidly. People who are trading shares will prefer DEMAT because it is less time consuming. But the people who are not trading will take time to familiarize with DEMAT.</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What are other infrastructures necessary for Nepali capital market?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	In the capital market, there are three large infrastructure providers. One is regulator who does a lot of monitoring, second is the exchange which offers trading facilities and the third one is depository which sets up the depository participants to cover the entire population. &nbsp;In India, there are 18, 000 depository centers covering 25,000 pin codes out of 27,000 pin codes in the country. State Bank of India provides DEMAT facilities from its 3000 branches among 10 -12 thousand branches.</p>
<p>
	So, like SBI, Bank of Kathmandu also can be the center for providing DEMAT facilities. It can offer this service from its 500 branches which will cover the entire country.</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What are your suggestions to CDSC for providing services other than normal settlements?</strong></p>
<p>
	It can provide numerous services if permitted. One is e-voting service. It would help the shareholders to participate in the operation of the company that they own. For example, they can even electronically vote for the AGM even if they are not physically present to attend the programme.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Similarly, they can provide KYC (Know Your Client) services. To open a DEMAT account, you have to comply to the KYC rules. It is required by banks, insurance companies and telecom operators to name a few. All the documents need not be collected from the client in each and every step every time he/she transacts somewhere. So, CDSC can become a bank for KYC document and the client can just file his details once and for all for any organisation.&nbsp;</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-06-08',
			'modified' => '2013-06-08',
			'keywords' => 'Business Visitors, Visiting Business People, Cyrus Khambata, Chief Executive Officer, CEO, CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL), New Business Age, June 2013',
			'description' => 'Cyrus Khambata is the Chief Executive Officer at CDSL Ventures Ltd (CVL).  He joined Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) in 1999, the date of CDSL’s operation and currently offering his services as an Executive Vice President.',
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1015',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Don’t Do Anything Non-profit’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong>Cliff Reeves, General Manager of Microsoft Corp. for Strategic &amp; Emerging Business Team, was in Nepal recently to visit the Microsoft Innovation Centre. He looks after the social side of the business and works with young students and business leaders from all over the world. In an interview with Modnath Dhakal,from New Business Age, Reeves shared his ideas and views on Microsoft products, software piracy and IT entrepreneurship.&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What is the purpose of your visit to Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	This is not a special visit, I have come to see Allen (Allen Bailochan Tuladhar) and Microsoft Innovation Centre (MIC) in Kathmandu. We have more than one hundred MICs around the world and the Kathmandu centre, headed by Allen, is one of the strongest. We have opened 19 MICs in India and I am talking to the people working there. We have just organized MIC summit in Bangalore. We are also planning for a new MIC in Nepal too.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How is Microsoft performing here, in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s doing very well. My focus is entirely on the start-ups, students and entrepreneurs. Therefore, I don’t know exactly about the sales and other areas. &nbsp;We are reaching a significant number of students and have collected significant number of facts in their employability. With programmes like Microsoft Student Partners, Microsoft Virtual Academy and the IT Academy, which actually helps with the certification of their qualifications, we are reaching to them. We are very pleased with the programme and its progress.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Many people in South Asia and developing countries use pirated Windows operating system or other software because of its cheap price. What is your take on this?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	Piracy is the practical issue. Pirated software is not worth paying for because it does not come with the extra support that we provide. On the other hand, the cost of software has gone down dramatically. We do want to deal with the piracy, it’s illegal. We do want to get revenue from our products. But we don’t think piracy is our primary problem. Ultimately, people will go for the quality software.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What strategies has Microsoft been putting in action to solve the piracy problem?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	That is not my area of focus. I focus on making sure that the people who need the software, get it. These are the people who are in school or in universities or who are looking for an assistance to set up their businesses. I make sure that they have access to it. We give our software to developers without any cost for three years. Many of the small companies fail. Therefore, we don’t want to be the reason behind their failure because of the high cost of the software. &nbsp;When they succeed, they pay a good premium to our software. It’s a good investment.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Has your business improved here after the development of Unicode Nepali software?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	I don’t know much about it, but Microsoft believes that language projects help to boost the sales of software. Inclusion is a good business.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Where is Microsoft in the competition of mobile OS among Android, Apple, Simbion and Blackberry?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are number two in India. But worldwide Android is the volume leader, Apple has the profitability and Microsoft had a late entrance to the market. But we have a long history of endurance, which is supported by the best technology in the world. There are very few companies in the world that have had more than one major product success. Microsoft had two or probably three successful products: Windows, Office and the game console X-box.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>You are running various non-profit activities in Nepal like distribution of software to students, language development etc., is it your CSR or business enhancement strategy?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s not non-profit. I don’t think we do anything non-profit. It should be for profit . Our relationship with the start-ups is based on both direct and indirect value to Microsoft. The indirect value to Microsoft is that, as economies grow, we grow. If you have a good boat and the water level is going up, you both are going up. So we are very interested in building good relationships with universities, which is where the talents come from. We want good talents. That engagement with the students and start-ups is vital for us. In this course we make sure that the students have access to our technology with very advantageous prices or for free. In the long run, they are going to be our customers. There is a balance of altruism and profit-motive. And I think that is the right thing for the business.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you track the young talents?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We often work with the universities. We run Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) programs in various universities. The students who are interested in technology can apply for MSP. We accept the eligible students and train them for free. They often end up being evangelists . They often teach their class and earn some respect from their fellow students. We hire some of them. We also take some help from these young energetic people to improve our technologies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Programs like IT Academy, Microsoft Virtual Academy, MIC etc., inspire students to develop something new. MVA provides the training materials online. We help young students to become entrepreneurs and IT professionals.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is your success-mantra to those young aspiring entrepreneurs who face &nbsp;constraints financing their business?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	I would say money is not the primary problem. It was so a decade ago but the situation has changed a lot. There are new elements that make a successful start-up. First, and the obvious, is the Internet. It reached to almost anybody with almost zero friction and zero cost. It means that market, technology and customers are accessible. Promotion is less expensive. Because of social networking, you will get the customers without employing the sales force. And then the technology itself has got incredibly powerful. Now, it takes lot less codes and fewer tools. The tools you need are freely available. It has helped to narrow down the gap between the idea and the successful market. &nbsp;To get a big business idea is hard but your ability as an entrepreneur to develop a program, to get your first consumer, to improve it, to refine it and to market it will not be spoiled by the cost. The cost is just plummeted. So my advice is not to focus on finances but to get the viable product in the hands of your customer. If you can do that, then you can go to the investor. Investors are always ready to finance &nbsp;good ideas and products.&nbsp;</p>
<div>
	 </div>',
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			'keywords' => 'Cliff Reeves, General Manager of Microsoft Corp. for Strategic & Emerging Business Team, was in Nepal recently to visit the Microsoft Innovation Centre.',
			'description' => 'Cliff Reeves, General Manager of Microsoft Corp. for Strategic & Emerging Business Team, was in Nepal recently to visit the Microsoft Innovation Centre.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1014',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Ensure The Optimum Operational Conditions Of Our Products’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><img alt="Seung Woo Lee, Visiting Business People" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_may2013_seung_woo(1).jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 0 0;" /><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Seung Woo Lee is the General Manager, Sales and Marketing of Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt Ltd, one of the fastest growing manufacturers of excavators in India and in the world. In the last year, Hyundai sold 2034 units of excavator and captured a market share of 14 per cent in the Indian excavator market and consolidated its position at number three. It is also eying Nepali market. Recently, Seung was in Nepal and Siromani Dhungana of New Business Age talked to him regarding business prospects of Hyundai in Nepal.&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What was the purpose of your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are here for launching our products, 22Ton class excavator series. We are launching two excavators, which are Robex220LC-7 and Robex220LC-9s, both manufactured in India. We take this occasion as a chance to interact with our local customers and to provide better service to them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products you are currently supplying to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are currently supplying 14-20ton crawling excavators. That is the category of machines, with its the operating weight.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	There is a big demand for our products in big projects, like hydropower and road constructions. Though such projects are very low in number in Nepal now, the number and speed of the projects will be higher &nbsp;after some time. &nbsp;May be it won’t take a long time to see the boom in the market.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should consumers choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus in better technology, services and operating costs. We have focused in these things both in our previous products and in the new ones. There are various sides and factors in which we have evolved and enhanced ourselves better. We also have improved &nbsp;in after sale services and spare parts. We ensure the optimum operation conditions throughout its lifetime, with higher liability and lesser fuel consumption.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Developing countries &nbsp;have always been a priority for our business, and South Asian countries have a lot of opportunity, being their markets vital for us. The economic effect of the problem in European countries, which started in 2008, had affected South Asian countries including India, which accounts for a big portion in construction market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? Are you satisfied with it?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s fierce. Every single machine should count on. In terms of overall market size, it has significantly decreased at this moment and I really cannot say the exact number. The positive side is that we are maintaining ourselves. The relationship with our customers, our support to them in after sale services and spare parts with our dealer CSPL here is good.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do your products help your customers to enhance their business and revenue?</strong></p>
<p>
	We focus on efficiency of our products. In the long run, the operating cost, the fuel efficiency and after sales services matter most to the customers. So we try to lower the maintenance cost by accommodating long life hydraulic and filters.&nbsp;</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-05-23',
			'modified' => '2013-05-23',
			'keywords' => 'We Ensure The Optimum Operational Conditions Of Our Products, Seung Woo Lee',
			'description' => 'Seung Woo Lee is the General Manager, Sales and Marketing of Hyundai Construction Equipment India Pvt Ltd, one of the fastest growing manufacturers of excavators in India and in the world.',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '1013',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘Android Smartphones Democratise The Market’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<span style="font-size: 12px;"><img alt="De Finbarr Moynihan, Visiting business people" height="283" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_may2013_finbarr(1).jpg" style="float:left;margin:0 10px 0 0;" width="250" /><strong>Dr Finbarr Moynihan is General Manager, Corporate Business Development for MediaTek. In this role, he manages MediaTek’s global customer, partner and operator relationships. Prior to this, he was Director of Product Marketing for MediaTek’s Smartphone Business Unit – based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. &nbsp;During his recent visit to Nepal, Bijaya Giri of New Business Age talked to him regarding market prospects of MediaTek in Nepal.</strong></span></p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What is the purpose of your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Our partner here, Teletalk, is announcing a range of products. We are here for the launching tablets and phablet devices based on our chipsets. Like other markets, we highly value Nepali market and local brands.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Can you briefly tell us about your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We mainly focus on big digital consumer markets – feature phones, smart phones, tablets, DTV, DVD, Set-top boxes and digital home platforms. We also centre our attention on things like WiFi routers and access points. &nbsp;We ship roughly 500-550 million chipset of mobile every year. We are in the mobile market since 2004, however we are still relatively new in the smart phone market – we started shipping 3G smart phone chipsets during the second half of 2011. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the products you are currently supplying in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	We mostly supply for our local partners here, like Teletalk. Colors mobile, as a local brand, uses our chipset. We mainly supply chipsets and solutions for feature phones - 2G Bar phones, low-cost android phones to higher-performance 4-5 inch phablet phones, which uses quad-core chipsets for higher performances. We also supply chipsets for 3G Data Cards.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Like other markets, we have highly valued the Nepali market and local brands. We don’t make phones, but try to enable our customers and local brand partners, like Colors Mobile, to do so as easily as possible. &nbsp;The adoption of smart phones by the Nepali market is increasing and that is important for us. The emergence of Android smart phones democratise the market, which is heavily occupied by major technological giants. We believe that the consumer adoption of these smart phones, with access to data services, social networks and other varied applications, will continue to have beneficial effects for the societies that adopt them.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should consumers choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	Because of the way we approach the market and we plan. We supply the chip but what we deliver to the customer is much more than that. We don’t make the final products but we deliver complete software solutions along with the chipsets. The products our partner delivers, at cost effective prices, are not lower in comparison with high end devices. For good user experience, the power consumption, battery life and multimedia experience fulfil the consumers’ expectations.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s been very important for us. For many years it’s been our major market for the 2G feature phone. The market effect we saw last year in China is now happening in the South Asian market. This means more tablets and more convergence from 2G to 3G. This trend is not going to stop and that’s why we are excited and focused on that. &nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	The competition in mobile space is always tough. Different brands, different chipset suppliers and so many other factors drive the market. This year, the &nbsp;sales volume of smart phones, as we expected, has been increasing so far in Nepal. The global competition in the smartphone segment is huge and tough for each major or minor player. You have to deliver better, faster and more affordable products to the consumer in order to be able to sustain yourself in the market. That’s part of life in this business.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are your future strategies?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are focusing on 3G and 4G high performing technologies, including smart phones and devices for emerging markets like Nepal. &nbsp;We are also centred on more affordable Data Cards.&nbsp;</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-05-23',
			'modified' => '2013-05-23',
			'keywords' => '‘Android Smartphones Democratise The Market’, Dr Finbarr Moynihan',
			'description' => 'Dr Finbarr Moynihan is General Manager, Corporate Business Development for MediaTek. In this role, he manages MediaTek’s global customer, partner and operator relationships.',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '991',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => 'Developing Countries Offer  A Great Deal Of Opportunity For Our Business',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong><span style="font-size: 12px;">Pradeep Kumar acquired his Bachelor in Technology from GB Pant University, Pantnagar. He also earned a Master in Business Administration from Bhartya Vidya Bhawan. He has 30 years of extensive experience in the field of Farm Machinery, Material Handling and Construction Equipment. He has worked with Eicher Tractors Ltd. India from 1978 until 1984, being in charge of sales and service operations. Subsequently, he has worked with Escorts Construction Equipment Ltd. from 1984 until 2001 and Escorts Ltd. from 2001 until 2005 as a General Manager for both companies. During this period, he has been responsible for various functions including business development, sales and marketing of material handling, construction equipment (like mobile cranes, loaders, vibratory road rollers etc.) and exports of tractors. He joined Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. in August 2005.</span></strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	Pradeep Kumar, Vice President of Mahindra and Mahindra for international operations of Auto &amp; Farm sectors in Asia and Australia, was recently in Nepal when he talked to Sujan Dhungana of New Business Age about his company’s business in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong style="font-size: 12px;">What brings you to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	I have visited Nepal several times in the past because it is a strategic market for Mahindra. We are market leaders in the utility vehicle segment and tractors, with two brands, Mahindra and Swaraj. Both brands, together, account for more than 38 percent of market share in the tractor business. We are here to launch our product, the Mahindra XUV 500, a world class SUV which is now blazing a trail across India, Australia, South Africa and Italy . This is one of the most successful vehicles we have launched in India and its demand is increasing.</p>
<p>
	Moreover, this year, I am proud to announce that we have completed 22 years of successful association with our Nepal distributor, Agni, and we would like to use this occasion – the launch of our new 3S facility – as a chance to interact with our local customers and to provide them with the best service possible.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What makes Mahindra stand out in the market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Our products have been developed as per market demand. &nbsp;We have always kept the customer in focus while designing our products, which are reliable. Moreover, the fact that we have won various quality related awards is a testimony of our attention focused on this area.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>When did your company start exporting?</strong></p>
<p>
	We have been exporting our vehicles since the 1960’s but the real growth in export volumes has been experienced within the last ten years.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How is the performence of the products you are currently supplying in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	In Nepal, we supply Mahindra vehicles with annual sales crossing 2000 numbers. We also sell tractors with both the Mahindra and Swaraj badge, with annual sales of about 2000 numbers. We are currently focusing on expanding our product range in all the segments we are present in.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	There is a big demand of our products and our sales are also rising here. &nbsp;The Nepal market is a vital one for us.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should a consumer choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	Aside from the fact that the Mahindra brand is associated with trust, durability and reliability, we have always prided ourselves on high service levels. We keep the customer and his or her needs in mind when designing our products and we focus on getting better technology, services and operating costs.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you see the South Asian market? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	The competition is very fierce in this market. South Asian and other developing countries offer a great deal of opportunity for our business. We have been present in this region for a while now and have grown and evolved along with the rapidly changing market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? Are you satisfied with it?</strong></p>
<p>
	It’s a very competitive market. The size of the market has decreased but we are confident about the prospects for growth. Mahindra is focusing on customer centricity and ensuring a robust after sales network along with our dealer, Agni.</p>',
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			'keywords' => 'Developing countries offer a great deal of opportunity for our business, Visiting Business People, Pradeep Kumar',
			'description' => 'Pradeep Kumar, Vice President of Mahindra and Mahindra for international operations of Auto & Farm sectors in Asia and Australia, was recently in Nepal when he talked to Sujan Dhungana of New Business Age about his company’s business in Nepal.',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '975',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘Orient Has A Very Big Potential In Nepal’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Ghurmeet Singh, vice president ,Orient Fans, New Business Age" height="275" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Ghurmeet_Singh_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />Ghurmeet Singh, vice president of Orient Fans was in Nepal to launch Orient Fans series recently. Premier Overseas (P) Ltd is the authorized distributor of Orient Fans in Nepal. Orient Fans is a division, under CK Birla group, and currently it exports its products over 30 countries. Fans, small home appliances and lighting are some of the areas that are served by the division. In an interview with New Business Age, Singh shared his idea on the Nepali market for his products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Nepal is a big market because like India, Nepal is also largely populated with the people who are not so rich. And therefore there is big prospect and market for fans, which is going to remain for long time. And we find that because of the electricity cost as well as the relevancy, fans will be the primary cooling devices for many people for long time. Secondly, brands from India have very good scope here because India and Nepal have worked hand in hand for a long time. And Orient as number two brand in India for many years now has a very big potential here. We were selling here some fans also in the past. Last year we joined hands with Premier Overseas, a part of Sharda Group, so that we can distribute our products more widely. And we are very sure that, with their vast experiences and networks, we get very good stage from here and we will serve the people of Nepal.</p>
<p>
	<strong>It is said that Nepali people love Indian brands. What has been your perception?</strong></p>
<p>
	Yes, that is why I said that Nepal and India have joined hands for a long time. Nepali and Indian people are more or less similar, buying habits are also similar and more importantly they are interested in Indian brands. And we will like to serve Nepali people as well.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are you plans for the Nepali market?</strong></p>
<p>
	It feels good to introducing our products in Nepali market. Initially we are launching fans and small home appliances and later we also plan for our lighting series and try to be number one in the respective market segments.</p>
<p>
	<strong>So what is your market position in India?</strong></p>
<p>
	In India, we are in number one for manufacturing and two for sales. And for exports, we are the undisputed leader with over 55 percent of shares. And we are already exporting to 30 countries and in US. &nbsp;Having our own manufacturing base, we are conscious about the parties and quality of our products.</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you compare the trend of using your products in Nepal with other South Asian countries?</strong></p>
<p>
	In most of the South Asian countries, people largely use portable fans. And in India and Nepal people mostly use ceiling fans. In India, 75 percent sales are in ceiling and 25 percent portable fans and it is almost same here in Nepal. &nbsp;And most of the South Asian countries use fans as primary cooling devices.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Why should the people choose your products?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are highly quality conscious manufacturers. Our products are energy efficient and continuously receiving exports excellence award and we are rated as ‘Star Performer’ by the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India. We pioneered the most famous patented revolutionary concept PSPO in 90’s. We have capacity of nearly 10 million fans per year and in terms of quality we have accomplished various standards and tests. And we have fulfilled each and every requirement in all different countries (where our fans are exported) and we are the only Indian brand to export to US.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are your plans for beating the competition and about the future strategies?</strong></p>
<p>
	We are very lucky that there are very few top brands available here and the competition is very less. And we are very confident that if we are able to appeal the market with good products, good prices and good energy saving products then the competition is not there and then we don’t need much time to become number one. And the second part is if everybody around you is your better competitor then you have to produce better product to sustain yourself and it is all good for the consumer.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
			'modified' => '2013-06-03',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Ghurmeet Singh, vice president of Orient Fans was in Nepal to launch Orient Fans series recently. Premier Overseas (P) Ltd is the authorized distributor of Orient Fans in Nepal. Orient Fans is a division, under CK Birla group, and currently it exports its products over 30 countries.',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '974',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘The Customers Are Required To Get The Full Value For Their Money’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Koji Tanaka, vice president. Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India, New Business Age" height="302" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Koji_Tanaka_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />Koji Tanaka is the vice president of Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India. With over 26 years of experience with Honda Motor Company Ltd, he has been involved with various innovative endeavors of Honda. Recently, Syakar Trading Company, the authorized distributor of Honda Power Product launched the new EP 1000 and EG 1000 series of generators in Nepal and Tanaka was in Kathmandu in this connection. These new generators are small, portable and lighter compared to the previous generators. With the 4 Stroke technology, these models have some unique features like lesser fuel consumption (0.54ltr./ hr), more handling capacity (Rat. 750 VA), environmental friendly and available with decompression mechanism. Tanaka explained more in an interview with New Business Age.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What do you find interesting about your visit to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p>
	Its been about three years that I have been living in Delhi. This is the first time that I got an opportunity to visit Nepal. Nepal is well known in Japan. There are many Japanese tourists who come here and many Japanese are also living here. Our purpose of visit is to study the potentiality of the Nepali market for Honda products. As on date, we are exposing two new products – Honda EG 10000 model and Honda EP 1000 model generator. We would also like to study the Nepali market for various Honda products and find areas to expand with 50 % partnership with Syakar group.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the brand value of Honda products in the Nepali market?</strong></p>
<p>
	Honda Company is well reputed throughout the world for its quality products. Without Syakar Trading, it would be difficult to provide quality sales and service. It is not possible to expand in the market without their support. New customers can be treated with better goods and Syakar can provide the premium service towards customers in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How will the newly introduced Honda Spiel Power products affect the Nepali market? &nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	We are happy to find out that dealers from all over the country came to see the two new products. Comparatively, they are more fuel efficient. They consume upto 50% less fuel than the other former products. We are confident that we can expand the business of our products.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What level of competition do you feel is present with regard to the products from Honda?</strong></p>
<p>
	Honda has been selling motorcycles in Nepal for a long time. The major competition is from Bajaj. With regard to power products, Honda is still leading the market very much with help from Syakar Group. In Honda Philosophy, we do not compare ourselves with the competitors but instead compare us with ourselves. The customers are required to get the full value for their money. Honda owns 40% share of Nepali power products market. There are 69 dealers (branches and showrooms) of Honda products throughout Nepal. Honda products are so efficient that they are suitable for even above the altitude of 4000 meters from the sea level.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What are the future plans of Honda Company?</strong></p>
<p>
	We listen to customer’s voice. Upon receiving special requests, our R&amp;D (Research and Development) department develops these products. We come up with newer products. When we see the potentiality of a product in the market, we further investigate into it with help from the people at R&amp;D. After that, we check if there is a similar demand for such products in other regions as well. Only then, the new products will be developed.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Are you launching any product targeting the agriculture sector?</strong></p>
<p>
	In 2010, we launched a more affordable 5 Hz power tiller in the market. But, currently it is not available in Nepal. With the decreasing number of farm workers, more tillers can be bought in order to do a more efficient agriculture. The process of mechanized agriculture is expanding. Many agricultural tools are also introduced through Honda’s factories in China. With the increasing demand from the consumers, lawn mowers, brush cutters, carriers etc can be introduced in Nepal. Honda’s motto is “Helping people get things done”. We do not limit ourselves to supplying generators only. When there is enough demand in the market, R&amp;D can make new concept products.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
			'modified' => '2013-06-03',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Koji Tanaka is the vice president of Honda Spiel Power Product Ltd India. With over 26 years of experience with Honda Motor Company Ltd, he has been involved with various innovative endeavors of Honda.',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '973',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘We Do Not Want To Become Just A Marketing Company’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="">
	<img align="right" alt="Denis Borisovsky, CEO of PFSOFT, New Business Age" height="302" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people_Denis_Borisovsky_april2013.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="250" />PFSOFT is one of the renowned trading security vendors worldwide. Its corporate client base exceeds thousands of companies located around the globe. The company, established in 2003 with its headquarters at Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine, has its offices in major cities in the world. “The company has a diverse range of clients which includes different sized brokers, top-tier banks and also their white labels partners, who are involved in electronic trading of various asset-classes,” informs Denis Borisovsky, CEO of PFSOFT. In an interview with New Business Age during his recent visit to Nepal, Borisovsky talked about the company’s product Protrader 2 and market prospects of his company in Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>Excerpts:</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong>What is Protrader 2 and what are the scopes?</strong></p>
<p>
	Protrader 2 is our platform for trading forex, stocks, futures and other sectors. It is developed for technological brokers and for exchangers in the long run. We started the company about ten years ago and the product Protrader 2 is the result of these ten years. Under this brand, we cover technology products for multiple sectors then go to stock market. We cover trading activities from exchange to traders, money managers, hedge funds, brokers or participants in one technology. Our products are quite unique and there is uniqueness of technology as well. We are not brokers though. We stay independent from brokerage and provide technology to different brokers. We have so many trading technology companies to help the brokers. We import technologies from different countries and bring them to different markets.</p>
<p>
	<strong>You’ve had a diverse career, how did you get into financial trading technologies?</strong></p>
<p>
	I worked 20 years as a programmer. I entered many fields including voice recognition. I also served in various technological firms. And that was difficult. I wanted to do something different, more difficult and challenging. So, I decided to make charts by myself and I found some clients for it. Then I started trading technology for brokerage.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	Our company is not that big in terms of people, but in terms of symmetry and our experience, it is quite big. The number of people working in our Ukraine office is around 50-52 and it’s a very good team. We are also focusing our business in emerging economies like China and India. I have just come from India where we have opened up our office. In China, we have been deploying five people for local support. In Europe, we have an office in Ukraine. We already have an office in US. We are also eying Nepal as the political and investment environment are improving.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What makes your company successful?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	First of all, it is focused. It’s very important to focus in something and make it best from any point. &nbsp;Our focus is technology for trading. We have only one thought and that is how to make trading technology more advanced. You need to have focus and extension, but careful extension. And you should keep a very good level of integrity between the company and the clients. Integrity is a key factor in every company. After this, you should be very high target to go.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How do you pursue the use of trading technology in emerging countries?</strong></p>
<p>
	We come with technology. We don’t want to become a marketing company, that’s why we are looking to the very good partners who have same vision and same expectations in terms of time. Time expectations is very important. If someone is interested in one year, it is one story and if he is looking for ten years, it is another story. My company sees five to ten year forward. So, it is very important for us to find such partners, who have same philosophies and who uses technologies and wants to expand them.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>What types of trading applications are being demanded and successful these days?</strong></p>
<p>
	There are lots of technologies right now. But, the main problem is that sometime these do not work in particular circumstances and market. And sometimes it is not useful to the market. So, it is very important to understand local market. &nbsp;It is the task of local partner which maintains adjustment to it. The local partner has to listen to the people, think about not only about making something but in terms of technology which could work in your market. We make customization, which is very important is putting many markets within one platform. And we have to make such things, which is already in demand.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you recall some the challenges you faced during automating stock exchanges and commodity exchanges?</strong></p>
<p>
	Every country is very different. In terms of brokers, more or less everybody has common techniques and it is quite similar. But, in terms of challenges it is totally different. The challenges in US are very different and more developed. And it is also challenging because lots of local participants are there. By the way, Nepal is more advanced. Nepal has seen changes in stock market for more than 20 years while it’s been five years for Ukraine. I mean the number of all types of market participants and functionalists is much lower.</p>
<p>
	<strong>What is the difference between brokerage automation and exchange automation?</strong></p>
<p>
	Exchange automation is of course a very complex process. We should work on different levels. It needs one to three years to implement and to make it work too. Brokerage automation process takes many years and is difficult as well. We need cooperation mostly from technology and some management level of companies.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	<strong>How can you prove Protrader is better for the success of traders?</strong></p>
<p>
	We always cooperate with traders. We think the most important clients for us are the traders. We get their feedback. And we want them to be involved more. Usually we communicate with brokers and they provide us feedback from traders. If we get lots of feedback, we could pick up fast. Protrader is one of the most functionally useful software.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Could you please tell us about PFSoft’s future roadmap?</strong></p>
<p>
	We have a plan to promote ourselves. Because in 10 years we mostly worked with brokers, which was much time itself. We believe now technology is one of the best necessities. We will extend our promotion to we will customize the platform. Social trading concerns are new market plans.</p>
<p>
	<strong>Based on your vast experience of establishing ecosystem of trading business in developed and developing countries, what do you think about how countries like Nepal can benefit from trading business?</strong></p>
<p>
	“PFSoft and Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal Ltd have mutually agreed to develop a full-fledged commodity exchange system for Nepal. PFSoft is ready to customize the Information Technology required for Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal and it is great opportunity for us to have a partnership with Derivative and Commodity Exchange Nepal Ltd. We are making evolution of scalable trading solution of local products produced in Nepal, and we want to integrate that trading to global market.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The trading is important in developing countries. Right now for trading to sustain, the political and economic system favor for that. But at the same time, financial system too should help the country’s economic growth.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-04-26',
			'modified' => '2013-06-03',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'PFSOFT is one of the renowned trading security vendors worldwide. Its corporate client base exceeds thousands of companies located around the globe. The company, established in 2003 with its headquarters at Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine, has its offices in major cities in the world.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '942',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '‘I Have Identified Planning As A Major Weakness In Most Companies’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="">
	Volker Kleinn is a management expert with a degree in business administration from a German university that he says is about equivalent to MBA. He has held senior managerial positions in American multinationals such as Digital Equipment Corporation (known as DEC which was acquired by Compaq which in turn merged with HP in 2002), Apollo Computer (a leading manufacturer of network workstations until acquired by HP in 1989 and gradually closed down over the next eight years) and Autodesk (Still a major multinational software manufacturer) in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Retired from an active career more than a decade ago, Volker, nevertheless, finds time to help companies in the developing world to improve their management. He has been visiting Nepal regularly since the early 2000s through the Senior Expert Corp (SCE) programme of the Swisscontact and has helped more than a dozen Nepali companies from different sectors. Volker talked with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently for a similar purpose.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p style="">
	<strong>You have been helping private firms, particularly in the developing world, with management issues. How and when did you start this?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	After I retired, I decided to work on a voluntary basis with entrepreneurs and enterprises in the developing countries. This way I wanted to give something back to society. My idea was to contribute to reduce the migration pressure by helping companies in the developing countries to maintain or create employment. So, I registered with the Senior Expert Corps of Swisscontact and through them I came to Nepal.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Could you share with us the common problems faced by companies in the developing world?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	In the industrialized countries with predominantly market economies, business management talent has been developed over a long time and therefore there is an established talent pool for management. In the developing countries (especially in Eastern Europe), market economies did not exist for a long time and therefore there still is not a big enough talent pool for management. Any management role requires creativity, initiative and drive. A manager needs to accept responsibility, accountability and I am glad to note, that there are more and more people here in Nepal who are willing to step up to this requirement.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>Which Nepali companies have you already helped to improve their management?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Let me not mention names, but I have been working in several industries, such as IT, Communication, Trading, Media, etc. and I also have been giving management training courses at different organizations.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What problems do you find in the Nepali companies which you have already worked with?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	For me management is a continuous cycle of Planning, Organizing, Monitoring and Controlling. I have identified Planning as a major weakness in most companies. Operational plans and budgets often do not exist. Since I am convinced that you can only mange what you measure, it is very difficult to evaluate the success of any business if there is no goal or plan to compare performance to. As a consequence, management is in most cases is re-active rather than pro-active, which means that managers are not rally managing but rather getting managed by their environment and circumstances.</p>
<p style="">
	The second area that needs a lot of improvement in most of the companies I have worked with is Management Information. I think it is common knowledge that you do accounting not only for shareholder or tax purposes, but also for management purposes. I have experienced, that most companies give priority to tax requirements. Also, a lot of record keeping is still done manually. These facts make it often very difficult to use financial information for management purposes.</p>
<p style="">
	In addition, I am very concerned about the sustainability of my efforts to help. I have often observed what I call ‘the rubber band syndrome’. This means changes are initiated while I am here, i.e. when the rubber band is under tension, but as soon as I leave, i.e. the rubber band is released, things flip back to the old position. One has to keep in mind that the human brain is change-resistant. That means it requires a constant flow of energy to make changes sustainable.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	It’s apparently been nearly a decade since you started advising Nepali private sector companies on management issues. What do you think of Nepal’s private sector?</p>
<p style="">
	The private sector has made the economy function under what are not very favourite conditions. Everywhere in the world, you can see that the biggest roadblocks for development are corruption and unreliable legal system. Both factors have an impact on the business opportunities that the private sector can pursue.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Nepali private sector?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	The private sector is divided into two major categories. On the one hand, there are family-owned businesses, which are mostly hierarchically (or paternalistically) organized. These companies tend to maintain limited transparency. On the other, there are newly founded companies which are trying to be more open, but sometimes lack the courage for the degree of openness as Western companies normally practice. This means that I consider the lack of delegation of authority, i.e. empowerment of senior managers as a weakness of the private sector.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What are the areas that the Nepali companies need to work on to improve their overall management?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	I have experienced a big gap between shareholders (owners) who are often also the most senior managers and the managers who are not owners. This is often because of the lack of confidence and trust. It would be helpful if professional managers were trusted more to contribute in terms of planning and execution. Empowerment of people is important throughout the organization, but it is more important with regard to the top professional managers. I believe that the time is over where information was considered as power. I am convinced that information creates responsibility and therefor owners should be encouraged to be more transparent vis-a-vis their managers with regard to information about strategy and performance.</p>
<p style="">
	In almost all companies I have worked in, I was told that it is difficult to find competent mangers. I know that there are a lot of Nepalis working as expatriates abroad and gaining international management experience. It would be helpful in my opinion if a campaign is started to offer senior positions for expats who want to come home. News- and job-portals could create a special section to attract experienced people to return. On the other hand, it is alarming that most of the college graduates aspire to leave the country. This represents a skill drain which will have a long-term negative impact on businesses here in the country.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What is your impression of the spirit of entrepreneurship in Nepal and the Nepali entrepreneurs?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Based on my observation, the environment in Nepal is not very conducive to entrepreneurial behaviour. Starting a business here is still burdened with bureaucratic requirements. I believe that this is one of the major reasons why well-educated and talented people are leaving the country.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>How do you rate the work culture in the organizations you have worked in? What improvements have you usually suggested?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Empowerment of employees is not very common. The organizations are mostly very hierarchically organized and people rather ask their superiors for taking a decision than deciding for themselves. This is very often a sign of insecurity and lack of self-confidence, but it could also be caused by the unwillingness to accept responsibility.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>How can private sector companies incentivize the performance of their marketing folks in Nepali context?</strong></p>
<p style="">
	When you say marketing folks I assume that you mean sales people. Sales people around the world are normally incentivized by an incentive compensation plan that rewards good performance. Good performance means meeting or exceeding your target. In the organizations that I was responsible for during my professional career, I had always implemented a plan that rewarded over goal performance proportionally. I was always proud when the best sales people earned more than I did.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What sort of good HR practices need to be evolved in the Nepali private sector? Do these practices differ from sector to sector?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="">
	There are certain basic HR practices that should be common in every company. These practices relate to work ethics, loyalty to your employer, confidentiality and attendance discipline. There are other areas where practices would differ, especially in sectors with shift work or other special requirements like workplace security. Attendance discipline is obviously difficult to implement with the frequent bandhs where a few people hold a whole country hostage. This has an enormous negative impact on the productivity and therefore the competitiveness of the private sector.</p>
<p style="">
	<strong>What sort of socio-political environment you find in Nepal in the context of the growth of enterprises? What are the impediments and how to ameliorate the situation ahead?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="">
	Let me just mention two points that come to mind immediately.</p>
<ul>
	<li style="">
		The lack of a functioning mail system requires hand delivery by messengers of a lot of documents, such as newspapers, letters, invoices, etc.</li>
	<li style="">
		Cashless payment systems are not very efficient or customary. This again employs a lot of messengers, who have to collect often cash and sometimes cheques. This keeps a lot of motor bikes on the roads all day.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>',
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			'description' => 'Volker Kleinn is a management expert with a degree in business administration from a German university that he says is about equivalent to MBA. Volker talked with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently for a similar purpose.',
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			'id' => '890',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => 'Product Is More Important Than Profit',
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			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<img align="right" alt="S.P. Sharma, Godrej Security Solutions India" height="347" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/march2013_visitng_business_people_sp_sharma.jpg" style="margin:0 0 0 10px;" width="280" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	S.P. Sarma is the Senior General Manager of the Global Operation for Godrej Security Solutions India. Graduated in Engineering and MBA, Sarma has been working with Godrej for the last 23 years. He served the company with different roles from service, sales and marketing and became the head of the global operation. In an interview with New Business Age when he was in Kathmandu recently, Sarma explained the necessity of the security products in business organizations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>What is the purpose of your current trip to Nepal?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	My trip is to meet the customers and our partners in Nepal. We organize such kinds of trips time to time because we value our customers very much. We feel that whatever success has been there, It is because we are able to meet the demand of customers. And the expectation of the customers can be fulfilled if we come and listen to them.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Could you please tell us about Godrej Security Solutions?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Godrej Security Solutions is a 100 years old division of Godrej Company. Our company is providing security products to financial institutions, jewelry companies, private organizations and households. We started producing these products in 1992 and now we have developed many advanced products according to the demand of customer. We believe that the product is more important than profit. With Godrej security solutions customers can get peace of mind. The other benefit they get is trust. We have been able to live up because of the trust of our customers. Majority of Financial Institutions functioning today are offered our prompt and efficient services.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>What are your business strategies for your security products in the international market?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Our security products are of latest technologies. We are present in Europe, Africa, South East Asia and every year we have valuable partners. Security is running battle . It is essential to keep pace with the latest technology to meet growing needs. This is the reason why we have graduated from simple lever and tumbler locks several years ago to modern, intelligent technologies. We are also doing research and developing in new ways to update our products. So far, as I said, we have been able to win trust of the customers. Our business is also going good and we are planning to put up a new plant in Maharashtra, Mumbai.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We have moved from being simply a seller of security products to a company selling comprehensive security solution. We offer diverse security product solutions including technologically advanced sphere such as cameras with analytics, substance detectors (bomb, bullets, and narcotics), X-ray baggage scanners, biometrics and access control systems, burglary and fire resistant safes, road blockers and marine solutions. Our products are tested stringently at leading testing laboratories i.e. SP Test in Sweden, VDS Test in Germany and the underwriter’s laboratory in the United States. Our plant in Mumbai is rated as one of the finest and largest factories in India. Our passion to offer international quality product with prompt supply, delivery, installation and most importantly after-sales servicing have been commended by many reputed companies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How do you see the prospects of your business in Nepal?&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	I think it is very good. We see Nepal being very vibrant and I personally see that Nepal is on the way to development. And I feel that the banks and financial institutes are going to be the lubricants which will further enhance the development. We may offer our service to these banks and financial institutes as our commitment is to win the trust of our customers. Our supply of Godrej products to Nepal Rastra Bank and Nepal Bank Ltd made in the 1960’s still stands strong to this day, same as our sincerity and services towards our customers. We can proudly state that we have been able to come up to our customers’ expectations.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How can Nepali customers get your service in Nepal?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Our commitment to the services to our customers is delivered almost by our trusted partner; - Nepal Commercial Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. It provides Godrej security equipment, home and office furniture, storage equipment and locks along with numerous retail outlets to our customers in Nepal. They also retail home safes and locks at Bhat-Bhateni and other outlets, making security a convenient purchase around their vicinity. &nbsp;The corporate showroom at Pulchowk offers a wide range of products from locking systems, security solutions, and home and office furniture.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-03-24',
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			'description' => 'S.P. Sarma is the Senior General Manager of the Global Operation for Godrej Security Solutions India. Graduated in Engineering and MBA, Sarma has been working with Godrej for the last 23 years.',
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	<strong><span style="font-size:16px;">‘We help people make good change take root’</span></strong></p>
<p>
	<img align="right" alt="Bill Stockton" height="286" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bill_stockton_visiting_business_people(1).jpg" style="margin:5px 0 10px 10px;" width="250" /><strong> </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color:#f00;">Bill Stockton</span> is a Senior Advisor of the Verghis Group, a management consulting firm.<span style="text-align: justify;">He is known as the ‘center of gravity’ for knowledge sharing practice and consulting within the financial sector including investment and retail banking and insurance companies in the Verghis Group. Stockton graduated in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He served Deutsche Bank for 18 years, mainly in the IT department. &nbsp;He was the director and global head of support and operations for over 20 products including foreign exchange, equities, programme trading, cash management and more. Most recently, he was tapped by Deutsche Bank to institute a global knowledge sharing programme that trained over 3200 IT staff and demonstrated productivity gains. In an interview with Nubiz recently when he was in Kathmandu, Stockton shared the importance and need of knowledge sharing and knowledge management in any organization.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>
	<strong><strong>Excerpts:&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What are your recent engagements?</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	I left Deutsche Bank as a Director and as an IT Manager. I left because I think I can do much more, particularly in the area of knowledge sharing in finance companies. We have three small companies in the Verghis Group. We can resolve things primarily on knowledge sharing and knowledge management. Also, we do a quite a lot of work on measures, metrics and madness which is about stopping measuring activities and reassuring for outcome. We do also have a research wing which conducts very exciting research, mostly on behaviour psychology- the kind of research we primarily conduct.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What brings you to Nepal?</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	My ancestors had been coming to Nepal for a long time. We did not come here for business. We came here because we are interested in all the things we have heard about Nepal.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<But my partner, Christina, has come here several times a year for the past ten years. &nbsp;Her visits are mainly aimed at supporting organizations like Sano Paila in Birgunj and other women’s groups for social service. Professionally, she is a doctor in psychology and has done quite a lot of work in areas like peace negotiation and conflict management. She is also from the leadership training which is mostly about working with people who don’t usually talk together productively. So, I joined her on a number of those session conducted here.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	>There are some really exciting possibilities in my mind about knowledge sharing. Many people don’t know what knowledge sharing or knowledge management is. A number of companies need knowledge management. Research show whether it be Deutsche Bank, Mega Bank or Coca-Cola - around 60-90 percent problem is solved by somebody else in the organization. So, knowledge management is about the behaviour and practices required to make that knowledge available to anyone who needs it in the organization.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	What I see is, when you get a really good idea you don’t want anyone else to know that idea. You try it just by yourself. But in today’s new Internet age, if you put your ideas right there, other people can come and collaborate. The more I share what I know, the more valuable I become. People have trouble doing that and they have also trouble believing that.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>How does your strategy help other organizations?&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We teach companies how to capture the intellectual capital of the employees in all sorts of makeshift and inefficient repositories so that once a problem is solved, future occurrences of the same or similar problems will be prevented or resolved much faster.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>What prospects do you see for your business in Nepal? &nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	These are universal problems faced by companies from Wall Street in New York to Kantipath in Kathmandu. We tailor our work to each customer not only to offer services at a good price but also to determine whether or not we think we can add value to our clients.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong><strong>&nbsp;What are your plans?&nbsp;</strong></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	We have several research projects underway. These projects are about ensuring better client satisfaction during a tech support or services support call. We are also putting together an online site to help make organizational change stick. Change is so difficult to anchor and become “sticky”. We help people make good change take root while helping organizations and businesses prioritize and differentiate between doing the right things and doing things right.</p>',
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<div class="Section1">
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A13"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "><img alt="visting business people" border="1" height="161" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visitng2012_january2012(1).jpg" vspace="10" width="338" /><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></strong></span></p>
</div>
<div class="Section1">
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		 </p>
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A3"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: ">‘Standard Chartered has completed a glorious journey of 25 years in Nepal’<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></strong></span></p>
	<p class="Pa1">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><span class="A9">Sunil Kausal was appointed the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited (SCBNL) in 2012. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></strong></span></p>
	<p class="MsoNormal">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%; color: black;">He is also the Regional Chief Executive of the Standard Chartered Bank India and South Asia. He has held several senior positions with the bank across different markets including Global Head- SME Banking and New Ventures in Singapore. Kaushal, who has over 23 years of banking experience, has also worked for Bank of America and HDFC Bank. He was in Kathmandu on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting of SCBNL last month. In an Interview with New Business Age, Kausal he shared Standard Chartered Bank’s current position and future plans in Nepal. Excerpts:<br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">How does it feel to be honored with the title of Bank of the Year-2012 in Nepal? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">It’s a great honor to be recognized as the ‘Bank of the Year 2012’ in Nepal. The prestigious accolade we have got has further boosted our efforts to strive for the best. I believe all the credit goes to the management team working here in Nepal. They have managed capably, albeit, in a difficult situation. We are proud of the fact that we have managed the business very well. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
		<br />
		<img alt="visiting business people" border="1" height="310" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/visiting_business_people.jpg" vspace="10" width="200" /><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">How satisfied are you with the performance of Standard Chartered Nepal in the last fiscal year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As I said , we are very glad with our performance, given the tough market situation. So our approach as a bank, not only in Nepal but also globally, is to focus on the basics of banking. The basic factors of good banking - good capital, good liquidity and tight risk management have delivered us a good set of results. Clearly, one would have wanted more growth, but the market conditions are such that you have to be conservative. To be precise, the economy is not growing rapidly and banks are reflection of the economy. Given the present circumstances, the bank has performed very well. <br />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The bank’s profit increased only marginally to Rs 11.7 million in fiscal year 2011/12 from Rs 11.2 million in the previous year. What do you think went wrong? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think anything went wrong. We have rather set and are following a very conservative business model. Clearly, the growth is not as I had expected. Along with growth comes the quality of earning which is extremely good. So, as I have already mentioned, our capital and liquidity ratio are very good. Similarly, if you look at the risk parameters, Non- Performing Assets (NPAs) and coverage ratio; they are extremely strong. We further believe that we’re very well positioned in this market. As the economy revives, we will do much better. <br />
	</span>
	<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></span></p>
	<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
		<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">StanChart seems to have quite a big investible fund at hand as also indicated by its high Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) which is 14 per cent and low credit-deposit (CD) ratio which is 62 per cent as per the bank’s latest quarterly report. Still, the bank looks hesitant to invest. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></b></span></p>
	<p class="Default">
		<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think it is hesitation. In fact, we see this as our strength. As you said, StanChart’s CRAR and CD ratios are strong even at a time when the economy is not doing that well. It means you have the ability to grow strongly when the economy bounces back. Our model is such and we’re comfortable with it. The model is about being conservative and having good quality of earning. In addition, we also help a number of Nepali institutions to do business overseas. So, we’re hopeful about a very strong growth in the future. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
		</span></p>
</div>
<p class="Default" style="text-indent:14.0pt;line-height:10.05pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Default" style="text-indent:14.0pt;line-height:10.05pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;">&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the plans for the current fiscal year and beyond? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we will continue to be in a pretty challenging environment in the current fiscal year as well. Given the current political and economic situations, we don’t see the possibility of any huge increase in our investment. The market situation is very likely to remain tough. But we’ve have a balanced business. We are doing well in consumer as well as wholesale banking. On the consumer side, there is a good momentum. On the wholesale side, there is a good pipeline. The corporate houses are slightly hesitant to invest. When there is more clarity, particularly on the political front, I think you will see corporate investments come through and banks like us benefit. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What about the plans to expand the bank’s coverage and launch new products? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we have a good coverage with our 90 branches, two extension centers and an ATM network. We’re also investing in our front line sales, bringing new products, getting into the SME segment, working with multilateral agencies in terms of supporting some of the project finance transactions. So, there is a lot happening and as a leading international bank and being the only genuine global bank operating in Nepal, we’re able to bring the best practices and latest products into this market. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Would you please say something about SME banking which is regarded as one of the strengths of StanChart? Are there any policy changes? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The SME business is in an early stage. But again, our experience in a different market helps us to get into that segment here. So, we started off building products and offering them for example, loan against property which we call LAP, installment loans, some trade working capital etc. So, we’re getting into it. The SME segment here will benefit from all the best practices and expertise we have. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the changed strategic trusts of the Standard Chartered Group in the world, particularly in this region, for the coming days in view of the changed global perspectives?&nbsp; </b><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I don’t think we’re looking at any dramatic changes in the strategy. Our strategy has been very consistent and has delivered very strong results. We had nine years of record growth and profits, even during the crisis period. We were probably the only bank which a record profit. It’s been a huge reinforcement of the strategy we’re following. We just announced our pre-closing training statement. Again we are looking at a very good growth both in terms of the overall income and in the operating profit. So, there is no change in strategy. I think we have to continue doing what we have done so far. We have to continue focusing on the basics of banking — capital, liquidity and risk management which is extremely important. We have the franchise, customers and a good network. I am quite hopeful of better growth in the US, China, India and European nations this year. It seems 2013 would be a much more better year than 2012. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You might have gone through the recent directive of NRB (Nepal Rastra Bank) about the base rate system for interest rates. What improvement would you like to suggest in the directive? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think the base rate is something followed in many markets including India. It’s is up to the banks to come up with their own calculation of base rate. What is required is the transparency of pricing. You have the base rate and margin; the customer knows what the margin is. The calculation of base rate is something that individual banks will have to submit to the central bank as a proof. There it is a process of discussion and understanding about why they are using certain parameters to arrive at their base rate. And, it also differs from bank to bank. It cannot be uniform for all banks. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You have been closely watching the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. So what do you foresee for the exchange rate between US dollar and Indian Rupee? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">A lot depends on the investors’ sentiments in India. If you look at India, it has a structural deficit on the current account. There is also trade deficit. The deficit has to be made up by either FII (Foreign Institutional Investment) flows or FDI flows. Interestingly, the FII flow was very strong in 2012. India received over USD 21 billion in FII in the first eleven and half months or so. But what is going to be most important is FDI coming through and that in turn will depend on the corporate sector’s sentiments to invest in the Indian market. There has been a fair bit of skepticism because of the slowdown in the reform process and delay in some policy level decisions and approvals. If the FII flows continues and FDI flows comes in then it could be a year where the Rupee could be quite stable. We should also watch out the oil import, a major factor in India. We have three big components of import — oil, gold and palm oil. These three goods have big brand values. Exports should also take a pace. We lagged behind in exports because the external markets in Europe and the US were not very strong.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Looking at the QN report for the current fiscal year, it is interesting to know that StanChart Nepal made exactly the same amount of profit as in the previous year while the capital base and reservation also increased. What are we to understand from this?</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;I think our capital base increased because of the previous year’s profit. The bonus issue has been there and obviously the strategic results are kept back. I will again come to the same point. There is not a great deal of corporate activities happening currently in Nepal and the wholesale business, too, is not growing rapidly. We’re seeing a good momentum and I think there is also base year effect as the last year’s first quarter saw a good double-digit growth. So this year the base of last year is quite high. We’re positive, going forward and we have to remember that our model is to be conservative. And we give good quality earning and sustainable returns to our shareholders. So that’s important as we don’t want a growth just for the sake of growth. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">SC was expected to be a big investor in Nepal, particularly for infrastructure projects. Your predecessors and you too had shown such a possibility in our previous talks. But that hasn’t happened so far. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As regards to investing in infrastructure, I think discussions are underway with various multi-lateral institutions and there are also other transactions in the pipeline. At the end of the day, we as a bank can only show the opportunities. The investment has to be made by the cooperate investors. We can’t force the investors. The good news is there is a pipeline for transactions. It is also a matter of time. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">Is there any possibility of StanChart Nepal acquiring another bank or accepting a merger proposal from yet another, given the merger spree in recent times? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;">Our growth is organic. So we focus more on the existing business in an organic way. If something interesting comes up, we will definitely look into it. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The world is still grappling with the aftermath of the global financial crisis. What are the changes you find in the regulatory landscape? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The regulatory landscape has changed quite romantically. We see that in higher capital, liquidity requirements. Clearly, the compliance standard has gone up and the cost of compliance, too, has gone up. I think the objective of making banking a safer business is commendable. We only hope that all regulators are consistent in their approach. Otherwise, for international banks like us, different regulators behave in different ways and it becomes fairly difficult. So we are all for stronger banking and banks. But at the same time, we hope that it is more consistent in terms of regulatory approach across the market. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">What changes you have made in SC’s business in your tenure of around one year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We have to remember that excellent franchise doing very well across the region with a very strong brand is very important. So there is nothing one has to change. But clearly the focus is on efficiency in terms of productivity, the best returns from capital investments, and strategically, how we grow also matters. There is no uniform answer across the market, as we have got a large market like India. For me, it is about focusing on the basics of banking. We’re not a bank trying to grow all of a sudden; it’s a glorious journey of more than 25 years in Nepal. of Nepali institutions to do business overseas. So, we’re hopeful about a very strong growth in the future. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Default">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the plans for the current fiscal year and beyond? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we will continue to be in a pretty challenging environment in the current fiscal year as well. Given the current political and economic situations, we don’t see the possibility of any huge increase in our investment. The market situation is very likely to remain tough. But we’ve have a balanced business. We are doing well in consumer as well as wholesale banking. On the consumer side, there is a good momentum. On the wholesale side, there is a good pipeline. The corporate houses are slightly hesitant to invest. When there is more clarity, particularly on the political front, I think you will see corporate investments come through and banks like us benefit. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What about the plans to expand the bank’s coverage and launch new products? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think we have a good coverage with our 90 branches, two extension centers and an ATM network. We’re also investing in our front line sales, bringing new products, getting into the SME segment, working with multilateral agencies in terms of supporting some of the project finance transactions. So, there is a lot happening and as a leading international bank and being the only genuine global bank operating in Nepal, we’re able to bring the best practices and latest products into this market. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Would you please say something about SME banking which is regarded as one of the strengths of StanChart? Are there any policy changes? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The SME business is in an early stage. But again, our experience in a different market helps us to get into that segment here. So, we started off building products and offering them for example, loan against property which we call LAP, installment loans, some trade working capital etc. So, we’re getting into it. The SME segment here will benefit from all the best practices and expertise we have. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">What are the changed strategic trusts of the Standard Chartered Group in the world, particularly in this region, for the coming days in view of the changed global perspectives? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	</b><br />
	I don’t think we’re looking at any dramatic changes in the strategy. Our strategy has been very consistent and has delivered very strong results. We had nine years of record growth and profits, even during the crisis period. We were probably the only bank which a record profit. It’s been a huge reinforcement of the strategy we’re following. We just announced our pre-closing training statement. Again we are looking at a very good growth both in terms of the overall income and in the operating profit. So, there is no change in strategy. I think we have to continue doing what we have done so far. We have to continue focusing on the basics of banking — capital, liquidity and risk management which is extremely important. We have the franchise, customers and a good network. I am quite hopeful of better growth in the US, China, India and European nations this year. It seems 2013 would be a much more better year than 2012. <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10" style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You might have gone through the recent directive of NRB (Nepal Rastra Bank) about the base rate system for interest rates. What improvement would you like to suggest in the directive? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think the base rate is something followed in many markets including India. It’s is up to the banks to come up with their own calculation of base rate. What is required is the transparency of pricing. You have the base rate and margin; the customer knows what the margin is. The calculation of base rate is something that individual banks will have to submit to the central bank as a proof. There it is a process of discussion and understanding about why they are using certain parameters to arrive at their base rate. And, it also differs from bank to bank. It cannot be uniform for all banks. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">You have been closely watching the fluctuations in the foreign exchange market. So what do you foresee for the exchange rate between US dollar and Indian Rupee? </b><br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">A lot depends on the investors’ sentiments in India. If you look at India, it has a structural deficit on the current account. There is also trade deficit. The deficit has to be made up by either FII (Foreign Institutional Investment) flows or FDI flows. Interestingly, the FII flow was very strong in 2012. India received over USD 21 billion in FII in the first eleven and half months or so. But what is going to be most important is FDI coming through and that in turn will depend on the corporate sector’s sentiments to invest in the Indian market. There has been a fair bit of skepticism because of the slowdown in the reform process and delay in some policy level decisions and approvals. If the FII flows continues and FDI flows comes in then it could be a year where the Rupee could be quite stable. We should also watch out the oil import, a major factor in India. We have three big components of import — oil, gold and palm oil. These three goods have big brand values. Exports should also take a pace. We lagged behind in exports because the external markets in Europe and the US were not very strong. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Looking at the QN report for the current fiscal year, it is interesting to know that StanChart Nepal made exactly the same amount of profit as in the previous year while the capital base and reservation also increased. What are we to understand from this? </b></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I think our capital base increased because of the previous year’s profit. The bonus issue has been there and obviously the strategic results are kept back. I will again come to the same point. There is not a great deal of corporate activities happening currently in Nepal and the wholesale business, too, is not growing rapidly. We’re seeing a good momentum and I think there is also base year effect as the last year’s first quarter saw a good double-digit growth. So this year the base of last year is quite high. We’re positive, going forward and we have to remember that our model is to be conservative. And we give good quality <span style="color: black;">earning and sustainable returns to our shareholders. So that’s important as we don’t want a growth just for the sake of growth. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">SC was expected to be a big investor in Nepal, particularly for infrastructure projects. Your predecessors and you too had shown such a possibility in our previous talks. But that hasn’t happened so far. Why? <br style="mso-special-character:
line-break" />
	</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	As regards to investing in infrastructure, I think discussions are underway with various multi-lateral institutions and there are also other transactions in the pipeline. At the end of the day, we as a bank can only show the opportunities. The investment has to be made by the cooperate investors. We can’t force the investors. The good news is there is a pipeline for transactions. It is also a matter of time. </span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">Is &nbsp;there any possibility of StanChart Nepal acquiring another bank or accepting a merger proposal from yet another, given the merger spree in recent times? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Our growth is organic. So we focus more on the existing business in an organic way. If something interesting comes up, we will definitely look into it. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="color: black;"><br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	<br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></span></p>
<p class="Pa10">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">The world is still grappling with the aftermath of the global financial crisis. What are the changes you find in the regulatory landscape?</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	<br />
	The regulatory landscape has changed quite romantically. We see that in higher capital, liquidity requirements. Clearly, the compliance standard has gone up and the cost of compliance, too, has gone up. I think the objective of making banking a safer business is commendable. We only hope that all regulators are consistent in their approach. Otherwise, for international banks like us, different regulators behave in different ways and it becomes fairly difficult. So we are all for stronger banking and banks. But at the same time, we hope that it is more consistent in terms of regulatory approach across the market.</span><br />
	</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">&nbsp;</b></span></p>
<p class="Pa23" style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="color: black;">What changes you have made in SC’s business in your tenure of around one year? <br style="mso-special-character:line-break" />
	</span></b><span style="color: black;"><br />
	We have to remember that excellent franchise doing very well across the region with a very strong brand is very important. So there is nothing one has to change. But clearly the focus is on efficiency in terms of productivity, the best returns from capital investments, and strategically, how we grow also matters. There is no uniform answer across the market, as we have got a large market like India. For me, it is about focusing on the basics of banking. We’re not a bank trying to grow all of a sudden; it’s a glorious journey of more than 25 years in Nepal.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span> </span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2013-02-07',
			'modified' => '2013-06-07',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Sunil Kausal was appointed the Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Limited (SCBNL) in 2012. He is also the Regional Chief Executive of the Standard Chartered Bank India and South Asia. He has held several senior positions with the bank across different markets including Global Head- SME Banking and New Ventures in Singapore. Kaushal, who has over 23 years of banking experience, has also worked for Bank of America and HDFC Bank. He was in Kathmandu on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting of SCBNL last month. In an Interview with New Business Age, Kausal he shared Standard Chartered Bank’s current position and future plans in Nepal. Excerpts:',
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '744',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => 'Visiting Business People November 2012',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘We Expect Increased Per Capita Consumption of Plastics in South Asia’<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="Jim Becker" border="1" height="283" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/Jimbecker.jpg" vspace="10" width="189" /></span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Jim Becker <span style="color: rgb(34, 30, 31);">is the President and Managing Director of Chevron Phillips Chemicals Asia Pte Ltd and Chevron Phillips Singapore Chemicals Private Limited.</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Chevron Phillips Chemical is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics. The company with its joint venture partners, operates 42 manufacturing and research centres. Chevron Phillips is based in The Woodlands, Texas (north of Houston) and employs over 4,700 employees worldwide. The company, with its joint venture partners, currently has 39 production facilities located in the United States, Colombia, Singapore, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Belgium. Agriculture, automobiles, appliances, adhesives and sealants, electronics, medical, household goods, industrial, and textile are some of the areas that are served by the company among numerous others. Singapore is the regional headquarters for its operations in the Asia-Pacific region. Becker was recently in Kathmandu during a day-long seminar organised by the Nepal Plastic Association. In an interview with New Business Age, Becker shared his idea on the Nepali market for his company among various other issues. Excerpts:</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What brings you to Nepal this time? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We were invited for the Nepal Plastic Association event here. Nepal is an important market for the Chevron Philips Chemical. This is my first trip to Nepal and I was very pleased to come here and meet some of our customers and interact with the Nepal Plastic Association. <br />
	<br />
	</span><strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	You are one of the leading exporters of polymers to Nepal. What led you to achieve this position? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;">We started about 20 years ago with fairly low volume which at that time was around 300 tonnes. We worked hard and closely with an agent here in Nepal and now we sell almost 8,000 tonnes in this country. We see it growing further in the future. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the products that you are currently exporting to Nepal? <br />
	</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	We primarily sell high density polyethylene in Nepal. The Marlex Resin, which is the brand name of our product, is well known across Asia. It is the best quality resin in Asia and is used for many different applications. However, in Nepal, it is mainly used to produce pipe - primarily for water transport, and film for plastic shopping bags When it comes to use of plastic products, environmental issues come into consideration. As a producer of polymers, what is your take on it? <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I am not an expert on technology of sustainability but one of the biggest areas as far as I am concerned is energy consumption. That is one of the major benefits of using plastics. Without plastics, the world would be consuming much more energy because plastics, for example, are much lighter so they make automobiles lighter, packaging lighter, and also make bottles lighter among other things. So, consequently the energy it takes to transport all of these materials is reduced. If your car was heavier it would be much less efficient and would use more energy. The fact that you can make all these things lighter using plastics, is a big benefit. In addition to that, manufacturing polyethylene is more energy efficient in most cases compared with alternatives. If you reduce energy consumption, you reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve energy and reduce emissions of all sorts which are good for the environment. <br />
	<br />
	That, to me, is one of the major impacts that plastics have, on in a positive way, on the environment. Another very important benefit is in the food packaging area where you prevent spoilage of food which means more food for the consumer as well as for everyone else. As an industry, we need to work closely with people like those in Nepal Plastics Association to help educate people on the benefits of plastics. It is not something well understood by a lot of people. Therefore, we need to do a good job educating people to make sure they understand the benefits of plastics. </span></div>
<div style="text-indent:14.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	<br />
	How do you see the market in South Asia?</span></strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	<br />
	The South Asian region has got a strong future that is why it is an important market to us. If you look at the emerging economies in South Asia, people from the lower income level are moving up to the middle income level. This means they are going to consume many more things including more plastics. When you combine that with strong population growth, we think the future of polyethylene and polypropylene looks pretty strong in South Asia. We expect the per capita consumption of plastics in South Asia to increase over the next decades. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Industrialisation is rather slow in Nepal. How do you see the future in this context and what are your expectations? </span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">As I mentioned, we see Nepal as an area of growth for polyethylene. I don’t really know a lot about the specific policies that are being adopted in Nepal to help encourage growth. But we think that we will see the same kind of driving forces that will tend to increase consumption in Nepal similar to what we see in India, China and elsewhere in Asia. Nepal is an important market for us and we expect to be here for a long time. </span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What is the level of competition you face in Nepal? </span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The Marlex brand is very strong and we are very confident about our products and the brand itself. There is competition in Nepal of course but we will keep doing what we have been doing so far. Our basic business model is to establish close relationships with customers and work with them to develop this market. We have a very talented agent here in Nepal who helps us do this and so we plan to keep doing what we have been doing – working with the customers to help this market grow.</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Visiting Business People</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘We can Help Nepali Tea Earn Credibility in Europe’<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="" border="1" height="317" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/dheeraj.jpg" vspace="10" width="190" /><br />
	</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Dheeraj Rathi <span style="color: rgb(34, 30, 31);">is the Director of South Asia at BM TRADA RKCA Certification Pvt </span>Ltd.<span style="line-height: 115%;"> He has been working for the company since July 2011 and looks after the South Asia operation. BM TRADA is one of the leaders in certifications with a history of more than 75 years in the certification industry across the globe. It has expertise in construction, oil and gas, timber research, sustainable supply chains, food industry and systems design. The company has served about 15,000 organisations in more than 80 countries in systems certifications and management systems design. Rathi heads a team of 18 members and 45 associate auditors and channel partners to serve over a 1,000 clients. He was recently in Nepal to award Chilime Hydropower Company Limited with Quality Management System (QMS) and Environment Management System (EMS) awards. In an Interview with New Business Age, he shared his ideas on certification trends and plans of BM TRADA operations in Nepal. Excerpts:</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What brings you to Nepal this time? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We have certified Chilime Hydropower Company and I wanted personally to come and be a part of something which I feel is a good cause for the society. In the entire world, this is the first hydropower plant which BM TRADA has certified. Certification for hydropower is something which you can get if you are either in the US or in South Asia. That is something which is very unique. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">Do you think the certification procedure can be customised to suit the local environment? Are there any such practices? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Customisation is not there because you are actually certifying against the given standards. There are certain standards which are called guidelines. You actually design the process, set a benchmark and tell companies whether they are moving towards that set benchmark. The guidelines report tells us where we are going right or wrong. It does not certify anything. There are certain standards such as Quality Management System, Occupational Health and Safety, Environmental Management System and Food Safety Management System. There are certain clauses which are to be followed. We ensure that the application of those clauses is done in totality. We customise to the extent of understanding the local work culture, however, we don’t customise the standards which are internationally recognised. But at the same time, there are certain companies which are much larger and they should look at customising the quality standards for their needs and getting certified by the third party. We are not here just like any other organisations to sell standards; we want quality and recognition to improve at the international level. These customisations are only helpful for bigger companies and government organisations, for example, banks with 500 branches. Their need is not fulfilled by just one standard only. As an accreditation body, we can work with them to create their own standards, and recognise these on international standards. <br />
	<br />
	<strong><br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">In Nepal, ISO certifications are often mistaken to be certificates awarded for the product quality even though they have been awarded for the management and systems implemented. Is BM TRADA planning to carry out educational campaigns for raising awareness?<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I have been talking to local partners here on this matter. We need to carry out awareness campaigns not just about quality standards. There are fundamentally four different types of standards which we look at: process standard that certifies the process, product standard that certifies the product, people standard that certifies people and management standard that certifies overall management. Especially, ISO 9001:2008 has not been certifying a product but the system that is constantly there to give better&nbsp;quality products. When the system is good, the product quality will obviously be good. There are also certain product certifications that we do. We are planning to work on many training programmes which we will be very happy to share. There are broadly three areas in which we want to provide trainings. One is RMS implementation training on standards, second is RMS implementation training on business system and the third is awareness and skill improvement training on human skills. There are various ISO standards for every skill such as quality skills, marketing skills, personality skills, and communication skills etc which are very important for an organisation to have. We want to conduct trainings on these different areas and around international standards mostly working in tandem with various organisations. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">You mentioned about person certification. How are people certified? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">If there is a prospect of personal decision-making in the quality of product, how will you know if the person is competent enough to make that decision? Therefore, we make the basic element of the decision-making. BM TRADA is one of the largest personal certification bodies in the UK for timber quality grading. We design a scheme where a person is being taught how to grade a timber based on various specification of the wood by looking at the wood. When he gives the test result this person’s result is then compared to actual tests and if variation is found to be within amicable number, we issue certification. That certificate is considered in various organisations as certificate of quality. In health care, for example, geriatric nurses can work as qualified nurses anywhere in the world. Their earning can be increased significantly just by a small training. The government should also give some sort of recognition to them. On our part, we can design a scheme to certify these people so that they can get much better accessibility and opportunity. In personal certification, you have to identify that one skill which you want to certify and look at the competency that the person has and certify it. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">You said that BM TRADA is planning to be the largest certification body in Nepal. How do you plan to achieve it? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There are three things that we believe in. Firstly, our focus on integrated management system that is based on quality, healthcare, safety and environment. We have the largest scope, localised partner and the local face of BM TRADA here. Secondly, we will get into food industry such as hotels, restaurants, bakeries, food processing, tea and others. We can help Nepali tea to earn credibility in the European market. A certification logo speaks for itself. Thirdly, we want to focus on forestry supply chain because Nepal would again have a lot of products coming from the forests. There is a lot of scope for improvement in that part of supply chain. You have timber, plywood, paper, honey, perfume and much more. All these things can be certified to get recognition in the global market. We need to train more people in Nepal for this and create employment opportunities here in this country. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the prospects you see in other sectors like tourism and hydropower? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Tourism and power are two sectors we would like to work very closely with. Similarly, trading is another such area. We would like to support a lot of trading organisations who plan to grow big and help their distribution system to grow by certifying their distribution system. A consumer would know that the company with certification will be able to provide good quality products. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the challenges you face here while marketing your brand name as well as the quality certifications? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The biggest challenge for me is to make people aware that they should meet standards. Once there is awareness, the differentiation between a good and a bad company needs to be explored. Today, international standards are issued by 60 companies but one may want to know which countries these companies operate in and the different certificates they issue. It also matters if these companies have certified big names in the countries they have operated in. Ultimately, it is all about a brand name which people can trust. My challenges are firstly, to make people aware that they need standards and secondly, to differentiate between good and bad. I hope that like-minded people will come together and create an environment to do something substantial here. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;">What are the plans of BM TRADA for Nepal? <br />
	<br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">We are actually thinking very seriously about online training so that we can reach remote places as well as train more people. We are planning to invest heavily in the entire South Asian market. We plan to invest on a portal and work on it so that we can increase the quality of manpower in the region.<br />
	<br />
	</span></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Visiting Business People</span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></strong></div>
<div>
	<strong><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">‘It’s High Time for Nepal to have More Investors’<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	<img alt="fatma" border="1" height="286" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/fatma.jpg" vspace="10" width="274" /></span></span></strong></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Professor Dr Fatma Gunseli Malko is the Honorary Consul General of Nepal in Istanbul, Turkey. &nbsp;She hails from Istanbul, Turkey and has completed PhD in Adult Education from Institute of Social Sciences from Marmara University. She was recently in Nepal with a delegation of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) which is the first formal business delegation from Turkey to Nepal. The Turkish delegation came upon an invitation of Nepal Investment Board (NIB) and with special efforts of Professor Malkoç. Professor Malkoç has worked as a Full Professor in Department of Public Relations, Faculty of Communications in Marmara University, Istanbul. Her teaching faculty ranges from Adult Educations, Adult Psychology to Public Relations and Interpersonal/Institutional Communications among numerous others. In an Interview with New Business Age, Professor Malkoç talked about the potentials of trade and relationship between Turkey and Nepal. Excerpts:</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What brings you to Nepal this time? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">This time, we were in Nepal with the important delegation of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC). I personally believe it is high time to introduce the business community of Turkey to Nepal to bolster ties in trade and bilateral relations. Also, it’s high time for Nepal to have more investors to have rapid development. The construction and power sectors of Turkey are one of the greatest in the world and if Nepal can tap the opportunity, both the countries can have mutual benefit. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Would you share with us about your meetings? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">All of our meetings were fruitful mainly due to the organization and efforts of Radhesh Pant, the CEO of Nepal Investment Board (NIB). We met the Prime Minister and we felt honored with his warm welcome and response. The Prime Minister said that Nepal wants more foreign investment and assured that any type of business would be welcomed from Turkey and support would also be given to Turkish investors. His assurance made the visiting Turkish delegation very happy. We also had a chance to meet the Minister of Industry. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What are your areas of interest to invest in Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">In our talk with Pant, he stressed on sectors like hydropower, infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, mining and also IT in a priority list. These sectors also have good potentials in Turkey. And, in my view, power and infrastructure should be mainly prioritized to invest in Nepal. The frequent electricity cut-off is a nightmare for any of the above mentioned industries. It decreases the efficiency of the factories, and also degrades the quality of life of people. Without infrastructure, power cannot go further at the required pace and better economy leads to the betterment of every life. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What were the decisions made through these meetings? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong><br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We further consulted with C P Khetan, the Consular of Turkey in Nepal and Kishore Maharjan, the CEO of Civil Bank. We further learnt about the banking system in Nepal. Our delegation was also much impressed with the establishment of NIB. We have had the idea that the board will be very beneficial in coming days and it’s a revolutionary one. In the 1960s, Turkey also faced a weak economy and foreign investment led us to the road of prosperity and we hope the same thing will be applicable to Nepal. In our talks with FNCCI, they also prioritized areas of investment in power, tourism and infrastructure. With CNI, we had sector-wise discussion. During the CNI meet, we also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and we feel it was one of the concrete developments. We also decided that the Nepali delegation should visit Turkey in the near future, maybe in January 2013. It is also agreed that there should be an exhibition of Turkish products by ICOC in Kathmandu after six months along with a group of Turkish investors. We also met with the Nepal-Turkey Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NTCCI) which visits Turkey every year. This is a very good development which can lead the way for investors by getting to know the country better. An MOU was signed with NTCCI too. I see a bright future of Nepal if there is political stability and strong government. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What could be the area of interest for Turkey’s business community in Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify;text-indent:14.0pt">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">We are thinking in the same direction as NIB. We know each other’s ideas and have mutual trust. From my side, I will try my best to get investment in infrastructure and construction. Whatever NIB’s CEO Pant suggested was very complementary to the potential of Turkey. We are ahead in infrastructure and construction. So, to make tunnels and roads, Turkey has very good investors. We have European quality in moderate Asian prices which will be beneficial for Nepal. Turkey has a lot of experience in hydropower as we have many rivers in Turkey. There are many projects running with latest technologies. If both the hydropower and infrastructure sectors are developed in Nepal, it will be beneficial for other top priority sectors as well. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>We have been enjoying duty free access to US and other few countries. What will be your role to facilitate similarly easier entry for Nepali carpets in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Even though Turkey is one of the best countries for producing quality handmade carpets, Nepali carpets have a big market in Turkey for their design and color. Though there is no economic agreement between Nepal and Turkey so far, I’m trying my best for this. </span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What else are the probable areas of cooperation between Turkey and Nepal? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Last year, our Minister of Foreign Affairs visited Nepal and they wanted to start Turkish Airlines service to Nepal via India. But, I think direct flights from Turkey to Nepal will be much more beneficial for both business relations and tourism. So, we have been discussing that there should be a direct flight from Istanbul to Kathmandu. When ICOC and I will be presenting our reports in Turkey, we will definitely highlight this point. Turkey is the gateway to Europe. Qatar Airways is having 4-5 flights a day so I think there is a big demand. It is nice to know that this news has already found space in Turkish newspaper that Nepali business community wants direct flight from Turkey to Nepal. Also, it would a good idea to open an embassy soon to jointly promote economic cooperation between the two countries. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Being in an influential position, how are you planning to publicize Nepal in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I first came to Nepal in 1995-96 as a visiting professor to Kathmandu University. I really love this country and have known Nepal for more than 15 years. We have organized two Nepal Weeks in Turkey and they were big events. All the dancers, musicians and even the royal astrologer Mangal Raj Joshi attended the event. Since I’m a professor, I like to give lectures and I have been giving lectures about Nepal at many places such as Universities, Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs etc. Now the people in Turkey recognize Nepal when they think about me. I write articles about Nepal in some newspapers and magazines whenever possible. I am interviewed by media people many times. About a year ago, a TV program was made in my house saying “if you can’t go to Nepal we bring Nepal to your House!” since my house is decorated like a small Nepal. I’m proud of representing Nepal as I have created mini Nepal in my house. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What other things are happening and could be done to facilitate the tourism ties between the two countries? <br />
	<br />
	</strong></span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">I have told Nepal Tourism Board many times that they should start investing in new markets. It is high time to search for new markets besides the regular ones like some European countries and the US. The efforts of the Ministry of Tourism alone are not enough to promote tourism. It is also the responsibility of the business community and travel agencies in Nepal. They should have good communication with the representatives of Nepal abroad and give necessary support to them. Honorary consulates are very important in this respect. By uniting our strengths, we can do much more to facilitate the tourism ties between Nepal and other countries. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Since we don’t have enough aircraft with the national carrier, what could be the best way to promote Nepal in Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Turkish Airlines have a big fleet of aircraft. If Nepal needs more aircraft, there are airline companies in Turkey who can come and invest here. There can be joint ventures as well. We also have private companies with inexpensive airfares and strong market share. Flights from Turkey to Nepal are very expensive at the moment and cost about 800 Euros. This should be made much cheaper to attract more tourists to Nepal. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What is the focal point of connecting Nepal and Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Friendly Nepali people and their culture are similar to us. We have similar cultures and family ties are very close like in Nepal. We are also blessed with nature providing variety of outdoor activities just like they are in Nepal. Turkey also has a great and ancient civilization like Nepal. </span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-top:5.0pt;text-align:justify">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>What are the products that are imported in Nepal from Turkey? </strong></span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">There is a government organization in Turkey and they are promoting trade with foreign countries. They have formed a representation in Nepal and they often visit Turkey. The organization mainly deals in suits, shoes, men’s wear, fertilizers, generators, machine-made carpets, electronic items and food items like noodles, biscuits, candies, oil etc with good quality. I recommend Nepal should buy olive oil and wine from Turkey.</span></span></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2012-12-13',
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			'description' => 'Jim Becker is the President and Managing Director of Chevron Phillips Chemicals Asia Pte Ltd and Chevron Phillips Singapore Chemicals Private Limited.Chevron Phillips Chemical is one of the world’s top producers of olefins and polyolefins and a leading supplier of aromatics, alpha olefins, styrenics, specialty chemicals, piping, and proprietary plastics',
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