From the Editor

The Financial Policing October 2011

Nov 30, -0001 0 3 minutes 7 seconds to read

…

Nepal’s Redoubtable Poverty Statistics September 2011

Nov 30, -0001 0 3 minutes 5 seconds to read

…

Beyond The Budget 2011/12 August 2011

Nov 30, -0001 0 3 minutes 10 seconds to read

…

A Volte-face On Hydropower Development July 2011

Nov 30, -0001 0 3 minutes 24 seconds to read

…

Hope And Fear Of Merger

Nov 30, -0001 0 2 minutes 49 seconds to read

…

The White Paper Hoax

Nov 30, -0001 0 3 minutes 23 seconds to read

…

The Plummeting Psyche

Nov 30, -0001 0 12 minutes 23 seconds to read

…

The Indian Currency Conundrum

Nov 30, -0001 0 2 minutes 52 seconds to read

…

Inward Looking Flaws

Nov 30, -0001 0 12 minutes 1 seconds to read

…

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No Laughing Matter

The Sweet Rewards of Power

By Madan Lamsal

. . .
read more »

NEPSE

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			'title' => 'The Financial Policing October 2011',
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			'content' => '<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The central bank, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has recently indicated that it would tighten the grip on the financial criminals not only by introducing more effective regulation and supervision policies, but also by acting as the enforcer of these policies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The NRB has chosen to take up the role of arresting the financial criminals in direct co-work with police.&nbsp;Instead of earlier arrangement of going through the Ministry of Finance (MoF) with a suspect lists and the line ministries passing out buck from MoF to Home Ministry, from Home Ministry to District Administrative offices and then to the District Police, this NRB initiative would surely shorten the process of apprehending the absconded ones. It is reported that the MoF has given consent to NRB to directly deal with the police to initiate the process of arrests. Similarly, NRB is also reportedly formulating a policy to liquidate those financial institutions whose promoters or executives remain absconded for long.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<img align="right" alt="" border="2" height="397" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/edit.jpg" vspace="5" width="350" />In light of the growing incidents of abscondence of the promoters and executives of some development banks and finance companies, the NRB move appears a welcome one.&nbsp;It is also true that in Nepal among all the criminals, the financial ones largely remain scot free by using every possible influence including, may be, money.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Such NRB activism also seems convincing vis-a-vis the central bank's responsibility of maintaining financial system stability in the country. But the core question here is: will these moves actually contribute the promotion of corporate governance in this sector? And, do these schemes fit in the concept of â€˜slim and smart central bank focused on its core functions?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Unquestionably, the criminals must be brought to book and justice delivered. But NRB initiating the legal process on its own will have several other ramifications. First, it must have a stronger and larger legal department. Second, the government dealing directly with the law-enforcing agencies is always more effective. And, third, as the experiences have it, the problem in apprehending the allegeds lies largely in the police functioning. At that crucial point, NRB move may falter. NRB cannot be expected to be able to change the attitude and modus operandi of the police.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Also the very idea of liquidating the entire institution just because a fraudulent person, who happened to be a decision maker, remained at large is not at all justifiable. One of the cardinal responsibilities of the NRB is to protect the depositors interest first, which in turn, facilitates the system stability. If any promoter or executive flees away, the moral responsibility should also be taken by the NRB as well. And, as the regulator, the decision of liquidating the financial institutions must be based on the financial health of the institution and its future viability. Let's not forget that there is a specialised legal mechanism already in place to deal with corporate liquidation/bankruptcy. The clients have made no mistake by doing business with the NRB licensed and supposedly supervised companies and they must not suffer for the fault of somebody else.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The NRB must understand that it can neither escape from its responsibility of maintaining the financial stability by enhanced regulation and supervision nor should it be turned into a police like organisation.</div>',
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			'title' => 'Nepal’s Redoubtable Poverty Statistics September 2011',
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			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">T</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">he report of the Third Living Standard Survey (TLSS) a month ago declared that only 13 per cent of Nepali people now live under the so called absolute poverty line. Highly encouraging though, this news is the one extremely hard to believe instantly. There are reasons for this suspicion. With only 13 per cent of people below the poverty line, the data puts Nepal in better position than the countries like Russia, United Kingdom, South Korea, Belgium, Germany and Japan with 13.1, 14, 15, 15.2, 15.5 and 15.7 per cent of people below the poverty line, respectively. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Nepal's ground realities regarding the factors that could contribute to poverty reduction availability of foods, shelter and job opportunities to the social and economic safeties are in no way comparable to the countries mentioned above, as the examples. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><img alt="" border="2" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img1%283%29.jpg" style="width: 324px; height: 400px;" vspace="10" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><br />
	Such drastic reduction of poverty from 12 per cent in 2004 to 13 per cent in 2011 has taken place during the most adverse political climate in the country's history. There was civil war of sorts until 2006. Since then, political instability has gravely affected the industrial and business climate. In absence of elected local governments for over a decade now, service delivery mechanism is in virtual ramshackle. No substantive FDI has flowed in. No other economic indicators are positive to cite under these adversities. Such an astonishing improvement in poverty situation is a real paradox. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Only reason attributed to the impressive improvement is the somewhat consistent inflow of the workers remittances. But, given the fact that majority of Nepali workers going abroad for meagrely paid jobs, it is hard to believe that this single phenomenon can make such a huge difference. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Therefore, the date catered to the people by the government agencies are either deliberate lies or, if that is not the case, we have adopted some highly flawed method in conducting the research for TLSS. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In fact, the task of measuring poverty is in itself a very complex affair. It is more so in a country like Nepal where competent and independent research institutions are, in real terms, non-existent. And, citizenry and other stakeholders of economic activities have no alternative but to mime government agencies like the National Planning Commission and Central Bureau of Statistics.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Our universities and other independent institutions have so far failed to generate comparable, or at best, countering data on the various aspects of the country's economy, including poverty. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">These factors have combined to raise serious questions on Nepal's credibility in international community. Culprits to this have been none other than the government agencies involved. The situation warrants more credible and pragmatic approach in counting our poverty. </span></div>',
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			'title' => 'Beyond The Budget 2011/12  August 2011',
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			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">T</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">he fiscal and monetary policies for FY 2011/12 made public in the third week of July have shown an appallingly anti-free market and anti-private sector tilt. The much touted about three-pillar concept that puts the government, cooperatives and the private sector at par is in itself an unfeasible proposition.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In a free-market economy, it is unfair on the part of the government to seek its share of the role in the market. At best, the government can be a facilitator. That means its role should be limited in introducing appropriate legislations, maintaining law and order and keeping surveillance to ensure a fair play in the market competition. That is in fact not a role of the government but its duty to be undertaken even to justify its very existence. An anti-free market argument suggest that the role of the government is essential at least to build large-scale infrastructures and to conduct economic diplomacy. But, squarely, it is the private sector tax that finances these activities, and the government is just a manager of it. If the private sector is exempted of all taxes in exchange of their contribution in building infrastructures too, one may not at all need the role of the government. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="315" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ucpn.jpg" style="margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="400" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><br />
	Moreover, the proposed budget (fiscal policy) plans to spend more as general expenditure (just to maintain the government) than what it plans to collect as taxes. Economic diplomacy has remained a rusted sword, unused ever since the debate began regarding its importance. For all these reasons, government's self-claimed role as one of the three pillars is thus a clumsy hyperbole.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	There has been an extensive debate on recognising the cooperatives as an equal and parallel pillar. Apparently, the appropriate recognition it deserves is a sub-pillar under the private sector head. By all logic, effectively, there should be single pillar-economy led, invested, managed and operated by the private sector.</span><br />
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">But this policy has treated the private sector just contrary to this. The government has in fact done more harm by using its discretionary power to siphon away substantial amount of budget from development programmes to appease the Maoists. In this sense, the government role is becoming increasingly dangerous for the general people.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	In comparison to the fiscal policy (budget), monetary policy has taken more balanced approach. For example, despite the announcement in the budget that saving and credit cooperatives would now on be supervised by the central bank, the monetary policy has chosen to remain silent on it.<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
	&nbsp;As the fact of the matter, both fiscal and monetary policies have come as mere rituals. The present day problems of the economy perhaps are beyond the jurisdiction and capacity of the realms of these policies. Therefore, to reviewing the economy from the present slump the leadership should first address the challenges of non-monetary and non-fiscal nature, but have direct bearings to the economic growth and prosperity of the country. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>',
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			'title' => 'A Volte-face On Hydropower Development July 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">I</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">n the mid-June, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced its plan to invest Rs 15.5 billion for four medium-scale hydro-power projects. These projects included 100 megawatt Rasuwagadhi, 120 MW mid-Bhotekoshi, 14.6 MW upper-Syangden and 42.5 Syangden hydropower. All these projects are constructed by Chilime Hydropower Company at the cost of Rs 32.11 billion. The EPF commitment is almost half of the estimated cost. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In another development, government began its exercise to establish Hydropower Development and Investment Company, so far the largest development bank in Nepal for the purpose. This new company aims to generate at least Rs 20 billion as equity, mainly from the government and the public sector enterprises (PSEs), again, from the like of EPF.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">There is no denying the fact that the country is in desperate need of resources to develop the hydropower, the sooner the better. And, also, Nepal must develop adequate hydropower projects not only to meet its ever growing energy needs but also to harness the water power that is available in abundance within the country.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="386" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/1.jpg" style="margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="350" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">But, these needs do not necessarily justify the recent government adventurism to manage resources for its development. Both, the EPF investment and setting-up of a new bank has two things in common. One, the government</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">is only looking into the option of government-guided development of the sector. It is also because the EPF investment cannot be termed anything else as it is the fully government owned pension fund with almost monopoly in the market. And the proposed new entity has also proposed to incorporate rich PSEs alone. Second, in both the processes, possible involvement, participation and investment of the private sector have been completely ignored. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">This is exactly the unbecoming for Nepal's hydropower development. On the one hand, there is already a debate on what degree of flexibility the EPF and the like PSEs should enjoy in diversifying its investment portfolio. And on the other, the question is if such collusion of government agencies (as Chilime is also government undertaking) alone could actually contribute to the hydropower development and solve the country's energy crisis.<br />
	<br />
	More serious issues surround the proposed new investment bank. Since it has precluded the private sector since its conceptualisation, its proposed Rs 20 billion equity funding is sure to prove too little to meet the financial resource demand for hydropower development. This amount is only enough to develop 100 to 150 MW of power at the most. Besides, this entity cannot be envisaged to take-up the retail banking to mobilise additional resources. At best, the resource gathered by this bank could be mobilised by other PSEs like Nepal Electricity Authority, nothing more.<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The only right course in this regard would have been the private sector leadership in investment, development and management of<i> all</i> hydropower projects. The government surely could have facilitated with policy and resources instruments it had. But, now things seem to be moving in completely opposite direction. And, the money dammed in by the government authorities might not be able to flow down so as to generate power, at least not in substantial scale and sustainable way. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>',
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			'id' => '350',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'Hope And Fear Of Merger',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">T</span>he trend of announcing merger plans by the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has gathered pace in recent weeks. Media reports about the merger processes initiated between Everest and Kumari Banks, NMB and Clean Energy Development Banks, NCC and NB Banks, Bageshwori and Shangrila Development Banks, Kasthamandap Development Bank and Shikhar Finance, and Himchuli Development Bank and Birgunj Finance are testimonies to this fact. Not to mention several failures of Nepal Rastra Bank's (NRB) monetary policy operation of this year, but in the particular regard to mergers, it is gradually tasting success. The Bank not only had announced all possible facilitation to merger through the monetary policy of this fiscal year, it also introduced several packages of rebates, discounts, waivers and facilities to the BFIs opting for mergers. The NRB threat to force merger of the BFIs that particularly have poor corporate governance has seemingly reawakened several BFIs.</div>
<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><img align="left" alt="from the editor" border="1" height="297" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img1(1).jpg" style="width: 223px; height: 297px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="223" /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Apparently, the universal objectives of the merger or acquisition are to consolidate the capital, reduce operational expenses, expand business and maximise the profits. However, in our case, mergers of three distinct natures now seem to be in the offing. First, relatively large institutions are planning to create a larger capital base so they could compete with global players who would potentially begin their operation owing to WTO arrangements. Second type of merger would be compulsive of sort as the NRB has asked the BFIs belonging to the same business house to integrate without any ifs and buts. The third types are those who fear the complete meltdown if they fail to merge sooner than later to consolidate resources, introduce corporate best practices and reduce expenses. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Nevertheless, irrespective of the reasons compelling BFIs to merge, it was the momentum of absolute imperative but long due. And every individual process to complete smoothly is another task uphill. Even if the process is unimpeded, it takes relatively long time of two to three years depending on the size of the institutions. Nepal does not have structural backing and institutional culture of transparency to allay fears of lay-offs among staff, sense of insecurity in the depositors and apprehensions losing the investment among the shareholders.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	In view of these several crucial stages, right from the expression of intent of merger, choice of the party, preliminary dialogues, due diligence assessment of the institutions, legal and regulatory processes and above all retaining the customer confidence, a dedicated structure that facilitates and provides expert services is indispensable. This could be set up by NRB, Bankers Association or by both combining the skills, needs and expertise. If the merger tempo evident today is not managed properly, none of them are likely to succeed to create another healthier institution. The fear and mismanagement of the process will acquire the hopes. And mergers will continue to be a mirage.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	<br />
	 </div>',
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	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><img align="left" alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="279" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img(3).jpg" style="width: 214px; height: 279px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="214" />A</span>fter failing to bring in a supplementary budget as planned, the lame-duck Jhala Nath Khanal government on 12th April issued a so called White Paper, primarily to placate the senior partner in the coalition government the UCPN - Maoists. At the first place, the issuance of such policy paper was an untimely and unnecessary exercise. Only a few days earlier Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari had announced an energy crisis management plan in the legislature parliament. If anything the government had to add on, that could have been incorporated in that speech. But, Adhikari chose to organise a separate media event in his own ministry to elaborate the priorities of the government through this White Paper.</div>
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	<br />
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	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">Effectively, the paper hardly contained anything new, thus defeating the very purpose of it. Like the earlier government, Adhikari also emphasised on sticking to the so called&nbsp;three pillar private, co-operatives and public pillars concept of the economy, which for all practical purposes is nothing more than verbose. In essence, cooperative is a private sector exercise. And public sector participating with other sectors private or cooperatives is an absolute anti-thesis to economic progress. The state must not be a partnerâ to a party who does the business. Therefore, re-emphasising on this obsolete platitude of partnership is absolute nonsense. </span></div>
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	Second, the very intent was redoubtable and the procedures adopted were questionable. The hidden agenda of the White Paper was to ignite pork barrel spending in non-productive, politically designed programmes. Such an act was propelled by the Maoists wishful plan that&nbsp;the nearly Rs 22 billion remained idle in the government coffers could be used in the party's pet programmes.</div>
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	<br />
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	As regards procedures, any new government surely has moral rights to outline its policies and programmes. But, by norm either it should come as the policy speech of the new prime minister, or the government could table it in the parliament. But a deputy prime minister organising a press meet in his ministry to make the White Paper public barely matched the gravity it warranted.</div>
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	<br />
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	<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">The White Paper has artlessly copied several ear-friendly programmes like helping in commercialisation of the agriculture and boosting the private sector business initiatives. But the promises this paper made could be translated into actions only when the parties in the government&nbsp; the Maoists and the UML, first agree to tame their own trade unions. Interestingly, this White Paper hardly talks about the steps to address the present industrial anarchy due to irresponsible behaviour particularly of the ruling party-affiliated unions.</span></div>
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	<br />
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	<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Also, it is a great irony that the White Paper instead of serving the government's intended purpose just exposed the ulterior motives of PM Khanal and his affiliates. For the economy, it simply could not leave a mark, let alone contribute positively, as it had no teeth and breath. Going deeper into Deputy PM Adhikariâ's intentions, he so deliberately skipped some of the hottest issues of the economy that needed immediate attention.</span></div>
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	<br />
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	Adhikari very tactfully avoided making any commitment to take action against the businesses involved in forging VAT bills. Similarly, the White Paper did not have any unequivocal position to continue to adopt a free market economy and the government limiting its role not as the market participant but just an honest referee of the game.<br />
	<br />
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	<span aldine401="" color:="" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: ">T</span><span aldine401="" color:="" letter-spacing:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: ">he Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged to five-year low in the last week of March. There are no convincing sign of its recovery on the sight. The gloom is pervasive despite the fact that several concerned agencies are seemingly keen to revive the secondary market. The NEPSE created a separate Central Depository Company (CDC) for an automated settlement of the transactions. No sooner NEPSE sought an operating approval for CDC from its regulator Security Board of Nepal (SEBON), the latter not only acknowledged its application but also brought out a press release highlighting the importance of CDC, understandably, to boost the investors psychology. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) also issued new, fairly flexible directives to the banks regarding their investment in the mutual funds. The central banks marginally softened approach on margin lending should also have contributed positively to NEPSE growth. But none of these steps has actually worked. Why? Within the answer of this big why perhaps lies the solution to the alarming plummet of NEPSE too. <br />
	</span></p>
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	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="from the edior" border="1" height="218" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/editor(1).jpg" style="width: 286px; height: 218px; margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="286" /><br />
	<br />
	First, there appears to be a clear lack of co-ordination among three key agencies, the NEPSE, SEBON and the NRB. The lack of </span><span aldine401="" color:="" letter-spacing:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: ">such co-ordination between the NEPSE and SEBON surfaced recently in the issue of providing training to the newly selected brokers. When new brokers join in the trade, an increase in the new investment could be expected. This unnecessary loggerhead between these two institutions not only distracted investors but also discouraged those aspiring to be new brokers. For this reason, only a few out of the 34 finally selected brokers have obtained the LoI, so far. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	Similarly, while issuing the mutual fund directives, the NRB and SEBON apparently didn't have adequate joint exercise. Had they collaborated, the directives could have been more comprehensive covering not only the banks and financial institutions but also all potential investors in the economy. Above all, misunderstandings, primarily owing to their political loyalty among the top officials of these crucial agencies and also with the Finance Ministry are also reported. These are the kind of aversions which could have been easily avoided and must be done rather sooner than later. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	To begin with, such co-ordination could initiate by resolving the training row of the new brokers. Despite highly bearish market, persistent political uncertainty and industrial unrest, these new brokerage companies have come forward to trade. They must not be discouraged by the feud between two public agencies. <br />
	<br />
	</span></p>
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	<span aldine401="" color:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: ">Even more important is: the regulating and operating agencies must stop adopting fragmented approaches both in issuing directives and implementing them. And, all concerned must understand that no bureaucratic action alone would be enough to resurrect the investment psyche without building an overall confidence. This confidence will only stem out of convincingly business friendly political climate. </span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-04-26',
			'modified' => '2012-08-23',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged to five-year low in the last week of March. There are no convincing sign of its recovery on the sight.',
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			'title' => 'The Indian Currency Conundrum',
			'sub_title' => '',
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			'content' => '<p>
	There are understandable and obvious reasons of seemingly insatiable demand of Indian Currency (IC) in the Nepali economy. India is not only Nepal's largest trade partner, but the Nepal-India export-import ratio is about 1:7, that too only computing on the trade figures of formal channels.<br />
	<br />
	In the first half of the current fiscal year alone, Nepal Rastra Bank purchased nearly about 50 billion Indian Rupees paying other 'highly' convertible foreign currencies; mainly the US dollar. Due to this reason, among others, Nepal's Balance of Payment position has remained shaky for a couple of years now. Purchasing the IC against the forex reserve to finance the deficit trade appears to be nothing less dangerous than riding on a tiger. Worse, there is no sign of narrowing down the gap in this bilateral trade, at least not in the foreseeable future.<br />
	<br />
	To phrase it differently, for long years to come, Nepal has no option but to manage adequate amount of IC to keep alive its economy. It also means that we must explore the ways of managing the sources to reduce the strain on the forex reserve.<br />
	<br />
	This is particularly where our national fiscal managers and monetary authority have failed to devise pragmatic policies vis-a-vis IC management. Had Nepal been able to better manage it, the IC shortfall in the economy though would not have completely neutralised but the gap would have been far narrower than now. There are at least three strikingly glaring issues in this regard, taking-up which could solve larger part of the problem.<br />
	<br />
	First, amending the present system, the central bank of Nepal must allow smaller amount of IC to enter into the banking system. Only excuse that the central bank has to debar IC to NC exchange has increased incidences of fake IC notes, and bank teller's inability to screen them off. But, each bank would not perhaps mind to bear a little additional cost on screening if they could collect substantial amount of IC. This could reduce the IC holding by the individual and the IC entered into the country would spontaneously come into the system.<br />
	 </p>
<p>
	<img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="170" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/editor.jpg" style="width: 225px; height: 170px; margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="225" /></p>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	Second, the central bank must have enough guts and urgency to talk to lift the embargo on transactions in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations IC notes. It is an open secret that these notes are freely traded by individuals and businesses all over Nepal. But it cannot come and be counted in the system due to the legal sanctions. If this issue could be resolved sooner, the IC supply in Nepal would ease substantially.</p>
<p>
	Third, and the most crucial is that the IC issue is no longer monetary or trade issue alone. It has rather become a bilateral political and diplomatic issue. The Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination issue is linked to smuggling, terrorism and underworld operations, perhaps much hyped than what the reality is. Therefore, the political leadership must take initiative to assure New Delhi about the fair handling of these notes. The political leadership has to play its long due role of opening a formal channel for remittances from India to Nepal. All these efforts combined would at least solve fifty per cent of the problem.<br />
	<br />
	 </p>',
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			'title' => 'Inward Looking Flaws',
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<p class="BODYTEXT" style="text-indent: 0in;">
	<b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">T</span></b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">he Extravagant inauguration of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY)- 2011 on 14th January marked the beginning of a yearlong campaign aimed at attracting one million international tourists to Nepal. A well orchestrated mega event was surely a source of new hope for the Nepalis w<input type="hidden" />ho for years were devoid of any optimistic gesture from our sullen political leadership. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">But NTY is not politics, it is the pure business. This is the fact which our politicians put on the backburner once again. Millions of rupees were spent to choreograph the parades, paragliders and political speeches at the Dashrath Stadium of Kathmandu. But the link between the event held in the capital and sublime purpose of attracting one million&nbsp; tourist was apparently missing, to say the least. According to the sources in Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, the inauguration ceremony alone cost about Rs 25 million to the state exchequer. But no one involved in the feast is probably able to establish how&nbsp; a single Nepal bound international tourist would be influenced by this event. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	 </p>
<p class="BODYTEXT" style="text-align: justify;">
	<b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"><img alt="from the editor" border="1" height="221" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/nty.jpg" style="width: 267px; height: 221px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="267" /></span></b></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Instead, had the visionaries of NTY&nbsp; 2011 spent the amount&nbsp; Rs one million each for 25 potentially tourist originating countries for example for international promotion of Nepal as the most fascinating destination, the impact would have been certainly more productive. The flaw could be dismissed as all the public sector decisions are like that. But here, our private sector leaders are boasting to be the managers of the entire activities; in that case, it is also the failure of the private sector. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Not only the inauguration ceremony of NY&nbsp; 2011 was marred by Nepal's inward looking flaws, the campaign and promotion planning for the entire event appears ad-hoc. Hiccups like the government's failure to release the budget it committed were already there. But in more serious note, the steering committee did not bother to mobilise diplomatic channels to promote NTY. The greatest testimony to it was, the USA issued adverse travel advisory to its citizens not to visit Nepal, on the very eve of the inauguration. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">The complaints of the sector like sports on their exclusion is also valid, as claimed, they could have developed products of sports and other sector tourism. Regardless of anything that went right or wrong, the NTY has already begun. Therefore, the remaining period of time and resources must be used purposefully, unlike the way it was done for the inauguration.</span></p>',
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			'id' => '485',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'The Financial Policing October 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The central bank, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has recently indicated that it would tighten the grip on the financial criminals not only by introducing more effective regulation and supervision policies, but also by acting as the enforcer of these policies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The NRB has chosen to take up the role of arresting the financial criminals in direct co-work with police.&nbsp;Instead of earlier arrangement of going through the Ministry of Finance (MoF) with a suspect lists and the line ministries passing out buck from MoF to Home Ministry, from Home Ministry to District Administrative offices and then to the District Police, this NRB initiative would surely shorten the process of apprehending the absconded ones. It is reported that the MoF has given consent to NRB to directly deal with the police to initiate the process of arrests. Similarly, NRB is also reportedly formulating a policy to liquidate those financial institutions whose promoters or executives remain absconded for long.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<img align="right" alt="" border="2" height="397" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/edit.jpg" vspace="5" width="350" />In light of the growing incidents of abscondence of the promoters and executives of some development banks and finance companies, the NRB move appears a welcome one.&nbsp;It is also true that in Nepal among all the criminals, the financial ones largely remain scot free by using every possible influence including, may be, money.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Such NRB activism also seems convincing vis-a-vis the central bank's responsibility of maintaining financial system stability in the country. But the core question here is: will these moves actually contribute the promotion of corporate governance in this sector? And, do these schemes fit in the concept of â€˜slim and smart central bank focused on its core functions?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Unquestionably, the criminals must be brought to book and justice delivered. But NRB initiating the legal process on its own will have several other ramifications. First, it must have a stronger and larger legal department. Second, the government dealing directly with the law-enforcing agencies is always more effective. And, third, as the experiences have it, the problem in apprehending the allegeds lies largely in the police functioning. At that crucial point, NRB move may falter. NRB cannot be expected to be able to change the attitude and modus operandi of the police.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Also the very idea of liquidating the entire institution just because a fraudulent person, who happened to be a decision maker, remained at large is not at all justifiable. One of the cardinal responsibilities of the NRB is to protect the depositors interest first, which in turn, facilitates the system stability. If any promoter or executive flees away, the moral responsibility should also be taken by the NRB as well. And, as the regulator, the decision of liquidating the financial institutions must be based on the financial health of the institution and its future viability. Let's not forget that there is a specialised legal mechanism already in place to deal with corporate liquidation/bankruptcy. The clients have made no mistake by doing business with the NRB licensed and supposedly supervised companies and they must not suffer for the fault of somebody else.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The NRB must understand that it can neither escape from its responsibility of maintaining the financial stability by enhanced regulation and supervision nor should it be turned into a police like organisation.</div>',
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			'id' => '436',
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			'title' => 'Nepal’s Redoubtable Poverty Statistics September 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">T</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">he report of the Third Living Standard Survey (TLSS) a month ago declared that only 13 per cent of Nepali people now live under the so called absolute poverty line. Highly encouraging though, this news is the one extremely hard to believe instantly. There are reasons for this suspicion. With only 13 per cent of people below the poverty line, the data puts Nepal in better position than the countries like Russia, United Kingdom, South Korea, Belgium, Germany and Japan with 13.1, 14, 15, 15.2, 15.5 and 15.7 per cent of people below the poverty line, respectively. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Nepal's ground realities regarding the factors that could contribute to poverty reduction availability of foods, shelter and job opportunities to the social and economic safeties are in no way comparable to the countries mentioned above, as the examples. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><img alt="" border="2" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img1%283%29.jpg" style="width: 324px; height: 400px;" vspace="10" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><br />
	Such drastic reduction of poverty from 12 per cent in 2004 to 13 per cent in 2011 has taken place during the most adverse political climate in the country's history. There was civil war of sorts until 2006. Since then, political instability has gravely affected the industrial and business climate. In absence of elected local governments for over a decade now, service delivery mechanism is in virtual ramshackle. No substantive FDI has flowed in. No other economic indicators are positive to cite under these adversities. Such an astonishing improvement in poverty situation is a real paradox. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Only reason attributed to the impressive improvement is the somewhat consistent inflow of the workers remittances. But, given the fact that majority of Nepali workers going abroad for meagrely paid jobs, it is hard to believe that this single phenomenon can make such a huge difference. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Therefore, the date catered to the people by the government agencies are either deliberate lies or, if that is not the case, we have adopted some highly flawed method in conducting the research for TLSS. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In fact, the task of measuring poverty is in itself a very complex affair. It is more so in a country like Nepal where competent and independent research institutions are, in real terms, non-existent. And, citizenry and other stakeholders of economic activities have no alternative but to mime government agencies like the National Planning Commission and Central Bureau of Statistics.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Our universities and other independent institutions have so far failed to generate comparable, or at best, countering data on the various aspects of the country's economy, including poverty. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">These factors have combined to raise serious questions on Nepal's credibility in international community. Culprits to this have been none other than the government agencies involved. The situation warrants more credible and pragmatic approach in counting our poverty. </span></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-09-28',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The report of the Third Living Standard Survey (TLSS) a month ago declared that only 13 per cent of Nepali people now live under the so called absolute poverty line.',
			'sortorder' => '349',
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			'id' => '419',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'Beyond The Budget 2011/12  August 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">T</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">he fiscal and monetary policies for FY 2011/12 made public in the third week of July have shown an appallingly anti-free market and anti-private sector tilt. The much touted about three-pillar concept that puts the government, cooperatives and the private sector at par is in itself an unfeasible proposition.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In a free-market economy, it is unfair on the part of the government to seek its share of the role in the market. At best, the government can be a facilitator. That means its role should be limited in introducing appropriate legislations, maintaining law and order and keeping surveillance to ensure a fair play in the market competition. That is in fact not a role of the government but its duty to be undertaken even to justify its very existence. An anti-free market argument suggest that the role of the government is essential at least to build large-scale infrastructures and to conduct economic diplomacy. But, squarely, it is the private sector tax that finances these activities, and the government is just a manager of it. If the private sector is exempted of all taxes in exchange of their contribution in building infrastructures too, one may not at all need the role of the government. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="315" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ucpn.jpg" style="margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="400" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><br />
	Moreover, the proposed budget (fiscal policy) plans to spend more as general expenditure (just to maintain the government) than what it plans to collect as taxes. Economic diplomacy has remained a rusted sword, unused ever since the debate began regarding its importance. For all these reasons, government's self-claimed role as one of the three pillars is thus a clumsy hyperbole.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	There has been an extensive debate on recognising the cooperatives as an equal and parallel pillar. Apparently, the appropriate recognition it deserves is a sub-pillar under the private sector head. By all logic, effectively, there should be single pillar-economy led, invested, managed and operated by the private sector.</span><br />
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">But this policy has treated the private sector just contrary to this. The government has in fact done more harm by using its discretionary power to siphon away substantial amount of budget from development programmes to appease the Maoists. In this sense, the government role is becoming increasingly dangerous for the general people.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	In comparison to the fiscal policy (budget), monetary policy has taken more balanced approach. For example, despite the announcement in the budget that saving and credit cooperatives would now on be supervised by the central bank, the monetary policy has chosen to remain silent on it.<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
	&nbsp;As the fact of the matter, both fiscal and monetary policies have come as mere rituals. The present day problems of the economy perhaps are beyond the jurisdiction and capacity of the realms of these policies. Therefore, to reviewing the economy from the present slump the leadership should first address the challenges of non-monetary and non-fiscal nature, but have direct bearings to the economic growth and prosperity of the country. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>',
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			'created' => '2011-09-06',
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			'description' => 'The fiscal and monetary policies for FY 2011/12 made public in the third week of July have shown an appallingly anti-free market and anti-private sector tilt. The much touted about............',
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			'id' => '385',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'A Volte-face On Hydropower Development July 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">I</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">n the mid-June, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced its plan to invest Rs 15.5 billion for four medium-scale hydro-power projects. These projects included 100 megawatt Rasuwagadhi, 120 MW mid-Bhotekoshi, 14.6 MW upper-Syangden and 42.5 Syangden hydropower. All these projects are constructed by Chilime Hydropower Company at the cost of Rs 32.11 billion. The EPF commitment is almost half of the estimated cost. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In another development, government began its exercise to establish Hydropower Development and Investment Company, so far the largest development bank in Nepal for the purpose. This new company aims to generate at least Rs 20 billion as equity, mainly from the government and the public sector enterprises (PSEs), again, from the like of EPF.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">There is no denying the fact that the country is in desperate need of resources to develop the hydropower, the sooner the better. And, also, Nepal must develop adequate hydropower projects not only to meet its ever growing energy needs but also to harness the water power that is available in abundance within the country.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="386" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/1.jpg" style="margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="350" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">But, these needs do not necessarily justify the recent government adventurism to manage resources for its development. Both, the EPF investment and setting-up of a new bank has two things in common. One, the government</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">is only looking into the option of government-guided development of the sector. It is also because the EPF investment cannot be termed anything else as it is the fully government owned pension fund with almost monopoly in the market. And the proposed new entity has also proposed to incorporate rich PSEs alone. Second, in both the processes, possible involvement, participation and investment of the private sector have been completely ignored. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">This is exactly the unbecoming for Nepal's hydropower development. On the one hand, there is already a debate on what degree of flexibility the EPF and the like PSEs should enjoy in diversifying its investment portfolio. And on the other, the question is if such collusion of government agencies (as Chilime is also government undertaking) alone could actually contribute to the hydropower development and solve the country's energy crisis.<br />
	<br />
	More serious issues surround the proposed new investment bank. Since it has precluded the private sector since its conceptualisation, its proposed Rs 20 billion equity funding is sure to prove too little to meet the financial resource demand for hydropower development. This amount is only enough to develop 100 to 150 MW of power at the most. Besides, this entity cannot be envisaged to take-up the retail banking to mobilise additional resources. At best, the resource gathered by this bank could be mobilised by other PSEs like Nepal Electricity Authority, nothing more.<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The only right course in this regard would have been the private sector leadership in investment, development and management of<i> all</i> hydropower projects. The government surely could have facilitated with policy and resources instruments it had. But, now things seem to be moving in completely opposite direction. And, the money dammed in by the government authorities might not be able to flow down so as to generate power, at least not in substantial scale and sustainable way. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>',
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			'created' => '2011-08-10',
			'modified' => '2012-08-31',
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			'description' => 'In the mid-June, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced its plan to invest Rs 15.5 billion for four medium-scale hydro-power projects. These projects included 100 megawatt.......',
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			'id' => '350',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'Hope And Fear Of Merger',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">T</span>he trend of announcing merger plans by the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has gathered pace in recent weeks. Media reports about the merger processes initiated between Everest and Kumari Banks, NMB and Clean Energy Development Banks, NCC and NB Banks, Bageshwori and Shangrila Development Banks, Kasthamandap Development Bank and Shikhar Finance, and Himchuli Development Bank and Birgunj Finance are testimonies to this fact. Not to mention several failures of Nepal Rastra Bank's (NRB) monetary policy operation of this year, but in the particular regard to mergers, it is gradually tasting success. The Bank not only had announced all possible facilitation to merger through the monetary policy of this fiscal year, it also introduced several packages of rebates, discounts, waivers and facilities to the BFIs opting for mergers. The NRB threat to force merger of the BFIs that particularly have poor corporate governance has seemingly reawakened several BFIs.</div>
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	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><img align="left" alt="from the editor" border="1" height="297" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img1(1).jpg" style="width: 223px; height: 297px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="223" /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Apparently, the universal objectives of the merger or acquisition are to consolidate the capital, reduce operational expenses, expand business and maximise the profits. However, in our case, mergers of three distinct natures now seem to be in the offing. First, relatively large institutions are planning to create a larger capital base so they could compete with global players who would potentially begin their operation owing to WTO arrangements. Second type of merger would be compulsive of sort as the NRB has asked the BFIs belonging to the same business house to integrate without any ifs and buts. The third types are those who fear the complete meltdown if they fail to merge sooner than later to consolidate resources, introduce corporate best practices and reduce expenses. </span></div>
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	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Nevertheless, irrespective of the reasons compelling BFIs to merge, it was the momentum of absolute imperative but long due. And every individual process to complete smoothly is another task uphill. Even if the process is unimpeded, it takes relatively long time of two to three years depending on the size of the institutions. Nepal does not have structural backing and institutional culture of transparency to allay fears of lay-offs among staff, sense of insecurity in the depositors and apprehensions losing the investment among the shareholders.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	In view of these several crucial stages, right from the expression of intent of merger, choice of the party, preliminary dialogues, due diligence assessment of the institutions, legal and regulatory processes and above all retaining the customer confidence, a dedicated structure that facilitates and provides expert services is indispensable. This could be set up by NRB, Bankers Association or by both combining the skills, needs and expertise. If the merger tempo evident today is not managed properly, none of them are likely to succeed to create another healthier institution. The fear and mismanagement of the process will acquire the hopes. And mergers will continue to be a mirage.&nbsp;</div>
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	<br />
	<br />
	 </div>',
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			'created' => '2011-07-18',
			'modified' => '2012-08-28',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The trend of announcing merger plans by the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has gathered pace in recent weeks. Media reports about the merger processes....',
			'sortorder' => '268',
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			'id' => '295',
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			'title' => 'The White Paper Hoax',
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			'content' => '<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><img align="left" alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="279" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img(3).jpg" style="width: 214px; height: 279px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="214" />A</span>fter failing to bring in a supplementary budget as planned, the lame-duck Jhala Nath Khanal government on 12th April issued a so called White Paper, primarily to placate the senior partner in the coalition government the UCPN - Maoists. At the first place, the issuance of such policy paper was an untimely and unnecessary exercise. Only a few days earlier Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari had announced an energy crisis management plan in the legislature parliament. If anything the government had to add on, that could have been incorporated in that speech. But, Adhikari chose to organise a separate media event in his own ministry to elaborate the priorities of the government through this White Paper.</div>
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	<br />
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	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">Effectively, the paper hardly contained anything new, thus defeating the very purpose of it. Like the earlier government, Adhikari also emphasised on sticking to the so called&nbsp;three pillar private, co-operatives and public pillars concept of the economy, which for all practical purposes is nothing more than verbose. In essence, cooperative is a private sector exercise. And public sector participating with other sectors private or cooperatives is an absolute anti-thesis to economic progress. The state must not be a partnerâ to a party who does the business. Therefore, re-emphasising on this obsolete platitude of partnership is absolute nonsense. </span></div>
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	Second, the very intent was redoubtable and the procedures adopted were questionable. The hidden agenda of the White Paper was to ignite pork barrel spending in non-productive, politically designed programmes. Such an act was propelled by the Maoists wishful plan that&nbsp;the nearly Rs 22 billion remained idle in the government coffers could be used in the party's pet programmes.</div>
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	<br />
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	As regards procedures, any new government surely has moral rights to outline its policies and programmes. But, by norm either it should come as the policy speech of the new prime minister, or the government could table it in the parliament. But a deputy prime minister organising a press meet in his ministry to make the White Paper public barely matched the gravity it warranted.</div>
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	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">The White Paper has artlessly copied several ear-friendly programmes like helping in commercialisation of the agriculture and boosting the private sector business initiatives. But the promises this paper made could be translated into actions only when the parties in the government&nbsp; the Maoists and the UML, first agree to tame their own trade unions. Interestingly, this White Paper hardly talks about the steps to address the present industrial anarchy due to irresponsible behaviour particularly of the ruling party-affiliated unions.</span></div>
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	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Also, it is a great irony that the White Paper instead of serving the government's intended purpose just exposed the ulterior motives of PM Khanal and his affiliates. For the economy, it simply could not leave a mark, let alone contribute positively, as it had no teeth and breath. Going deeper into Deputy PM Adhikariâ's intentions, he so deliberately skipped some of the hottest issues of the economy that needed immediate attention.</span></div>
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	<br />
	 </div>
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	Adhikari very tactfully avoided making any commitment to take action against the businesses involved in forging VAT bills. Similarly, the White Paper did not have any unequivocal position to continue to adopt a free market economy and the government limiting its role not as the market participant but just an honest referee of the game.<br />
	<br />
	 </div>',
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			'created' => '2011-05-31',
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			'description' => 'After failing to bring in a supplementary budget as planned, the lame-duck Jhala Nath Khanal government on 12th April issued a so called White Paper.....',
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			'title' => 'The Plummeting Psyche',
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			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
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	<span aldine401="" color:="" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: ">T</span><span aldine401="" color:="" letter-spacing:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: ">he Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged to five-year low in the last week of March. There are no convincing sign of its recovery on the sight. The gloom is pervasive despite the fact that several concerned agencies are seemingly keen to revive the secondary market. The NEPSE created a separate Central Depository Company (CDC) for an automated settlement of the transactions. No sooner NEPSE sought an operating approval for CDC from its regulator Security Board of Nepal (SEBON), the latter not only acknowledged its application but also brought out a press release highlighting the importance of CDC, understandably, to boost the investors psychology. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) also issued new, fairly flexible directives to the banks regarding their investment in the mutual funds. The central banks marginally softened approach on margin lending should also have contributed positively to NEPSE growth. But none of these steps has actually worked. Why? Within the answer of this big why perhaps lies the solution to the alarming plummet of NEPSE too. <br />
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	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="from the edior" border="1" height="218" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/editor(1).jpg" style="width: 286px; height: 218px; margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="286" /><br />
	<br />
	First, there appears to be a clear lack of co-ordination among three key agencies, the NEPSE, SEBON and the NRB. The lack of </span><span aldine401="" color:="" letter-spacing:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: ">such co-ordination between the NEPSE and SEBON surfaced recently in the issue of providing training to the newly selected brokers. When new brokers join in the trade, an increase in the new investment could be expected. This unnecessary loggerhead between these two institutions not only distracted investors but also discouraged those aspiring to be new brokers. For this reason, only a few out of the 34 finally selected brokers have obtained the LoI, so far. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	Similarly, while issuing the mutual fund directives, the NRB and SEBON apparently didn't have adequate joint exercise. Had they collaborated, the directives could have been more comprehensive covering not only the banks and financial institutions but also all potential investors in the economy. Above all, misunderstandings, primarily owing to their political loyalty among the top officials of these crucial agencies and also with the Finance Ministry are also reported. These are the kind of aversions which could have been easily avoided and must be done rather sooner than later. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	To begin with, such co-ordination could initiate by resolving the training row of the new brokers. Despite highly bearish market, persistent political uncertainty and industrial unrest, these new brokerage companies have come forward to trade. They must not be discouraged by the feud between two public agencies. <br />
	<br />
	</span></p>
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	<span aldine401="" color:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: ">Even more important is: the regulating and operating agencies must stop adopting fragmented approaches both in issuing directives and implementing them. And, all concerned must understand that no bureaucratic action alone would be enough to resurrect the investment psyche without building an overall confidence. This confidence will only stem out of convincingly business friendly political climate. </span></p>',
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			'description' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged to five-year low in the last week of March. There are no convincing sign of its recovery on the sight.',
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			'title' => 'The Indian Currency Conundrum',
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	There are understandable and obvious reasons of seemingly insatiable demand of Indian Currency (IC) in the Nepali economy. India is not only Nepal's largest trade partner, but the Nepal-India export-import ratio is about 1:7, that too only computing on the trade figures of formal channels.<br />
	<br />
	In the first half of the current fiscal year alone, Nepal Rastra Bank purchased nearly about 50 billion Indian Rupees paying other 'highly' convertible foreign currencies; mainly the US dollar. Due to this reason, among others, Nepal's Balance of Payment position has remained shaky for a couple of years now. Purchasing the IC against the forex reserve to finance the deficit trade appears to be nothing less dangerous than riding on a tiger. Worse, there is no sign of narrowing down the gap in this bilateral trade, at least not in the foreseeable future.<br />
	<br />
	To phrase it differently, for long years to come, Nepal has no option but to manage adequate amount of IC to keep alive its economy. It also means that we must explore the ways of managing the sources to reduce the strain on the forex reserve.<br />
	<br />
	This is particularly where our national fiscal managers and monetary authority have failed to devise pragmatic policies vis-a-vis IC management. Had Nepal been able to better manage it, the IC shortfall in the economy though would not have completely neutralised but the gap would have been far narrower than now. There are at least three strikingly glaring issues in this regard, taking-up which could solve larger part of the problem.<br />
	<br />
	First, amending the present system, the central bank of Nepal must allow smaller amount of IC to enter into the banking system. Only excuse that the central bank has to debar IC to NC exchange has increased incidences of fake IC notes, and bank teller's inability to screen them off. But, each bank would not perhaps mind to bear a little additional cost on screening if they could collect substantial amount of IC. This could reduce the IC holding by the individual and the IC entered into the country would spontaneously come into the system.<br />
	 </p>
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	<img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="170" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/editor.jpg" style="width: 225px; height: 170px; margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="225" /></p>
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	Second, the central bank must have enough guts and urgency to talk to lift the embargo on transactions in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations IC notes. It is an open secret that these notes are freely traded by individuals and businesses all over Nepal. But it cannot come and be counted in the system due to the legal sanctions. If this issue could be resolved sooner, the IC supply in Nepal would ease substantially.</p>
<p>
	Third, and the most crucial is that the IC issue is no longer monetary or trade issue alone. It has rather become a bilateral political and diplomatic issue. The Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination issue is linked to smuggling, terrorism and underworld operations, perhaps much hyped than what the reality is. Therefore, the political leadership must take initiative to assure New Delhi about the fair handling of these notes. The political leadership has to play its long due role of opening a formal channel for remittances from India to Nepal. All these efforts combined would at least solve fifty per cent of the problem.<br />
	<br />
	 </p>',
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			'title' => 'Inward Looking Flaws',
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	<b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">T</span></b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">he Extravagant inauguration of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY)- 2011 on 14th January marked the beginning of a yearlong campaign aimed at attracting one million international tourists to Nepal. A well orchestrated mega event was surely a source of new hope for the Nepalis w<input type="hidden" />ho for years were devoid of any optimistic gesture from our sullen political leadership. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">But NTY is not politics, it is the pure business. This is the fact which our politicians put on the backburner once again. Millions of rupees were spent to choreograph the parades, paragliders and political speeches at the Dashrath Stadium of Kathmandu. But the link between the event held in the capital and sublime purpose of attracting one million&nbsp; tourist was apparently missing, to say the least. According to the sources in Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, the inauguration ceremony alone cost about Rs 25 million to the state exchequer. But no one involved in the feast is probably able to establish how&nbsp; a single Nepal bound international tourist would be influenced by this event. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	 </p>
<p class="BODYTEXT" style="text-align: justify;">
	<b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"><img alt="from the editor" border="1" height="221" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/nty.jpg" style="width: 267px; height: 221px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="267" /></span></b></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Instead, had the visionaries of NTY&nbsp; 2011 spent the amount&nbsp; Rs one million each for 25 potentially tourist originating countries for example for international promotion of Nepal as the most fascinating destination, the impact would have been certainly more productive. The flaw could be dismissed as all the public sector decisions are like that. But here, our private sector leaders are boasting to be the managers of the entire activities; in that case, it is also the failure of the private sector. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Not only the inauguration ceremony of NY&nbsp; 2011 was marred by Nepal's inward looking flaws, the campaign and promotion planning for the entire event appears ad-hoc. Hiccups like the government's failure to release the budget it committed were already there. But in more serious note, the steering committee did not bother to mobilise diplomatic channels to promote NTY. The greatest testimony to it was, the USA issued adverse travel advisory to its citizens not to visit Nepal, on the very eve of the inauguration. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">The complaints of the sector like sports on their exclusion is also valid, as claimed, they could have developed products of sports and other sector tourism. Regardless of anything that went right or wrong, the NTY has already begun. Therefore, the remaining period of time and resources must be used purposefully, unlike the way it was done for the inauguration.</span></p>',
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			'title' => 'The Financial Policing October 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The central bank, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has recently indicated that it would tighten the grip on the financial criminals not only by introducing more effective regulation and supervision policies, but also by acting as the enforcer of these policies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The NRB has chosen to take up the role of arresting the financial criminals in direct co-work with police.&nbsp;Instead of earlier arrangement of going through the Ministry of Finance (MoF) with a suspect lists and the line ministries passing out buck from MoF to Home Ministry, from Home Ministry to District Administrative offices and then to the District Police, this NRB initiative would surely shorten the process of apprehending the absconded ones. It is reported that the MoF has given consent to NRB to directly deal with the police to initiate the process of arrests. Similarly, NRB is also reportedly formulating a policy to liquidate those financial institutions whose promoters or executives remain absconded for long.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<img align="right" alt="" border="2" height="397" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/edit.jpg" vspace="5" width="350" />In light of the growing incidents of abscondence of the promoters and executives of some development banks and finance companies, the NRB move appears a welcome one.&nbsp;It is also true that in Nepal among all the criminals, the financial ones largely remain scot free by using every possible influence including, may be, money.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Such NRB activism also seems convincing vis-a-vis the central bank's responsibility of maintaining financial system stability in the country. But the core question here is: will these moves actually contribute the promotion of corporate governance in this sector? And, do these schemes fit in the concept of â€˜slim and smart central bank focused on its core functions?</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Unquestionably, the criminals must be brought to book and justice delivered. But NRB initiating the legal process on its own will have several other ramifications. First, it must have a stronger and larger legal department. Second, the government dealing directly with the law-enforcing agencies is always more effective. And, third, as the experiences have it, the problem in apprehending the allegeds lies largely in the police functioning. At that crucial point, NRB move may falter. NRB cannot be expected to be able to change the attitude and modus operandi of the police.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Also the very idea of liquidating the entire institution just because a fraudulent person, who happened to be a decision maker, remained at large is not at all justifiable. One of the cardinal responsibilities of the NRB is to protect the depositors interest first, which in turn, facilitates the system stability. If any promoter or executive flees away, the moral responsibility should also be taken by the NRB as well. And, as the regulator, the decision of liquidating the financial institutions must be based on the financial health of the institution and its future viability. Let's not forget that there is a specialised legal mechanism already in place to deal with corporate liquidation/bankruptcy. The clients have made no mistake by doing business with the NRB licensed and supposedly supervised companies and they must not suffer for the fault of somebody else.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The NRB must understand that it can neither escape from its responsibility of maintaining the financial stability by enhanced regulation and supervision nor should it be turned into a police like organisation.</div>',
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			'title' => 'Nepal’s Redoubtable Poverty Statistics September 2011',
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			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">T</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">he report of the Third Living Standard Survey (TLSS) a month ago declared that only 13 per cent of Nepali people now live under the so called absolute poverty line. Highly encouraging though, this news is the one extremely hard to believe instantly. There are reasons for this suspicion. With only 13 per cent of people below the poverty line, the data puts Nepal in better position than the countries like Russia, United Kingdom, South Korea, Belgium, Germany and Japan with 13.1, 14, 15, 15.2, 15.5 and 15.7 per cent of people below the poverty line, respectively. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Nepal's ground realities regarding the factors that could contribute to poverty reduction availability of foods, shelter and job opportunities to the social and economic safeties are in no way comparable to the countries mentioned above, as the examples. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><img alt="" border="2" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img1%283%29.jpg" style="width: 324px; height: 400px;" vspace="10" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><br />
	Such drastic reduction of poverty from 12 per cent in 2004 to 13 per cent in 2011 has taken place during the most adverse political climate in the country's history. There was civil war of sorts until 2006. Since then, political instability has gravely affected the industrial and business climate. In absence of elected local governments for over a decade now, service delivery mechanism is in virtual ramshackle. No substantive FDI has flowed in. No other economic indicators are positive to cite under these adversities. Such an astonishing improvement in poverty situation is a real paradox. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Only reason attributed to the impressive improvement is the somewhat consistent inflow of the workers remittances. But, given the fact that majority of Nepali workers going abroad for meagrely paid jobs, it is hard to believe that this single phenomenon can make such a huge difference. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Therefore, the date catered to the people by the government agencies are either deliberate lies or, if that is not the case, we have adopted some highly flawed method in conducting the research for TLSS. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In fact, the task of measuring poverty is in itself a very complex affair. It is more so in a country like Nepal where competent and independent research institutions are, in real terms, non-existent. And, citizenry and other stakeholders of economic activities have no alternative but to mime government agencies like the National Planning Commission and Central Bureau of Statistics.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Our universities and other independent institutions have so far failed to generate comparable, or at best, countering data on the various aspects of the country's economy, including poverty. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">These factors have combined to raise serious questions on Nepal's credibility in international community. Culprits to this have been none other than the government agencies involved. The situation warrants more credible and pragmatic approach in counting our poverty. </span></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-09-28',
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The report of the Third Living Standard Survey (TLSS) a month ago declared that only 13 per cent of Nepali people now live under the so called absolute poverty line.',
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			'title' => 'Beyond The Budget 2011/12  August 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">T</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">he fiscal and monetary policies for FY 2011/12 made public in the third week of July have shown an appallingly anti-free market and anti-private sector tilt. The much touted about three-pillar concept that puts the government, cooperatives and the private sector at par is in itself an unfeasible proposition.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In a free-market economy, it is unfair on the part of the government to seek its share of the role in the market. At best, the government can be a facilitator. That means its role should be limited in introducing appropriate legislations, maintaining law and order and keeping surveillance to ensure a fair play in the market competition. That is in fact not a role of the government but its duty to be undertaken even to justify its very existence. An anti-free market argument suggest that the role of the government is essential at least to build large-scale infrastructures and to conduct economic diplomacy. But, squarely, it is the private sector tax that finances these activities, and the government is just a manager of it. If the private sector is exempted of all taxes in exchange of their contribution in building infrastructures too, one may not at all need the role of the government. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="315" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ucpn.jpg" style="margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="400" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><br />
	Moreover, the proposed budget (fiscal policy) plans to spend more as general expenditure (just to maintain the government) than what it plans to collect as taxes. Economic diplomacy has remained a rusted sword, unused ever since the debate began regarding its importance. For all these reasons, government's self-claimed role as one of the three pillars is thus a clumsy hyperbole.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	There has been an extensive debate on recognising the cooperatives as an equal and parallel pillar. Apparently, the appropriate recognition it deserves is a sub-pillar under the private sector head. By all logic, effectively, there should be single pillar-economy led, invested, managed and operated by the private sector.</span><br />
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">But this policy has treated the private sector just contrary to this. The government has in fact done more harm by using its discretionary power to siphon away substantial amount of budget from development programmes to appease the Maoists. In this sense, the government role is becoming increasingly dangerous for the general people.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	In comparison to the fiscal policy (budget), monetary policy has taken more balanced approach. For example, despite the announcement in the budget that saving and credit cooperatives would now on be supervised by the central bank, the monetary policy has chosen to remain silent on it.<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
	&nbsp;As the fact of the matter, both fiscal and monetary policies have come as mere rituals. The present day problems of the economy perhaps are beyond the jurisdiction and capacity of the realms of these policies. Therefore, to reviewing the economy from the present slump the leadership should first address the challenges of non-monetary and non-fiscal nature, but have direct bearings to the economic growth and prosperity of the country. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>',
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			'title' => 'A Volte-face On Hydropower Development July 2011',
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			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">I</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">n the mid-June, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced its plan to invest Rs 15.5 billion for four medium-scale hydro-power projects. These projects included 100 megawatt Rasuwagadhi, 120 MW mid-Bhotekoshi, 14.6 MW upper-Syangden and 42.5 Syangden hydropower. All these projects are constructed by Chilime Hydropower Company at the cost of Rs 32.11 billion. The EPF commitment is almost half of the estimated cost. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In another development, government began its exercise to establish Hydropower Development and Investment Company, so far the largest development bank in Nepal for the purpose. This new company aims to generate at least Rs 20 billion as equity, mainly from the government and the public sector enterprises (PSEs), again, from the like of EPF.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">There is no denying the fact that the country is in desperate need of resources to develop the hydropower, the sooner the better. And, also, Nepal must develop adequate hydropower projects not only to meet its ever growing energy needs but also to harness the water power that is available in abundance within the country.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="386" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/1.jpg" style="margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="350" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">But, these needs do not necessarily justify the recent government adventurism to manage resources for its development. Both, the EPF investment and setting-up of a new bank has two things in common. One, the government</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">is only looking into the option of government-guided development of the sector. It is also because the EPF investment cannot be termed anything else as it is the fully government owned pension fund with almost monopoly in the market. And the proposed new entity has also proposed to incorporate rich PSEs alone. Second, in both the processes, possible involvement, participation and investment of the private sector have been completely ignored. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">This is exactly the unbecoming for Nepal's hydropower development. On the one hand, there is already a debate on what degree of flexibility the EPF and the like PSEs should enjoy in diversifying its investment portfolio. And on the other, the question is if such collusion of government agencies (as Chilime is also government undertaking) alone could actually contribute to the hydropower development and solve the country's energy crisis.<br />
	<br />
	More serious issues surround the proposed new investment bank. Since it has precluded the private sector since its conceptualisation, its proposed Rs 20 billion equity funding is sure to prove too little to meet the financial resource demand for hydropower development. This amount is only enough to develop 100 to 150 MW of power at the most. Besides, this entity cannot be envisaged to take-up the retail banking to mobilise additional resources. At best, the resource gathered by this bank could be mobilised by other PSEs like Nepal Electricity Authority, nothing more.<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The only right course in this regard would have been the private sector leadership in investment, development and management of<i> all</i> hydropower projects. The government surely could have facilitated with policy and resources instruments it had. But, now things seem to be moving in completely opposite direction. And, the money dammed in by the government authorities might not be able to flow down so as to generate power, at least not in substantial scale and sustainable way. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>',
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			'created' => '2011-08-10',
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			'description' => 'In the mid-June, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced its plan to invest Rs 15.5 billion for four medium-scale hydro-power projects. These projects included 100 megawatt.......',
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			'id' => '350',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'Hope And Fear Of Merger',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">T</span>he trend of announcing merger plans by the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has gathered pace in recent weeks. Media reports about the merger processes initiated between Everest and Kumari Banks, NMB and Clean Energy Development Banks, NCC and NB Banks, Bageshwori and Shangrila Development Banks, Kasthamandap Development Bank and Shikhar Finance, and Himchuli Development Bank and Birgunj Finance are testimonies to this fact. Not to mention several failures of Nepal Rastra Bank's (NRB) monetary policy operation of this year, but in the particular regard to mergers, it is gradually tasting success. The Bank not only had announced all possible facilitation to merger through the monetary policy of this fiscal year, it also introduced several packages of rebates, discounts, waivers and facilities to the BFIs opting for mergers. The NRB threat to force merger of the BFIs that particularly have poor corporate governance has seemingly reawakened several BFIs.</div>
<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><img align="left" alt="from the editor" border="1" height="297" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img1(1).jpg" style="width: 223px; height: 297px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="223" /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Apparently, the universal objectives of the merger or acquisition are to consolidate the capital, reduce operational expenses, expand business and maximise the profits. However, in our case, mergers of three distinct natures now seem to be in the offing. First, relatively large institutions are planning to create a larger capital base so they could compete with global players who would potentially begin their operation owing to WTO arrangements. Second type of merger would be compulsive of sort as the NRB has asked the BFIs belonging to the same business house to integrate without any ifs and buts. The third types are those who fear the complete meltdown if they fail to merge sooner than later to consolidate resources, introduce corporate best practices and reduce expenses. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Nevertheless, irrespective of the reasons compelling BFIs to merge, it was the momentum of absolute imperative but long due. And every individual process to complete smoothly is another task uphill. Even if the process is unimpeded, it takes relatively long time of two to three years depending on the size of the institutions. Nepal does not have structural backing and institutional culture of transparency to allay fears of lay-offs among staff, sense of insecurity in the depositors and apprehensions losing the investment among the shareholders.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	In view of these several crucial stages, right from the expression of intent of merger, choice of the party, preliminary dialogues, due diligence assessment of the institutions, legal and regulatory processes and above all retaining the customer confidence, a dedicated structure that facilitates and provides expert services is indispensable. This could be set up by NRB, Bankers Association or by both combining the skills, needs and expertise. If the merger tempo evident today is not managed properly, none of them are likely to succeed to create another healthier institution. The fear and mismanagement of the process will acquire the hopes. And mergers will continue to be a mirage.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	<br />
	 </div>',
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			'created' => '2011-07-18',
			'modified' => '2012-08-28',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The trend of announcing merger plans by the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has gathered pace in recent weeks. Media reports about the merger processes....',
			'sortorder' => '268',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '295',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'The White Paper Hoax',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><img align="left" alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="279" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img(3).jpg" style="width: 214px; height: 279px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="214" />A</span>fter failing to bring in a supplementary budget as planned, the lame-duck Jhala Nath Khanal government on 12th April issued a so called White Paper, primarily to placate the senior partner in the coalition government the UCPN - Maoists. At the first place, the issuance of such policy paper was an untimely and unnecessary exercise. Only a few days earlier Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari had announced an energy crisis management plan in the legislature parliament. If anything the government had to add on, that could have been incorporated in that speech. But, Adhikari chose to organise a separate media event in his own ministry to elaborate the priorities of the government through this White Paper.</div>
<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">Effectively, the paper hardly contained anything new, thus defeating the very purpose of it. Like the earlier government, Adhikari also emphasised on sticking to the so called&nbsp;three pillar private, co-operatives and public pillars concept of the economy, which for all practical purposes is nothing more than verbose. In essence, cooperative is a private sector exercise. And public sector participating with other sectors private or cooperatives is an absolute anti-thesis to economic progress. The state must not be a partnerâ to a party who does the business. Therefore, re-emphasising on this obsolete platitude of partnership is absolute nonsense. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Second, the very intent was redoubtable and the procedures adopted were questionable. The hidden agenda of the White Paper was to ignite pork barrel spending in non-productive, politically designed programmes. Such an act was propelled by the Maoists wishful plan that&nbsp;the nearly Rs 22 billion remained idle in the government coffers could be used in the party's pet programmes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	As regards procedures, any new government surely has moral rights to outline its policies and programmes. But, by norm either it should come as the policy speech of the new prime minister, or the government could table it in the parliament. But a deputy prime minister organising a press meet in his ministry to make the White Paper public barely matched the gravity it warranted.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">The White Paper has artlessly copied several ear-friendly programmes like helping in commercialisation of the agriculture and boosting the private sector business initiatives. But the promises this paper made could be translated into actions only when the parties in the government&nbsp; the Maoists and the UML, first agree to tame their own trade unions. Interestingly, this White Paper hardly talks about the steps to address the present industrial anarchy due to irresponsible behaviour particularly of the ruling party-affiliated unions.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Also, it is a great irony that the White Paper instead of serving the government's intended purpose just exposed the ulterior motives of PM Khanal and his affiliates. For the economy, it simply could not leave a mark, let alone contribute positively, as it had no teeth and breath. Going deeper into Deputy PM Adhikariâ's intentions, he so deliberately skipped some of the hottest issues of the economy that needed immediate attention.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Adhikari very tactfully avoided making any commitment to take action against the businesses involved in forging VAT bills. Similarly, the White Paper did not have any unequivocal position to continue to adopt a free market economy and the government limiting its role not as the market participant but just an honest referee of the game.<br />
	<br />
	 </div>',
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			'title' => 'The Plummeting Psyche',
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			'content' => '<p>
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	<span aldine401="" color:="" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: ">T</span><span aldine401="" color:="" letter-spacing:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: ">he Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged to five-year low in the last week of March. There are no convincing sign of its recovery on the sight. The gloom is pervasive despite the fact that several concerned agencies are seemingly keen to revive the secondary market. The NEPSE created a separate Central Depository Company (CDC) for an automated settlement of the transactions. No sooner NEPSE sought an operating approval for CDC from its regulator Security Board of Nepal (SEBON), the latter not only acknowledged its application but also brought out a press release highlighting the importance of CDC, understandably, to boost the investors psychology. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) also issued new, fairly flexible directives to the banks regarding their investment in the mutual funds. The central banks marginally softened approach on margin lending should also have contributed positively to NEPSE growth. But none of these steps has actually worked. Why? Within the answer of this big why perhaps lies the solution to the alarming plummet of NEPSE too. <br />
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	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="from the edior" border="1" height="218" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/editor(1).jpg" style="width: 286px; height: 218px; margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="286" /><br />
	<br />
	First, there appears to be a clear lack of co-ordination among three key agencies, the NEPSE, SEBON and the NRB. The lack of </span><span aldine401="" color:="" letter-spacing:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: ">such co-ordination between the NEPSE and SEBON surfaced recently in the issue of providing training to the newly selected brokers. When new brokers join in the trade, an increase in the new investment could be expected. This unnecessary loggerhead between these two institutions not only distracted investors but also discouraged those aspiring to be new brokers. For this reason, only a few out of the 34 finally selected brokers have obtained the LoI, so far. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	Similarly, while issuing the mutual fund directives, the NRB and SEBON apparently didn't have adequate joint exercise. Had they collaborated, the directives could have been more comprehensive covering not only the banks and financial institutions but also all potential investors in the economy. Above all, misunderstandings, primarily owing to their political loyalty among the top officials of these crucial agencies and also with the Finance Ministry are also reported. These are the kind of aversions which could have been easily avoided and must be done rather sooner than later. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	To begin with, such co-ordination could initiate by resolving the training row of the new brokers. Despite highly bearish market, persistent political uncertainty and industrial unrest, these new brokerage companies have come forward to trade. They must not be discouraged by the feud between two public agencies. <br />
	<br />
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	<span aldine401="" color:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: ">Even more important is: the regulating and operating agencies must stop adopting fragmented approaches both in issuing directives and implementing them. And, all concerned must understand that no bureaucratic action alone would be enough to resurrect the investment psyche without building an overall confidence. This confidence will only stem out of convincingly business friendly political climate. </span></p>',
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			'title' => 'The Indian Currency Conundrum',
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	There are understandable and obvious reasons of seemingly insatiable demand of Indian Currency (IC) in the Nepali economy. India is not only Nepal's largest trade partner, but the Nepal-India export-import ratio is about 1:7, that too only computing on the trade figures of formal channels.<br />
	<br />
	In the first half of the current fiscal year alone, Nepal Rastra Bank purchased nearly about 50 billion Indian Rupees paying other 'highly' convertible foreign currencies; mainly the US dollar. Due to this reason, among others, Nepal's Balance of Payment position has remained shaky for a couple of years now. Purchasing the IC against the forex reserve to finance the deficit trade appears to be nothing less dangerous than riding on a tiger. Worse, there is no sign of narrowing down the gap in this bilateral trade, at least not in the foreseeable future.<br />
	<br />
	To phrase it differently, for long years to come, Nepal has no option but to manage adequate amount of IC to keep alive its economy. It also means that we must explore the ways of managing the sources to reduce the strain on the forex reserve.<br />
	<br />
	This is particularly where our national fiscal managers and monetary authority have failed to devise pragmatic policies vis-a-vis IC management. Had Nepal been able to better manage it, the IC shortfall in the economy though would not have completely neutralised but the gap would have been far narrower than now. There are at least three strikingly glaring issues in this regard, taking-up which could solve larger part of the problem.<br />
	<br />
	First, amending the present system, the central bank of Nepal must allow smaller amount of IC to enter into the banking system. Only excuse that the central bank has to debar IC to NC exchange has increased incidences of fake IC notes, and bank teller's inability to screen them off. But, each bank would not perhaps mind to bear a little additional cost on screening if they could collect substantial amount of IC. This could reduce the IC holding by the individual and the IC entered into the country would spontaneously come into the system.<br />
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	<img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="170" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/editor.jpg" style="width: 225px; height: 170px; margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="225" /></p>
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	Second, the central bank must have enough guts and urgency to talk to lift the embargo on transactions in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations IC notes. It is an open secret that these notes are freely traded by individuals and businesses all over Nepal. But it cannot come and be counted in the system due to the legal sanctions. If this issue could be resolved sooner, the IC supply in Nepal would ease substantially.</p>
<p>
	Third, and the most crucial is that the IC issue is no longer monetary or trade issue alone. It has rather become a bilateral political and diplomatic issue. The Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination issue is linked to smuggling, terrorism and underworld operations, perhaps much hyped than what the reality is. Therefore, the political leadership must take initiative to assure New Delhi about the fair handling of these notes. The political leadership has to play its long due role of opening a formal channel for remittances from India to Nepal. All these efforts combined would at least solve fifty per cent of the problem.<br />
	<br />
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			'title' => 'Inward Looking Flaws',
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	<b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">T</span></b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">he Extravagant inauguration of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY)- 2011 on 14th January marked the beginning of a yearlong campaign aimed at attracting one million international tourists to Nepal. A well orchestrated mega event was surely a source of new hope for the Nepalis w<input type="hidden" />ho for years were devoid of any optimistic gesture from our sullen political leadership. <br />
	</span></p>
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	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">But NTY is not politics, it is the pure business. This is the fact which our politicians put on the backburner once again. Millions of rupees were spent to choreograph the parades, paragliders and political speeches at the Dashrath Stadium of Kathmandu. But the link between the event held in the capital and sublime purpose of attracting one million&nbsp; tourist was apparently missing, to say the least. According to the sources in Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, the inauguration ceremony alone cost about Rs 25 million to the state exchequer. But no one involved in the feast is probably able to establish how&nbsp; a single Nepal bound international tourist would be influenced by this event. <br />
	</span></p>
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	 </p>
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	<b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"><img alt="from the editor" border="1" height="221" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/nty.jpg" style="width: 267px; height: 221px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="267" /></span></b></p>
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	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Instead, had the visionaries of NTY&nbsp; 2011 spent the amount&nbsp; Rs one million each for 25 potentially tourist originating countries for example for international promotion of Nepal as the most fascinating destination, the impact would have been certainly more productive. The flaw could be dismissed as all the public sector decisions are like that. But here, our private sector leaders are boasting to be the managers of the entire activities; in that case, it is also the failure of the private sector. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Not only the inauguration ceremony of NY&nbsp; 2011 was marred by Nepal's inward looking flaws, the campaign and promotion planning for the entire event appears ad-hoc. Hiccups like the government's failure to release the budget it committed were already there. But in more serious note, the steering committee did not bother to mobilise diplomatic channels to promote NTY. The greatest testimony to it was, the USA issued adverse travel advisory to its citizens not to visit Nepal, on the very eve of the inauguration. <br />
	</span></p>
<p class="BODYTEXT">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">The complaints of the sector like sports on their exclusion is also valid, as claimed, they could have developed products of sports and other sector tourism. Regardless of anything that went right or wrong, the NTY has already begun. Therefore, the remaining period of time and resources must be used purposefully, unlike the way it was done for the inauguration.</span></p>',
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			'title' => 'The Financial Policing October 2011',
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			'content' => '<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The central bank, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has recently indicated that it would tighten the grip on the financial criminals not only by introducing more effective regulation and supervision policies, but also by acting as the enforcer of these policies.</div>
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	The NRB has chosen to take up the role of arresting the financial criminals in direct co-work with police.&nbsp;Instead of earlier arrangement of going through the Ministry of Finance (MoF) with a suspect lists and the line ministries passing out buck from MoF to Home Ministry, from Home Ministry to District Administrative offices and then to the District Police, this NRB initiative would surely shorten the process of apprehending the absconded ones. It is reported that the MoF has given consent to NRB to directly deal with the police to initiate the process of arrests. Similarly, NRB is also reportedly formulating a policy to liquidate those financial institutions whose promoters or executives remain absconded for long.</div>
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	 </div>
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	<img align="right" alt="" border="2" height="397" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/edit.jpg" vspace="5" width="350" />In light of the growing incidents of abscondence of the promoters and executives of some development banks and finance companies, the NRB move appears a welcome one.&nbsp;It is also true that in Nepal among all the criminals, the financial ones largely remain scot free by using every possible influence including, may be, money.</div>
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	Such NRB activism also seems convincing vis-a-vis the central bank's responsibility of maintaining financial system stability in the country. But the core question here is: will these moves actually contribute the promotion of corporate governance in this sector? And, do these schemes fit in the concept of â€˜slim and smart central bank focused on its core functions?</div>
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	 </div>
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	Unquestionably, the criminals must be brought to book and justice delivered. But NRB initiating the legal process on its own will have several other ramifications. First, it must have a stronger and larger legal department. Second, the government dealing directly with the law-enforcing agencies is always more effective. And, third, as the experiences have it, the problem in apprehending the allegeds lies largely in the police functioning. At that crucial point, NRB move may falter. NRB cannot be expected to be able to change the attitude and modus operandi of the police.</div>
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	<br />
	 </div>
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	Also the very idea of liquidating the entire institution just because a fraudulent person, who happened to be a decision maker, remained at large is not at all justifiable. One of the cardinal responsibilities of the NRB is to protect the depositors interest first, which in turn, facilitates the system stability. If any promoter or executive flees away, the moral responsibility should also be taken by the NRB as well. And, as the regulator, the decision of liquidating the financial institutions must be based on the financial health of the institution and its future viability. Let's not forget that there is a specialised legal mechanism already in place to deal with corporate liquidation/bankruptcy. The clients have made no mistake by doing business with the NRB licensed and supposedly supervised companies and they must not suffer for the fault of somebody else.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
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	The NRB must understand that it can neither escape from its responsibility of maintaining the financial stability by enhanced regulation and supervision nor should it be turned into a police like organisation.</div>',
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			'title' => 'Nepal’s Redoubtable Poverty Statistics September 2011',
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	<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">T</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">he report of the Third Living Standard Survey (TLSS) a month ago declared that only 13 per cent of Nepali people now live under the so called absolute poverty line. Highly encouraging though, this news is the one extremely hard to believe instantly. There are reasons for this suspicion. With only 13 per cent of people below the poverty line, the data puts Nepal in better position than the countries like Russia, United Kingdom, South Korea, Belgium, Germany and Japan with 13.1, 14, 15, 15.2, 15.5 and 15.7 per cent of people below the poverty line, respectively. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Nepal's ground realities regarding the factors that could contribute to poverty reduction availability of foods, shelter and job opportunities to the social and economic safeties are in no way comparable to the countries mentioned above, as the examples. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><img alt="" border="2" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img1%283%29.jpg" style="width: 324px; height: 400px;" vspace="10" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><br />
	Such drastic reduction of poverty from 12 per cent in 2004 to 13 per cent in 2011 has taken place during the most adverse political climate in the country's history. There was civil war of sorts until 2006. Since then, political instability has gravely affected the industrial and business climate. In absence of elected local governments for over a decade now, service delivery mechanism is in virtual ramshackle. No substantive FDI has flowed in. No other economic indicators are positive to cite under these adversities. Such an astonishing improvement in poverty situation is a real paradox. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Only reason attributed to the impressive improvement is the somewhat consistent inflow of the workers remittances. But, given the fact that majority of Nepali workers going abroad for meagrely paid jobs, it is hard to believe that this single phenomenon can make such a huge difference. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Therefore, the date catered to the people by the government agencies are either deliberate lies or, if that is not the case, we have adopted some highly flawed method in conducting the research for TLSS. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In fact, the task of measuring poverty is in itself a very complex affair. It is more so in a country like Nepal where competent and independent research institutions are, in real terms, non-existent. And, citizenry and other stakeholders of economic activities have no alternative but to mime government agencies like the National Planning Commission and Central Bureau of Statistics.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">Our universities and other independent institutions have so far failed to generate comparable, or at best, countering data on the various aspects of the country's economy, including poverty. <br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">These factors have combined to raise serious questions on Nepal's credibility in international community. Culprits to this have been none other than the government agencies involved. The situation warrants more credible and pragmatic approach in counting our poverty. </span></div>',
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			'id' => '419',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'Beyond The Budget 2011/12  August 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">T</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">he fiscal and monetary policies for FY 2011/12 made public in the third week of July have shown an appallingly anti-free market and anti-private sector tilt. The much touted about three-pillar concept that puts the government, cooperatives and the private sector at par is in itself an unfeasible proposition.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In a free-market economy, it is unfair on the part of the government to seek its share of the role in the market. At best, the government can be a facilitator. That means its role should be limited in introducing appropriate legislations, maintaining law and order and keeping surveillance to ensure a fair play in the market competition. That is in fact not a role of the government but its duty to be undertaken even to justify its very existence. An anti-free market argument suggest that the role of the government is essential at least to build large-scale infrastructures and to conduct economic diplomacy. But, squarely, it is the private sector tax that finances these activities, and the government is just a manager of it. If the private sector is exempted of all taxes in exchange of their contribution in building infrastructures too, one may not at all need the role of the government. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="315" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ucpn.jpg" style="margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="400" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><br />
	Moreover, the proposed budget (fiscal policy) plans to spend more as general expenditure (just to maintain the government) than what it plans to collect as taxes. Economic diplomacy has remained a rusted sword, unused ever since the debate began regarding its importance. For all these reasons, government's self-claimed role as one of the three pillars is thus a clumsy hyperbole.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	There has been an extensive debate on recognising the cooperatives as an equal and parallel pillar. Apparently, the appropriate recognition it deserves is a sub-pillar under the private sector head. By all logic, effectively, there should be single pillar-economy led, invested, managed and operated by the private sector.</span><br />
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">But this policy has treated the private sector just contrary to this. The government has in fact done more harm by using its discretionary power to siphon away substantial amount of budget from development programmes to appease the Maoists. In this sense, the government role is becoming increasingly dangerous for the general people.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	In comparison to the fiscal policy (budget), monetary policy has taken more balanced approach. For example, despite the announcement in the budget that saving and credit cooperatives would now on be supervised by the central bank, the monetary policy has chosen to remain silent on it.<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
	&nbsp;As the fact of the matter, both fiscal and monetary policies have come as mere rituals. The present day problems of the economy perhaps are beyond the jurisdiction and capacity of the realms of these policies. Therefore, to reviewing the economy from the present slump the leadership should first address the challenges of non-monetary and non-fiscal nature, but have direct bearings to the economic growth and prosperity of the country. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-09-06',
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			'description' => 'The fiscal and monetary policies for FY 2011/12 made public in the third week of July have shown an appallingly anti-free market and anti-private sector tilt. The much touted about............',
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			'id' => '385',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'A Volte-face On Hydropower Development July 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">I</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">n the mid-June, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced its plan to invest Rs 15.5 billion for four medium-scale hydro-power projects. These projects included 100 megawatt Rasuwagadhi, 120 MW mid-Bhotekoshi, 14.6 MW upper-Syangden and 42.5 Syangden hydropower. All these projects are constructed by Chilime Hydropower Company at the cost of Rs 32.11 billion. The EPF commitment is almost half of the estimated cost. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">In another development, government began its exercise to establish Hydropower Development and Investment Company, so far the largest development bank in Nepal for the purpose. This new company aims to generate at least Rs 20 billion as equity, mainly from the government and the public sector enterprises (PSEs), again, from the like of EPF.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">There is no denying the fact that the country is in desperate need of resources to develop the hydropower, the sooner the better. And, also, Nepal must develop adequate hydropower projects not only to meet its ever growing energy needs but also to harness the water power that is available in abundance within the country.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="386" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/1.jpg" style="margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="350" /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">But, these needs do not necessarily justify the recent government adventurism to manage resources for its development. Both, the EPF investment and setting-up of a new bank has two things in common. One, the government</span><span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">is only looking into the option of government-guided development of the sector. It is also because the EPF investment cannot be termed anything else as it is the fully government owned pension fund with almost monopoly in the market. And the proposed new entity has also proposed to incorporate rich PSEs alone. Second, in both the processes, possible involvement, participation and investment of the private sector have been completely ignored. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	<br />
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;">This is exactly the unbecoming for Nepal's hydropower development. On the one hand, there is already a debate on what degree of flexibility the EPF and the like PSEs should enjoy in diversifying its investment portfolio. And on the other, the question is if such collusion of government agencies (as Chilime is also government undertaking) alone could actually contribute to the hydropower development and solve the country's energy crisis.<br />
	<br />
	More serious issues surround the proposed new investment bank. Since it has precluded the private sector since its conceptualisation, its proposed Rs 20 billion equity funding is sure to prove too little to meet the financial resource demand for hydropower development. This amount is only enough to develop 100 to 150 MW of power at the most. Besides, this entity cannot be envisaged to take-up the retail banking to mobilise additional resources. At best, the resource gathered by this bank could be mobilised by other PSEs like Nepal Electricity Authority, nothing more.<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 14.15pt; line-height: 11pt; vertical-align: middle;">
	 </div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The only right course in this regard would have been the private sector leadership in investment, development and management of<i> all</i> hydropower projects. The government surely could have facilitated with policy and resources instruments it had. But, now things seem to be moving in completely opposite direction. And, the money dammed in by the government authorities might not be able to flow down so as to generate power, at least not in substantial scale and sustainable way. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-08-10',
			'modified' => '2012-08-31',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'In the mid-June, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) announced its plan to invest Rs 15.5 billion for four medium-scale hydro-power projects. These projects included 100 megawatt.......',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '350',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'Hope And Fear Of Merger',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">T</span>he trend of announcing merger plans by the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has gathered pace in recent weeks. Media reports about the merger processes initiated between Everest and Kumari Banks, NMB and Clean Energy Development Banks, NCC and NB Banks, Bageshwori and Shangrila Development Banks, Kasthamandap Development Bank and Shikhar Finance, and Himchuli Development Bank and Birgunj Finance are testimonies to this fact. Not to mention several failures of Nepal Rastra Bank's (NRB) monetary policy operation of this year, but in the particular regard to mergers, it is gradually tasting success. The Bank not only had announced all possible facilitation to merger through the monetary policy of this fiscal year, it also introduced several packages of rebates, discounts, waivers and facilities to the BFIs opting for mergers. The NRB threat to force merger of the BFIs that particularly have poor corporate governance has seemingly reawakened several BFIs.</div>
<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><img align="left" alt="from the editor" border="1" height="297" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img1(1).jpg" style="width: 223px; height: 297px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="223" /></span><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Apparently, the universal objectives of the merger or acquisition are to consolidate the capital, reduce operational expenses, expand business and maximise the profits. However, in our case, mergers of three distinct natures now seem to be in the offing. First, relatively large institutions are planning to create a larger capital base so they could compete with global players who would potentially begin their operation owing to WTO arrangements. Second type of merger would be compulsive of sort as the NRB has asked the BFIs belonging to the same business house to integrate without any ifs and buts. The third types are those who fear the complete meltdown if they fail to merge sooner than later to consolidate resources, introduce corporate best practices and reduce expenses. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Nevertheless, irrespective of the reasons compelling BFIs to merge, it was the momentum of absolute imperative but long due. And every individual process to complete smoothly is another task uphill. Even if the process is unimpeded, it takes relatively long time of two to three years depending on the size of the institutions. Nepal does not have structural backing and institutional culture of transparency to allay fears of lay-offs among staff, sense of insecurity in the depositors and apprehensions losing the investment among the shareholders.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	In view of these several crucial stages, right from the expression of intent of merger, choice of the party, preliminary dialogues, due diligence assessment of the institutions, legal and regulatory processes and above all retaining the customer confidence, a dedicated structure that facilitates and provides expert services is indispensable. This could be set up by NRB, Bankers Association or by both combining the skills, needs and expertise. If the merger tempo evident today is not managed properly, none of them are likely to succeed to create another healthier institution. The fear and mismanagement of the process will acquire the hopes. And mergers will continue to be a mirage.&nbsp;</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	<br />
	 </div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-07-18',
			'modified' => '2012-08-28',
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			'description' => 'The trend of announcing merger plans by the banks and financial institutions (BFIs) has gathered pace in recent weeks. Media reports about the merger processes....',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '295',
			'article_category_id' => '52',
			'title' => 'The White Paper Hoax',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 16px;"><img align="left" alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="279" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/img(3).jpg" style="width: 214px; height: 279px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="214" />A</span>fter failing to bring in a supplementary budget as planned, the lame-duck Jhala Nath Khanal government on 12th April issued a so called White Paper, primarily to placate the senior partner in the coalition government the UCPN - Maoists. At the first place, the issuance of such policy paper was an untimely and unnecessary exercise. Only a few days earlier Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari had announced an energy crisis management plan in the legislature parliament. If anything the government had to add on, that could have been incorporated in that speech. But, Adhikari chose to organise a separate media event in his own ministry to elaborate the priorities of the government through this White Paper.</div>
<div style="text-indent: 0in; text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.1pt;">Effectively, the paper hardly contained anything new, thus defeating the very purpose of it. Like the earlier government, Adhikari also emphasised on sticking to the so called&nbsp;three pillar private, co-operatives and public pillars concept of the economy, which for all practical purposes is nothing more than verbose. In essence, cooperative is a private sector exercise. And public sector participating with other sectors private or cooperatives is an absolute anti-thesis to economic progress. The state must not be a partnerâ to a party who does the business. Therefore, re-emphasising on this obsolete platitude of partnership is absolute nonsense. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Second, the very intent was redoubtable and the procedures adopted were questionable. The hidden agenda of the White Paper was to ignite pork barrel spending in non-productive, politically designed programmes. Such an act was propelled by the Maoists wishful plan that&nbsp;the nearly Rs 22 billion remained idle in the government coffers could be used in the party's pet programmes.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	As regards procedures, any new government surely has moral rights to outline its policies and programmes. But, by norm either it should come as the policy speech of the new prime minister, or the government could table it in the parliament. But a deputy prime minister organising a press meet in his ministry to make the White Paper public barely matched the gravity it warranted.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">The White Paper has artlessly copied several ear-friendly programmes like helping in commercialisation of the agriculture and boosting the private sector business initiatives. But the promises this paper made could be translated into actions only when the parties in the government&nbsp; the Maoists and the UML, first agree to tame their own trade unions. Interestingly, this White Paper hardly talks about the steps to address the present industrial anarchy due to irresponsible behaviour particularly of the ruling party-affiliated unions.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="letter-spacing: -0.1pt;">Also, it is a great irony that the White Paper instead of serving the government's intended purpose just exposed the ulterior motives of PM Khanal and his affiliates. For the economy, it simply could not leave a mark, let alone contribute positively, as it had no teeth and breath. Going deeper into Deputy PM Adhikariâ's intentions, he so deliberately skipped some of the hottest issues of the economy that needed immediate attention.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Adhikari very tactfully avoided making any commitment to take action against the businesses involved in forging VAT bills. Similarly, the White Paper did not have any unequivocal position to continue to adopt a free market economy and the government limiting its role not as the market participant but just an honest referee of the game.<br />
	<br />
	 </div>',
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			'title' => 'The Plummeting Psyche',
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			'content' => '<p>
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	<span aldine401="" color:="" style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: ">T</span><span aldine401="" color:="" letter-spacing:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: ">he Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged to five-year low in the last week of March. There are no convincing sign of its recovery on the sight. The gloom is pervasive despite the fact that several concerned agencies are seemingly keen to revive the secondary market. The NEPSE created a separate Central Depository Company (CDC) for an automated settlement of the transactions. No sooner NEPSE sought an operating approval for CDC from its regulator Security Board of Nepal (SEBON), the latter not only acknowledged its application but also brought out a press release highlighting the importance of CDC, understandably, to boost the investors psychology. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) also issued new, fairly flexible directives to the banks regarding their investment in the mutual funds. The central banks marginally softened approach on margin lending should also have contributed positively to NEPSE growth. But none of these steps has actually worked. Why? Within the answer of this big why perhaps lies the solution to the alarming plummet of NEPSE too. <br />
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	<span style="font-size: 9.5pt;"><img alt="from the edior" border="1" height="218" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/editor(1).jpg" style="width: 286px; height: 218px; margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="286" /><br />
	<br />
	First, there appears to be a clear lack of co-ordination among three key agencies, the NEPSE, SEBON and the NRB. The lack of </span><span aldine401="" color:="" letter-spacing:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; font-family: ">such co-ordination between the NEPSE and SEBON surfaced recently in the issue of providing training to the newly selected brokers. When new brokers join in the trade, an increase in the new investment could be expected. This unnecessary loggerhead between these two institutions not only distracted investors but also discouraged those aspiring to be new brokers. For this reason, only a few out of the 34 finally selected brokers have obtained the LoI, so far. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	Similarly, while issuing the mutual fund directives, the NRB and SEBON apparently didn't have adequate joint exercise. Had they collaborated, the directives could have been more comprehensive covering not only the banks and financial institutions but also all potential investors in the economy. Above all, misunderstandings, primarily owing to their political loyalty among the top officials of these crucial agencies and also with the Finance Ministry are also reported. These are the kind of aversions which could have been easily avoided and must be done rather sooner than later. <br />
	<br />
	<br />
	To begin with, such co-ordination could initiate by resolving the training row of the new brokers. Despite highly bearish market, persistent political uncertainty and industrial unrest, these new brokerage companies have come forward to trade. They must not be discouraged by the feud between two public agencies. <br />
	<br />
	</span></p>
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	<span aldine401="" color:="" style="font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: ">Even more important is: the regulating and operating agencies must stop adopting fragmented approaches both in issuing directives and implementing them. And, all concerned must understand that no bureaucratic action alone would be enough to resurrect the investment psyche without building an overall confidence. This confidence will only stem out of convincingly business friendly political climate. </span></p>',
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			'description' => 'The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index plunged to five-year low in the last week of March. There are no convincing sign of its recovery on the sight.',
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			'title' => 'The Indian Currency Conundrum',
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	There are understandable and obvious reasons of seemingly insatiable demand of Indian Currency (IC) in the Nepali economy. India is not only Nepal's largest trade partner, but the Nepal-India export-import ratio is about 1:7, that too only computing on the trade figures of formal channels.<br />
	<br />
	In the first half of the current fiscal year alone, Nepal Rastra Bank purchased nearly about 50 billion Indian Rupees paying other 'highly' convertible foreign currencies; mainly the US dollar. Due to this reason, among others, Nepal's Balance of Payment position has remained shaky for a couple of years now. Purchasing the IC against the forex reserve to finance the deficit trade appears to be nothing less dangerous than riding on a tiger. Worse, there is no sign of narrowing down the gap in this bilateral trade, at least not in the foreseeable future.<br />
	<br />
	To phrase it differently, for long years to come, Nepal has no option but to manage adequate amount of IC to keep alive its economy. It also means that we must explore the ways of managing the sources to reduce the strain on the forex reserve.<br />
	<br />
	This is particularly where our national fiscal managers and monetary authority have failed to devise pragmatic policies vis-a-vis IC management. Had Nepal been able to better manage it, the IC shortfall in the economy though would not have completely neutralised but the gap would have been far narrower than now. There are at least three strikingly glaring issues in this regard, taking-up which could solve larger part of the problem.<br />
	<br />
	First, amending the present system, the central bank of Nepal must allow smaller amount of IC to enter into the banking system. Only excuse that the central bank has to debar IC to NC exchange has increased incidences of fake IC notes, and bank teller's inability to screen them off. But, each bank would not perhaps mind to bear a little additional cost on screening if they could collect substantial amount of IC. This could reduce the IC holding by the individual and the IC entered into the country would spontaneously come into the system.<br />
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	<img alt="fromtheeditor" border="1" height="170" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/editor.jpg" style="width: 225px; height: 170px; margin: 10px; padding: 10px;" vspace="10" width="225" /></p>
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	Second, the central bank must have enough guts and urgency to talk to lift the embargo on transactions in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations IC notes. It is an open secret that these notes are freely traded by individuals and businesses all over Nepal. But it cannot come and be counted in the system due to the legal sanctions. If this issue could be resolved sooner, the IC supply in Nepal would ease substantially.</p>
<p>
	Third, and the most crucial is that the IC issue is no longer monetary or trade issue alone. It has rather become a bilateral political and diplomatic issue. The Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination issue is linked to smuggling, terrorism and underworld operations, perhaps much hyped than what the reality is. Therefore, the political leadership must take initiative to assure New Delhi about the fair handling of these notes. The political leadership has to play its long due role of opening a formal channel for remittances from India to Nepal. All these efforts combined would at least solve fifty per cent of the problem.<br />
	<br />
	 </p>',
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			'title' => 'Inward Looking Flaws',
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	<b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">T</span></b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">he Extravagant inauguration of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY)- 2011 on 14th January marked the beginning of a yearlong campaign aimed at attracting one million international tourists to Nepal. A well orchestrated mega event was surely a source of new hope for the Nepalis w<input type="hidden" />ho for years were devoid of any optimistic gesture from our sullen political leadership. <br />
	</span></p>
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	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">But NTY is not politics, it is the pure business. This is the fact which our politicians put on the backburner once again. Millions of rupees were spent to choreograph the parades, paragliders and political speeches at the Dashrath Stadium of Kathmandu. But the link between the event held in the capital and sublime purpose of attracting one million&nbsp; tourist was apparently missing, to say the least. According to the sources in Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, the inauguration ceremony alone cost about Rs 25 million to the state exchequer. But no one involved in the feast is probably able to establish how&nbsp; a single Nepal bound international tourist would be influenced by this event. <br />
	</span></p>
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	 </p>
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	<b><span style="font-size: 12.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"><img alt="from the editor" border="1" height="221" hspace="10" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/nty.jpg" style="width: 267px; height: 221px;margin:10px;padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="267" /></span></b></p>
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	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Instead, had the visionaries of NTY&nbsp; 2011 spent the amount&nbsp; Rs one million each for 25 potentially tourist originating countries for example for international promotion of Nepal as the most fascinating destination, the impact would have been certainly more productive. The flaw could be dismissed as all the public sector decisions are like that. But here, our private sector leaders are boasting to be the managers of the entire activities; in that case, it is also the failure of the private sector. <br />
	</span></p>
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	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Not only the inauguration ceremony of NY&nbsp; 2011 was marred by Nepal's inward looking flaws, the campaign and promotion planning for the entire event appears ad-hoc. Hiccups like the government's failure to release the budget it committed were already there. But in more serious note, the steering committee did not bother to mobilise diplomatic channels to promote NTY. The greatest testimony to it was, the USA issued adverse travel advisory to its citizens not to visit Nepal, on the very eve of the inauguration. <br />
	</span></p>
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	<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">The complaints of the sector like sports on their exclusion is also valid, as claimed, they could have developed products of sports and other sector tourism. Regardless of anything that went right or wrong, the NTY has already begun. Therefore, the remaining period of time and resources must be used purposefully, unlike the way it was done for the inauguration.</span></p>',
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FOREX

Currency	Unit	Buy	Sell
U.S. Dollar	1	121.23	121.83
European Euro	1	131.65	132.31
UK Pound Sterling	1	142.47	143.18
Swiss Franc	1	124.29	124.90
Australian Dollar	1	71.69	72.05
Canadian Dollar	1	83.90	84.32
Japanese Yen	10	10.94	11.00
Chinese Yuan	1	17.17	17.26
Saudi Arabian Riyal	1	32.27	32.43
UAE Dirham	1	33.01	33.17
Malaysian Ringgit	1	27.36	27.50
South Korean Won	100	9.77	9.82

Update: 2020-03-25 | Source: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB)

Bullion

Fine Gold	1 tola	77000.00
Tejabi Gold	1 tola	76700.00
Silver	1 tola	720.00

Update : 2020-03-25

Source: Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association

Petroleum

Petrol	1 Liter	106.00
Diesel	1 Liter	95.00
Kerosene	1 Liter	95.00
LP Gas	1 Cylinder	1375.00