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			'id' => '2701',
			'article_category_id' => '86',
			'title' => 'Boss Tells Some Jokes',
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			'content' => '<div>
	The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody, but one girl laughed uproariously.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; grumbled the boss, &ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t you got a sense of humour?&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have to laugh,&rdquo; she replied, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m leaving Friday.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>&nbsp; -ML</strong></div>',
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			'description' => 'The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody, but one girl laughed uproariously.',
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			'title' => 'UN Report Sees USD 1.45 Trillion Global Warming Cost',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Global warming will reduce the world&#39;s crop production by up to two percent every decade and wreak $1.45 trillion of economic damage by the end of this century, according to a draft UN report, Japanese media said Friday. The document is the second volume in a long-awaited trilogy by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a Nobel-winning group of scientists, which is set to be issued next month after a five-day meeting in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The trilogy is the IPCC&#39;s first great overview of the causes and effects of global warming, and options for dealing with it, since 2007. According to the draft, if global temperatures rise by 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 Fahrenheit), the world&#39;s aggregated gross domestic production will fall by 0.2 to 2 percent, the mass circulation said. That would translate into 15 trillion yen to 148 trillion yen ($147 billion to $1.45 trillion) in economic losses, calculated against the world&#39;s total GDP in 2012, it said.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The planet&#39;s crop production will decline by up to two percent every decade as rainfall patterns shift and droughts batter farmland, even as demand for food rises a projected 14 percent, it said. Other effects from global warming include the loss of land to rising sea levels, forcing hundreds of millions of people to migrate from coastal areas, with the most vulnerable regions including East, South and Southeast Asia, it said.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The draft report, which will be reviewed in the March 25-29 meeting in Yokohama, calls for mitigation measures to reduce the vulnerability of environments to climate change such as flood protection projects and research on the prevention of infectious diseases, it said. In the first volume of the trilogy, the IPCC said it was more certain than ever that humans were the cause of global warming and predicted temperatures would rise another 0.3 to 4.8 degrees Celsius (0.5-8.6 degrees Fahrenheit) this century. Heatwaves, floods, droughts and rising seas are among the threats that will intensify through warming, it said in in the report released in September in Stockholm.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said the report was &quot;an alarm-clock moment for the world&quot;. &quot;To steer humanity out of the high danger zone, governments must step up immediate climate action and craft an agreement in 2015&quot; against greenhouse gases, she said at the time. The IPCC has delivered four previous assessments in its 25-year history. Each edition has sounded an ever-louder siren to warn that temperatures are rising and the risk to the climate system is accentuating.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The projections for this century are based on computer models of trends in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, especially from coal, oil and gas, which provide the backbone of energy supply today. A Japanese environment ministry official declined to comment on the report, citing IPCC&#39;s request to keep it behind closed doors until the final version is approved in Yokohama. (AFP)</div>',
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			'description' => 'Global warming will reduce the world's crop production by up to two percent every decade and wreak $1.45 trillion of economic damage by the end of this century, according to a draft UN report, Japanese media said Friday. The document is the second volume in a long-awaited trilogy by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a Nobel-winning group of scientists, which is set to be issued next month after a five-day meeting in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.',
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			'title' => 'Corruption Prevails At All Levels Of Nepal Government: US DoS',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Widespread corruption and lack of transparency exists at all levels of government bodies in Nepal, according to a report published by the US Department of State (DoS) claimed. The &ldquo;Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013&rdquo; said that corruption is widely present at all levels of Nepal government and police, and the judiciary remain vulnerable to political pressure, bribery, and intimidation. &ldquo;Although the law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, there continued to be reports that officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,&rdquo; the report states.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The report released by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, 27th February further said that there were numerous reports of corrupt actions by government officials, political parties, and party-affiliated organizations. &ldquo;The UCPN(M) and CPN-M, in particular, reportedly demanded money from schools, businesses, workers, private citizens, and NGOs,&rdquo; it said. &nbsp;&ldquo;There were less frequent reports that student and labor groups associated with other political parties also demanded contributions from schools and businesses.&rdquo; The US DoS also claimed that corruption and impunity remained general problems within the Nepal Police.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the report also said that a large number of public officials were refraining from disclosing their annual financial statements. &ldquo;According to the National Vigilance Center, the body mandated to monitor financial disclosures and make them available to the public, an estimated 35,000 Nepali civil servants had not submitted and disclosed their annual financial statements as required by law in 2012,&rdquo; the report informed.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The report, however, mentioned some signs of progress in tackling corruption after the appointment of new leadership at the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) last year. &ldquo;Under new leadership, the CIAA took high-profile actions against the Nepal Energy Authority, the Department of Immigration, and the Department of Foreign Employment,&rdquo; the report said. The interim government led by former Chairman of the Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi named chief commissioner and one associate commissioner at CIAA in 2013.Before that the apex constitutional body for corruption control was leadership less for about five-year period.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the report, in August and September, the CIAA arrested 18 officials from the Department of Immigration, 15 from the Department of Foreign Employment, and nine from the Tribhuvan International Airport labour desk for sending 77 Nepali migrants to Qatar with fraudulent or improper documentation &ndash; a human trafficking-related offense. The most senior official arrested was the director general of the Department of Foreign Employment.</div>',
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			'description' => 'Widespread corruption and lack of transparency exists at all levels of government bodies in Nepal, according to a report published by the US Department of State (DoS) claimed. The “Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013” said that corruption is widely present at all levels of Nepal government and police, and the judiciary remain vulnerable to political pressure, bribery, and intimidation. “Although the law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, there continued to be reports that officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,” the report states.',
			'sortorder' => '2540',
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			'id' => '2696',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'PM Off To Myanmar To Chair BIMSTEC',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Prime Minister Sushil Koirala left for Myanmar on Sunday (March 2) leading a Nepali delegation to the Third BIMSTEC Summit that is being held in Nay Pyi Taw, on March 4. Te delegation includes Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dinesh Bhattarai Officiating Foreign Secretary and other senior government officials. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister Koirala is scheduled to address the Summit which will be participated by the heads of State/Government of the Member States of BIMSTEC. &nbsp;Prior to the Summit, a Preparatory meeting took place on March 1. Similarly, a Senior Officials meeting and Ministerial Meeting will take place on March 2 and 3, respectively.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The Summit and its related meetings will deliberate upon the various issues relating to the 14 priority areas identified under BIMSTEC cooperation, which include trade and investment, energy, poverty alleviation, transport and infrastructure, agriculture etc. The Summit will make some key decisions towards making the regional cooperation and collaboration more effective and productive. Nepal is a lead country in the area of poverty alleviation.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	During the Summit, three agreements regarding the establishment of the BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat, Centre for Weather and Climate, and Cultural Industries Commission and BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory will be signed by the Foreign/External Affairs Ministers in presence of the Heads of State/Government. The Summit will also endorse the nomination of Sumith Nakandala as the first Secretary General of the BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat to be established in Dhaka, Bangladesh.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	As per the system of alphabetical rotation and established practice, Nepal will assume the Chairmanship of BIMSTEC following the Third BIMSTEC Summit. It will have to shoulder the responsibility of the fourth summit. As Nepal will also assume the chairmanship of the SAARC after the 18th SAARC Summit to be held in Kathmandu, it will be an excellent opportunity for Nepal to demonstrate its capability in setting mission and vision for more effective regional cooperation for mutual benefits and contribute towards larger goals of regional integration, development and prosperity.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	On the sidelines of the Summit, the Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet with his counterparts from BIMSTEC Member Countries. The Prime Minister will also meet with the opposition leader of Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.&nbsp;</div>',
			'published' => true,
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			'description' => 'Prime Minister Sushil Koirala left for Myanmar on Sunday (March 2) leading a Nepali delegation to the Third BIMSTEC Summit that is being held in Nay Pyi Taw, on March 4. Te delegation includes Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dinesh Bhattarai Officiating Foreign Secretary and other senior government officials.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2698',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Nepal Political Economic News In Brief ( 3 - 9 March 2014 )',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Parliament Forms 81-member Special Committee on Security</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A meeting of the Legislative-Parliament on February 24 decided to form an 81-member special committee that would work specifically on security issues of the country. Members of the committee include Nepali Congress leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Poudel, UML leaders Jhalanath Khanal, KP Oli and Madhav Kumar Nepal along with UCPN (Maoist) leaders Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Janardan Sharma, among others. Similarly, the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Defense Minister and three individuals nominated by the PM also remain the committee&rsquo;s members.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Onsari Gharti Magar Elected CA Vice-chair</strong></span></div>
<div>
	UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker Onsari Gharti Magar was elected the Constituent Assembly vice-chairperson and Deputy Speaker of the Legislature-Parliament in an election on February 26. Magar received 484 votes, securing a clear majority out of the 489 votes cast. Her candidacy was proposed by UCPN (M) leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara and supported by Nepali Congress lawmaker Ananda Dhungana on Tuesday. Magar&rsquo;s only contender was Anuradha Thapa from Nepal Workers and Peasants Party.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Koirala Expands Cabinet&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Two weeks after his election as the country&rsquo;s top executive, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Tuesday (February 25) expanded his two-member Cabinet, inducting 18 new ministers and one Minister of State. The new ministers include 10 from the major coalition partner CPN (UML) and nine from the Neplali Congress. &ldquo;With today&rsquo;s Cabinet expansion and UML&rsquo;s participation, the new coalition government will be a stable one,&rdquo; said Minendra Rijal, the newly appointed Minister for Information and Communications. Unlike the NC ministers, UML members are relatively new faces. Six UML ministers are not members of parliament. Gautam served as DPM and Home Minister twice, in 1997 in the Lokendra Bahadur Chand-led government and then in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government in 2008.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>&lsquo;We will promulgate democratic statute within a year&rsquo;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Newly elected Minister for Information and Communications Minendra Rijal said the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML will write a new constitution incorporating the views of entire Nepali people. Speaking at a felicitation programme in the Capital on February 26, Minister Rijal said the two parties have formed the government with a view to delivering the constitution within a year. Minister Rijal said, &ldquo;This government will be focused on constitution writing. No one can topple this government as it is formed by the two largest parties. We will come up with a democratic constitution incorporating the views of entire Nepali people.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Local elections in six months: Deputy PM Singh</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Development, Prakash Man Singh has said that elections to the local bodies (DDCs, VDCs and municipalities) will be held within the next six months. Speaking at a programme in Kathmandu on Feb 27, Singh said the lack of people&rsquo;s representatives at the local bodies has increased hassles of the citizens in getting services from the government offices. &ldquo;We want to end the difficulty faced by people while receiving services from the local bodies. For this to happen, we need to conduct the local elections,&rdquo; Singh said.</div>',
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			'description' => 'A meeting of the Legislative-Parliament on February 24 decided to form an 81-member special committee that would work specifically on security issues of the country.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2697',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Weekly Round Up ( 24 February - 2 March 2014 )',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 Concluded</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 was held at Bhrikutimandap in the Capital from 28 February to 2 March. Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal (APPON), Department of Drug Administration, FNCCI, Nepal Pharmaceutical Association, Nepal Graduate Pharmacists Association among others were the organizers of the expo. &ldquo;Sustenance through Quality&rdquo; was the main theme of the expo. The three-day expo had participants from both national and international levels including 46 domestic and 45 international (India and Singapore) pharmaceutical companies, according to the organisers. Nepal is self reliant in some 77 different medicines, according to the APPON. Around 30,000 people visited the expo. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Revenue Collection up by 22 pc</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Revenue mobilisation by the government has increased by 22 per cent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year. Revenue collection stood at Rs 188.9 billion in review period while same was recorded Rs 154.59 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year. However, the revenue collection is below the target of Rs 192.37 billion.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Govt to Form Task Force to Control Trade Deficit</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The government is set to form a high level task force to bring down increasing trade deficit. Preparations have been made to form a special task force to minimise the increasing import and maximize the decreasing export, said an official at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM). According to the OPMCM, stakeholder ministries and departments have agreed for the same. The move will help to save the country&rsquo;s economy from further deterioration, said OPMCM Spokesperson Mahendra Kumar Thapa. The high level task force will have economists, experts and industrialists.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>CII-FNCCI Reps Meet Prez Yadav, PM Koirala</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) led by its president Ajay S Shriram along with Nepali delegates from private sector held separate meetings with President Dr Ram Baran Yadav and newly elected Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on the bilateral trade, economic relations and investment between the two countries. During the meetings, the delegation said that the Indian investors are keen to make joint investment in employment generation, hydropower, commercial agriculture and tourism in Nepal. Shriram also urged the government to create the favourable environment for doing business in Nepal. &ldquo;Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and CII are also committed to work together for employment generation and economic development in the country.&rdquo; The CII delegation assured the Nepali authorities to convey the message of the Nepal government regarding joint investment in Nepal to the Indian investors. It also assured best support to boost the economic relationship between the two countries. FNCCI and CII have agreed to work together for trade and investment between Nepal and India, said FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya. &ldquo;Both sides have also agreed to host Nepal-India Economic Summit turn by turn every year.&rdquo; The CII delegation was in Kathmandu to participate in the &lsquo;Nepal Economic Summit 2014&rsquo; jointly organised by the government and the FNCCI.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 was held at Bhrikutimandap in the Capital from 28 February to 2 March. Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal (APPON), Department of Drug Administration, FNCCI, Nepal Pharmaceutical Association, Nepal Graduate Pharmacists Association among others were the organizers of the expo.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2695',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Nepal Economic Summit 2014 Concludes: Development Strategies For Energy, Tourism And Agriculture In ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal Economic Summit 2014 which started in the capital on Monday (Feb 24) with the aim of attracting foreign investment to Nepal concluded on Wednesday (Feb 26), issuing a 19-point declaration. According to the declaration, the government and private sector will work together to formulate separate development strategies for energy, tourism and agriculture within the next six months. The move is aimed at achieving inclusive and broad-based economic growth.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;We will work on adopting the Energy Development Strategy, Tourism Development Strategy and Agriculture Development Strategy within the next six months with appropriate action plans for respective stakeholder agencies,&rdquo; said Madhu Kumar Marasini, joint secretary at the finance ministry, while reading out the declaration named &ldquo;A Commitment to Economic Reform&rdquo;.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The summit also committed to implement the second generation of economic reforms.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the summit vowed to move Nepal 10 notches up on the Doing Business Index by 2016. According to the declaration, the government and the private sector will identify and work with local and global investors to execute at least four different large-scale projects in tourism, hydropower and agriculture sectors to create at least 50,000 jobs by 2015.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the declaration, both the private sector and the government will work to increase private sector investment in commercial agriculture by developing and implementing incentive mechanism for high value products where Nepal can have a competitive advantage. Similarly, to encourage innovation in energy supply and increase in private sector participation, the government has announced setting up an independent power trading company. The company will provide a platform for trading energy between individual consumers and suppliers, thereby reducing the fiscal burden of Nepal Electricity Authority.</div>',
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			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Economic Summit 2014 which started in the capital on Monday (Feb 24) with the aim of attracting foreign investment to Nepal concluded on Wednesday (Feb 26), issuing a 19-point declaration. According to the declaration, the government and private sector will work together to formulate separate development strategies for energy, tourism and agriculture within the next six months. The move is aimed at achieving inclusive and broad-based economic growth.',
			'sortorder' => '2536',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2690',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Chinese Traders Prefer Hundi To Formal Channels',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Hundi, the money transfer business through informal channels, has been a dominant mode of payment in trade between Nepal and China.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chinese traders have adopted Hundi as a mode of payment because it helps reduce cost in comparison with trade in dollar, experts say. The Tibet Autonomous Region of China has not made it mandatory to trade through formal channels, providing freedom to traders to adopt Hundi as a mode of payment.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chinese businessmen directly contact Nepali firms and import goods to their country, according to traders. The trade volume with China has been expanding but the official figure suggests extremely low export from Nepal. Traders say the reason behind static export figure is the use of Hundi as a mode of payment.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Anup Bahadur Malla, chairman of Export Promotion Committee, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), estimates that Nepal&rsquo;s trade with China through the informal channel is more than ten folds than that through the formal channel. Nepal&rsquo;s&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	export to China stood at Rs 2.53 billion in the last fiscal year.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Trade of goods worth Rs 20 billion took place via illegal channels,&rdquo; Malla claims. Nepal exports around 40 per cent carpet to China, he said. &ldquo;But the official data is very low than this figure.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal exports carpet, handicrafts, agro products, metal, Thanka and Yarchagumba to China. Tibetans want trade in RMB (Tibetan currency) rather than in dollar, Malla said. &ldquo;Now the solution to end Hundi is the Nepal Rastra Bank should allow traders to open bank accounts in RMB.&rdquo; China has been providing zero-tariff facility while exporting 7,787 goods to China from Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to experts, the government should take immediate measures to control Hundi. Hundi has emerged as a serious threat to national economy after fake Value Added Tax (VAT) bill and fake customs declaration form scam, a Finance Ministry source said. Hundi &mdash; an underground banking system that allows money transfer without leaving any paper record because there is no contract, bank statements or transaction record &mdash; is posing serious threat to the formal economy, the source added.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>Hundi hits economy because:</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It is an illegal underground banking channel</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It increases capital flight</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It is main channel for terrorist financing&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It poses threats to formalise national economy</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It encourage the import of under-invoiced goods&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It increases chances of foreign currency misappropriation</strong></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Hundi, the money transfer business through informal channels, has been a dominant mode of payment in trade between Nepal and China.',
			'sortorder' => '2535',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2694',
			'article_category_id' => '139',
			'title' => 'Nepal And The World News In Brief (3 - 9 March 2013)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>US Economic Growth Rate Revised Down</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The US economy grew at a much slower rate from October to December than originally predicted, the US Commerce Department said. US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from an initial estimate of 3.2%. The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending due to severe winter weather.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Major Bitcoin Exchange Files for Bankruptcy</strong></span></div>
<div>
	After weeks of speculation over its financial health, the beleaguered &nbsp;Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has filed for bankruptcy protection. A company lawyer made the announcement at an impromptu news conference held at Tokyo District Court, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mt. Gox says it has &yen;6.5 billion ($63.9 million) in liabilities at present. Mt. Gox suspended Bitcoin withdrawals in early February, ultimately blaming a transaction bug that could have led to theft. The exchange went offline altogether on Monday amid reports that 744,000 bitcoins had been stolen.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Japanese on Spending Spree Ahead of Sales Tax Rise</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Japanese consumers are on a spending spree ahead of a sales tax hike, and companies are increasing production to meet increased demand. The country&rsquo;s retail sales grew 4.4% in January compared to a year ago, marking a sixth straight month of gains. Industrial production rose by 4% in January, marking the second straight monthly jump in factory activity. Most of the spending and production increase is due to a rush in purchases ahead of higher sales tax in April.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Ukrainian currency hits 10-year low</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Ukraine&rsquo;s currency, the hryvnia, has fallen to a new low of 10 to the US dollar. The currency&rsquo;s decline reflects political upheavals and longer-term persistent economic weakness. But it is also likely to aggravate those underlying problems and adds to Ukraine&rsquo;s need for international financial assistance.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>UK Govt Considers Visa Auctions for Millionaires</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Visas to settle down in Britain could be auctioned to some of the wealthiest bidders under new proposals being considered by the UK government. Under the proposal, overseas millionaires will be invited to bid for a limited proportion of investor or Tier 1 UK visas that allow holders and their families to live indefinitely in Britain.&nbsp;</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The US economy grew at a much slower rate from October to December than originally predicted, the US Commerce Department said. US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from an initial estimate of 3.2%. The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending due to severe winter weather.',
			'sortorder' => '2534',
			'image' => null,
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2650',
			'article_category_id' => '99',
			'title' => 'Scrumptious Slices Of Happiness',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	Pizza is a dish that needs no introduction and is loved the world around, and Nepal is no exception. Pizza is served at almost all the eateries in city; however, there are only a few places that serve pizzas that taste the way it should.<br />
	<br />
	If you happen to be a pizza devotee, and want to enjoy yummy, gooey and cheesy pizzas, Alfresco Restaurant at Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza is where you should rush to. The International Pizza Promotion at the restaurant has started from 21st February, and will last till 8th March.<br />
	<br />
	According to Balaram Pathak, Food and Beverage Director at Soaltee, pizza is a very popular food among people of all ages, and that&rsquo;s the reason behind its promotion at the restaurant.<br />
	<br />
	Yuba Raj Pokhrel, Executive Chef at Soaltee said that people perceive pizza as an Italian dish, but there is much more to it. &ldquo;As this is International Pizza Promotion, we have tried to give the flavour of every cuisine possible through our pizzas,&rdquo; said Pokhrel.<br />
	<br />
	The special pizza menu has on it around 20 different varieties of pizzas. It includes classic Neapolitan pizza, and also boasts of Australian, Swedish, Danish, Indian, Mexican, French, American, Thai, Oriental, Arabic and Japanese variation of pizza. Distinct toppings are used to give the authentic taste to respective varieties.<br />
	<br />
	Classic Neapolitan pizza with tomatoes, anchovy, salmon, capers and olives topped with mozzarella could be everyone&rsquo;s favourite. If you want a Mexican twist to your pizza, try Avocado Shrimp Mexicana. It&rsquo;s a pizza with fresh avocado, shrimp, minced mutton and corn chips covered in cheddar and mozzarella. Gotaland Danish Pizza is another option, and comes with cocktail sausage, Swedish meat balls, pickled gherkins, berry jam, corn flakes and dill leaves. The most exotic pizza on the menu could be Mayo Jaga. It&rsquo;s a pizza with Japanese flavour. The toppings for it are corn, baby onion, pimento, teriyaki potato, nori and miso marinated shitake, garnished with herb mayo and wasabi paste. There are numerous others that will suit every palate possible.<br />
	<br />
	A bowl of yellow bean soup is served complimentary on every order of pizza, and the pizza is served with different sauces like mustard and herb, garlic and cheese sauce. Alfresco is where you ought to be this spring if you want to savour extraordinary pizzas with every flavour possible.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-23',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Pizza is a dish that needs no introduction and is loved the world around, and Nepal is no exception. Pizza is served at almost all the eateries in city;',
			'sortorder' => '2533',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2657',
			'article_category_id' => '137',
			'title' => 'Report Stresses Need For Bold Moves Toward Gender Equality At Work',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	A new report by the World Bank Group stresses the need for bold, coordinated actions to advance equal opportunities for women in the world of work, such as addressing gender biases early, expanding women&rsquo;s access to property and finance, and raising legal retirement ages&mdash; with major payoffs in tackling poverty.<br />
	<br />
	By virtually every global measure, women are more economically excluded than men, according to &lsquo;Gender at Work.&rsquo; &ldquo;Trends suggest women&rsquo;s labor force participation worldwide over the last two decades has stagnated, dropping from 57 to 55 percent globally. This is despite accumulating evidence that jobs benefit women, families, businesses, and communities,&rdquo; the report informs.<br />
	<br />
	The report says since women face multiple constraints to jobs, starting early and extending throughout their lives, progressive, broad-based, and coordinated policy action is needed to close gender gaps. A companion to the 2013 World Development Report on jobs, it says options should include mainstreaming gender equality into jobs and growth strategies, reforming legal systems, and engaging the private sector in innovative solutions to promote gender equality.<br />
	<br />
	It also says social norms can exacerbate the deprivation and constraints women face. Nearly four in 10 people globally&mdash;close to one half in developing countries&mdash;agree that when jobs are scarce, men are more entitled to them than women. Common constraints faced by the most disadvantaged women include lack of mobility, time, and skills, exposure to violence, and the absence of basic legal rights.<br />
	<br />
	In Latin America and the Caribbean, women&rsquo;s labor force participation has risen by 35 percent since 1990. Analysis by the World Bank Group has found that in 2010, extreme poverty would have been 30 percent higher and average income inequality 28 percent higher, were it not for women&rsquo;s increased income through increased labor earnings, access to pensions, and labor force participation from 2000-2010.<br />
	<br />
	Country-level diagnostics are vital to help governments in determining the best policies and more involvement by the private sector&mdash;by far the largest source of jobs&mdash;is critical, the report says. The private sector can lead the way by creating family-friendly working environment and policies, attracting women into non-traditional roles and sectors, and reviewing human resource policies and systems for addressing discrimination and harassment, the report suggests. Accordingly, it said that more investment is needed to fill major gaps in data and knowledge.<br />
	<br />
	To advance gender equality at work, the report recommends governments target actions that cover a woman&rsquo;s life cycle&mdash;saying interventions that focus only on women of productive age start too late and end too early. Biases can begin very early in life, sometimes in subtle ways, making it ultimately difficult and costly to resolve inequality.<br />
	<br />
	The report warns that ageing populations in the developing world will become increasingly important for governments to consider. Through 2050, the old-age dependency ratio in developing countries is expected to soar by 144 percent, during which time the child dependency ratio is projected to fall by 20 percent, altering the nature of the care burden in families and societies.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-23',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'A new report by the World Bank Group stresses the need for bold, coordinated actions to advance equal opportunities for women in the world of work, such as addressing gender biases early, expanding women’s access to property and finance, and raising legal retirement ages— with major payoffs in tackling poverty.',
			'sortorder' => '2532',
			'image' => null,
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2661',
			'article_category_id' => '109',
			'title' => 'Nepse’s Rally Continues',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (Nepse) Index continues to hold to the gains of last week on Sunday. The benchmark index of the country&rsquo;s capital market, which opened at 822.67 points on the first day of its weekly trading, moved 9.19 points up. On Sunday, Nepse rallied to 838 points before settling at 831.86 points.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Analysts say that the rise in Nepse was attributed to the news about formation of a new cabinet. According to news circulating around the Nepali media sphere on Sunday, &nbsp;a new cabinet will form by this week after a political settlement between Nepali Congress and CPN (UML). Though unconfirmed, the settlement is said to be regarding the portfolio division of home ministry among others.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Sunday&rsquo;s turnover was recorded at Rs 423.13 million. Similarly, a total of 976,585 units of shares of 125 companies were traded in the stock market throughout 2,915 transactions. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Most of the trading sub-indices end the day in green territory with Hydropower achieving the position of biggest gainer (87.12 points) followed by Insurance (46.42 points), Finance (12.54 points), Banking (9.19 points) Development Banks (4.15 points) and Hotels (0.92 points). &lsquo;Others&rsquo; sub-index, meanwhile, ended the day in red losing 5.88 points. Sensitive index representing class &lsquo;A&rsquo; listed companies in the secondary market also rose 1.84 points to close at 180.48 points.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Weekly Indices" src="/userfiles/images/indices%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 302px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Nepse Rose 20 Points Last Week</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepse continued its impetus as the benchmark index went up 19.56 points last week. Opening its weekly trading on the first day (Sunday) at 803.11 points, Nepse settled at a 63-month high of 822.67 points on the last day (Thursday). Following a bull run after the appointment of Nepali Congress (NC) leader Sushil Koirala as the new Prime Minister of the country, Nepse crossed the resistance level of 806 points last week. On Thursday, the index rallied over 825 points before closing at 822.67. On the commencement of weekly trading (Sunday), Nepse index recorded lowest weekly level at 800.32 points. Despite the on going dispute between NC and CPN (UML) over the portfolio division of key ministries -including the Home Ministry-investors reacted positively to the new political development.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Shares worth Rs 1.12 billion totalling 2.85 million units were traded in the stock market through 9,386 transactions. The turnover and number of transactions declined 30.71 per cent and 30.43 per cent respectively. &nbsp;Meanwhile, unit of shares traded also decreased 45.58 per cent.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Promoter shares of Everest Bank Limited climbed to the top spot in terms of weekly turnover. Similarly, in terms number of share units being transacted for the week, Nabil Balance Fund-1 remained at the number one spot. In terms of market capitalization, Nepal Telecom maintained its top position as earlier weeks.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Most of the trading sub-indices witnessed increase last week. Insurance sub-index was the biggest weekly gainer with 325.53 points. Likewise, Hydropower was the second biggest gainer (88.68 points), followed by Finance (31 points), Development Banks (15 points) and Banking (8.23 points). Hotels was the biggest loser for the week as the trading sub-index saw a decline of 29.99 points which was followed by Manufacturing and Processing (9.6 points). &lsquo;Others&rsquo; sub-index, meanwhile, remained same as previous week. For the week, the Sensitive Index representing the share trading of blue chip stocks belonging toclass &lsquo;A&rsquo; listed companies went up 3.51 points. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Last week, shares of 148 companies were transacted in the domestic stock market. 100 companies observed gain in their share prices while, 28 logged decline. Share prices of 20 companies remained unchanged over the period.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-24',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (Nepse) Index continues to hold to the gains of last week on Sunday. The benchmark index of the country’s capital market, which opened at 822.67 points on the first day of its weekly trading, moved 9.19 points up. On Sunday, Nepse rallied to 838 points before settling at 831.86 points.',
			'sortorder' => '2531',
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2682',
			'article_category_id' => '212',
			'title' => 'Mobile World Congress 2014: What To Expect',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		Since its inception in 2009, the Barcelona-based GSMA Mobile World Congress has become the world&#39;s largest exhibition for the global mobile industry. The sixth edition of MWC (24th to 27th February) is expected to showcase latest handsets from the well-known and new manufacturers. Here&#39;s sneak peek at what we expect to see at one of the biggest mobile tech shows of the year:</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="SAMSUNG" src="/userfiles/images/SS.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 104px;" />Samsung</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		Samsung will host Unpacked event in Barcelona on Feb 24, which features the subscript 5 after its name hinting that the Galaxy S5 will make its first appearance. The company sent invitation to various international medias after rumors suggested that Samsung will release a new flagship device with a QHD display at Mobile World Congress, which was believed to be the S5. In addition to a 2560 x 1600 5.25-inch display, we&#39;re expecting to see Samsung&#39;s next big thing debut with iris scanning technology, a revamped TouchWiz UI with a flatter design, a 64-bit processor and an improved 16MP camera.&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		Samsung is also expected to unveil recently announced Galaxy Note 3 Neo, which comes in two flavors. The high-end version runs on a hexacore processor comprised of two 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 cores and four 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 cores.The lower end 3G version will be powered by a 1.6-GHz quad-core processor. Toting 5.5-inch displays, both handsets are a slightly smaller version of the Galaxy Note 3 which sports a roomier 5.7-inch screen.&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="LG" src="/userfiles/images/bt3%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="float: RIGHt; margin: 0px 0px 10px 0px;width: 100px; height: 98px;" />LG</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		LG recently revealed the G Pro 2, the successor to its Optimus G Pro phablet, in Korea earlier this week. The device comes equipped with a massive 5.9-inch 1080p display, a 2.26-GHz Snapdragon 800 processor and a 13MP camera. LG is touting the device&#39;s ability to record 4K footage and slow motion as its primary new features. We&#39;re expecting to get some hands-on time with the device in Barcelona following LG&#39;s press event.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<strong style="font-size: 16px;"><img alt="NOKIA" src="/userfiles/images/bt4%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 57px;" />Nokia</strong></div>
	<div>
		Nokia is expected to unveil the Nokia X on Monday morning. That&#39;s the latest evolution of its inexpensive Asha feature phones. While the X is based on the open-source version of Android, it won&#39;t appear to be an &quot;Android&quot; phone at all, as it&#39;ll run Nokia and Microsoft services in place of the usual Google ones. It&#39;ll run some Android apps, though, and possible the Amazon Appstore. Reliable leaker@evleaks says it&#39;ll have a 4-inch, 800-by-480 screen and come in six colors.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="SONY" src="/userfiles/images/bt5%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 112px;" />Sony</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		Sony has released a teaser video for its MWC event, scheduled for 24 February 2014, where it is expected to reveal its new flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z2. The teaser video doesn&#39;t really reveal much, and just says &quot;Something extraordinary is coming&quot;, and &quot;Xperia Details 24.02.2014&quot;. Numerous leaks about the Sony &#39;D6503 Sirius&#39; Xperia Z2 indicate the smartphone will feature a quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974-AB) chipset clocked at 2.3GHz with Adreno 330 GPU; 3GB of RAM; 5.2-inch full-HD display; a 20.7-megapixel rear camera, and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="HTC" src="/userfiles/images/bt6%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; width: 125px; height: 116px;" />HTC</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		While it may be too early to see a successor to the flagship HTC One, the Taiwan-based gadget maker could reveal a new mid-range device. The HTC Desire 8, which was reportedly leaked earlier this week, is rumored to sport a phablet-sized 5.5-inch display, a 13MP main camera, 5MP front shooter and a clean white buttonless design.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="Huawei " src="/userfiles/images/bt7%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 111px;" />Huawei&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		The Ascend P7 is expected to become the next flagship smartphone of Chinese manufacturer Huawei, and mere days before the MWC images leaked out on the web. The images reveal that the Ascend P7 could come in pink, gold, white, and black. It also features a dual LED flash, an improvement over the single LED flash in last year&rsquo;s Ascend P6.&nbsp;</div>
	<div style="text-align: right;">
		<em>(Sources: Various Tech Portals)</em></div>
</div>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Since its inception in 2009, the Barcelona-based GSMA Mobile World Congress has become the world's largest exhibition for the global mobile industry. The sixth edition of MWC (24th to 27th February) is expected to showcase latest handsets from the well-known and new manufacturers. Here's sneak peek at what we expect to see at one of the biggest mobile tech shows of the year:',
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			'id' => '2665',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'CIAA Made Focal Point  For Projects Of National Pride',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The government has set up a focal point at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for the Projects of National Pride. The aim behind the government move is to expedite the works of the ambitious projects.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The focal point for the Projects of National Pride has been set up at the CIAA to monitor the progress of these projects,&rdquo; CIAA&rsquo;s technical expert Yogendra Kumar Rai told The Corporate. According to Rai, the chief of the focal point, which was constituted little more than two weeks ago, has started collecting information regarding all Projects of National Pride.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The task of the focal point is not to investigate but to expedite the works of these crucial projects,&rdquo; Rai said adding that the focal point would try to find a solution to the problems faced by the Projects of National Pride.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Some of the most important infrastructure projects were announced as the Projects of National Pride when Dr Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister. A booklet titled &lsquo;Economic Development and Prosperity&rsquo; published by the Ministry of Finance back then had listed 17 projects as the Projects of National Pride. Four new projects have been added to the list, taking the number of such projects to 21.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The focal point at the CIAA is currently studying the files of the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP), one of the Projects of National Pride, according to Sarojman Shakya, senior divisional engineer at CIAA. Started nearly 15 years ago, the project was targeted to complete in the current fiscal year. However, there is no possibility of the project, which has faced several hurdles so far, to complete in the current fiscal year.</div>',
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			'description' => 'The government has set up a focal point at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for the Projects of National Pride. The aim behind the government move is to expedite the works of the ambitious projects',
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			'id' => '2654',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Rhetoric And Reality Of Foreign Investment',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<p>
	With the slogan of making Nepal a lucrative destination for investment, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), in association with the government, is organizing a three-day Nepal Economic Summit 2014 from February 24. According to FNCCI, the main organiser of the event, the Summit will be a milestone for policy changes to attract foreign investment, both domestic and foreign, in three key sectors of Nepal &ndash; agriculture, tourism and energy. Economists and some businessmen, however, say that &lsquo;attracting foreign investment&rsquo; has been one of the overused phrases over the years. &ldquo;Luring foreign investment has now become rhetorical,&rdquo; agreed economist and former National Planning Commission Vice Chairman Deependra Bahadur Kshetry.</p>
<p>
	The government should ensure investment friendly environment for the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), he told <em>The Corporate</em>. The most important aspect to lure FDI is taking investors into confidence, Kshetry added. &ldquo;China is not a liberal economy. Yet, why is foreign investment inflow high in china? Because the country has investment friendly environment and it has succeeded to win confidence of investors.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	The event is aimed at seeking all possible solution on how we can make Nepal a lucrative destination for investment globally and can remove hurdles that prevail at present, director general at FNCCI Dr Hemanta Dawadi said. The summit will be followed by abusiness conclave in March this year. FNCCI will be inviting potential investors to this conclave for discussing investment possibilities, Dawadi informed.</p>
<p>
	Economist Prithvi Raj Ligal, on the other hand, said that the hurdles have already been identified. All we need is sincere commitments from concerned stakeholders for addressing existing hurdles and to foster an environment favourable for investment, he added. Political instability, security issues, poor infrastructure and frequent labour unrest in the nation among others are some of the core issues that pose serious challenge to attract foreign investment, he opined.</p>
<p>
	Questioning the very objective of organizing of such meets while identified bottlenecks remain unaddressed, he said that the government should focus its efforts to address problems also, instead of solely focusing on repeatedly organizing summit after summit. &ldquo;Gathering world&rsquo;s renowned business figures is a good initiative. But repeating the same actions on the same line will be useless. Its time to address the identified bottlenecks while establishing business contacts simultaneously,&rdquo; Ligal said. The organizers, on the other hand, claim the summit will be a groundbreaking event. FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya said the Summit aims solely to create a platform where business leaders, experts, high level political leaders and international delegates will search for a common ground that will help make Nepal an attractive destination for local as well as foreign investors.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;Nepal has tremendous investment potentials in agriculture, tourism and energy sectors. However, there are policy hurdles&nbsp; and there is a lack of investment-friendly environment. The Summit will look for ways to tackle such problems,&rdquo; said Vaidya.</p>
<p>
	The FNCCI has already prepared a list of 27 projects that are concidered &lsquo;quite feasible&rsquo; for investment. Vaidya said the Summit will try to attract FDI in these projects. &ldquo;The Summit will help explore investment possibilities for these 27 projects whose total cost has been estimated at Rs 300 billion,&rdquo; said Vaidya.</p>
<p>
	Economists, successful entrepreneurs and experts in agriculture, tourism and clean energy from the USA, the UK, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia, Germany and Thailand, among others, will be attending this Summit, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala.</p>
<p>
	Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Bank and its private sector arm International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, UK Government&rsquo;s Department for International Development (DFID), German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and Nepal Tourism Board are the partners of the Summit. Similarly, Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation, is the knowledge partner of the event.</p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>FDI in Seven Months</strong></span><br />
	Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nepal has reached Rs 18.9 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. At a programme organised at the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office on February 16, officials said that 135 FDI projects have been approved during the period. The country received Rs 19.94 billion FDI in fiscal year 2012/13 and Rs 7.14 billion in the previous fiscal year.</p>',
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			'id' => '2701',
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			'title' => 'Boss Tells Some Jokes',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody, but one girl laughed uproariously.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; grumbled the boss, &ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t you got a sense of humour?&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have to laugh,&rdquo; she replied, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m leaving Friday.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>&nbsp; -ML</strong></div>',
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			'description' => 'The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody, but one girl laughed uproariously.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2693',
			'article_category_id' => '138',
			'title' => 'UN Report Sees USD 1.45 Trillion Global Warming Cost',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Global warming will reduce the world&#39;s crop production by up to two percent every decade and wreak $1.45 trillion of economic damage by the end of this century, according to a draft UN report, Japanese media said Friday. The document is the second volume in a long-awaited trilogy by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a Nobel-winning group of scientists, which is set to be issued next month after a five-day meeting in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The trilogy is the IPCC&#39;s first great overview of the causes and effects of global warming, and options for dealing with it, since 2007. According to the draft, if global temperatures rise by 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 Fahrenheit), the world&#39;s aggregated gross domestic production will fall by 0.2 to 2 percent, the mass circulation said. That would translate into 15 trillion yen to 148 trillion yen ($147 billion to $1.45 trillion) in economic losses, calculated against the world&#39;s total GDP in 2012, it said.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The planet&#39;s crop production will decline by up to two percent every decade as rainfall patterns shift and droughts batter farmland, even as demand for food rises a projected 14 percent, it said. Other effects from global warming include the loss of land to rising sea levels, forcing hundreds of millions of people to migrate from coastal areas, with the most vulnerable regions including East, South and Southeast Asia, it said.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The draft report, which will be reviewed in the March 25-29 meeting in Yokohama, calls for mitigation measures to reduce the vulnerability of environments to climate change such as flood protection projects and research on the prevention of infectious diseases, it said. In the first volume of the trilogy, the IPCC said it was more certain than ever that humans were the cause of global warming and predicted temperatures would rise another 0.3 to 4.8 degrees Celsius (0.5-8.6 degrees Fahrenheit) this century. Heatwaves, floods, droughts and rising seas are among the threats that will intensify through warming, it said in in the report released in September in Stockholm.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said the report was &quot;an alarm-clock moment for the world&quot;. &quot;To steer humanity out of the high danger zone, governments must step up immediate climate action and craft an agreement in 2015&quot; against greenhouse gases, she said at the time. The IPCC has delivered four previous assessments in its 25-year history. Each edition has sounded an ever-louder siren to warn that temperatures are rising and the risk to the climate system is accentuating.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The projections for this century are based on computer models of trends in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, especially from coal, oil and gas, which provide the backbone of energy supply today. A Japanese environment ministry official declined to comment on the report, citing IPCC&#39;s request to keep it behind closed doors until the final version is approved in Yokohama. (AFP)</div>',
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			'id' => '2692',
			'article_category_id' => '138',
			'title' => 'Corruption Prevails At All Levels Of Nepal Government: US DoS',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Widespread corruption and lack of transparency exists at all levels of government bodies in Nepal, according to a report published by the US Department of State (DoS) claimed. The &ldquo;Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013&rdquo; said that corruption is widely present at all levels of Nepal government and police, and the judiciary remain vulnerable to political pressure, bribery, and intimidation. &ldquo;Although the law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, there continued to be reports that officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,&rdquo; the report states.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The report released by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, 27th February further said that there were numerous reports of corrupt actions by government officials, political parties, and party-affiliated organizations. &ldquo;The UCPN(M) and CPN-M, in particular, reportedly demanded money from schools, businesses, workers, private citizens, and NGOs,&rdquo; it said. &nbsp;&ldquo;There were less frequent reports that student and labor groups associated with other political parties also demanded contributions from schools and businesses.&rdquo; The US DoS also claimed that corruption and impunity remained general problems within the Nepal Police.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the report also said that a large number of public officials were refraining from disclosing their annual financial statements. &ldquo;According to the National Vigilance Center, the body mandated to monitor financial disclosures and make them available to the public, an estimated 35,000 Nepali civil servants had not submitted and disclosed their annual financial statements as required by law in 2012,&rdquo; the report informed.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The report, however, mentioned some signs of progress in tackling corruption after the appointment of new leadership at the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) last year. &ldquo;Under new leadership, the CIAA took high-profile actions against the Nepal Energy Authority, the Department of Immigration, and the Department of Foreign Employment,&rdquo; the report said. The interim government led by former Chairman of the Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi named chief commissioner and one associate commissioner at CIAA in 2013.Before that the apex constitutional body for corruption control was leadership less for about five-year period.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the report, in August and September, the CIAA arrested 18 officials from the Department of Immigration, 15 from the Department of Foreign Employment, and nine from the Tribhuvan International Airport labour desk for sending 77 Nepali migrants to Qatar with fraudulent or improper documentation &ndash; a human trafficking-related offense. The most senior official arrested was the director general of the Department of Foreign Employment.</div>',
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			'description' => 'Widespread corruption and lack of transparency exists at all levels of government bodies in Nepal, according to a report published by the US Department of State (DoS) claimed. The “Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013” said that corruption is widely present at all levels of Nepal government and police, and the judiciary remain vulnerable to political pressure, bribery, and intimidation. “Although the law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, there continued to be reports that officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,” the report states.',
			'sortorder' => '2540',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2696',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'PM Off To Myanmar To Chair BIMSTEC',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Prime Minister Sushil Koirala left for Myanmar on Sunday (March 2) leading a Nepali delegation to the Third BIMSTEC Summit that is being held in Nay Pyi Taw, on March 4. Te delegation includes Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dinesh Bhattarai Officiating Foreign Secretary and other senior government officials. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister Koirala is scheduled to address the Summit which will be participated by the heads of State/Government of the Member States of BIMSTEC. &nbsp;Prior to the Summit, a Preparatory meeting took place on March 1. Similarly, a Senior Officials meeting and Ministerial Meeting will take place on March 2 and 3, respectively.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The Summit and its related meetings will deliberate upon the various issues relating to the 14 priority areas identified under BIMSTEC cooperation, which include trade and investment, energy, poverty alleviation, transport and infrastructure, agriculture etc. The Summit will make some key decisions towards making the regional cooperation and collaboration more effective and productive. Nepal is a lead country in the area of poverty alleviation.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	During the Summit, three agreements regarding the establishment of the BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat, Centre for Weather and Climate, and Cultural Industries Commission and BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory will be signed by the Foreign/External Affairs Ministers in presence of the Heads of State/Government. The Summit will also endorse the nomination of Sumith Nakandala as the first Secretary General of the BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat to be established in Dhaka, Bangladesh.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	As per the system of alphabetical rotation and established practice, Nepal will assume the Chairmanship of BIMSTEC following the Third BIMSTEC Summit. It will have to shoulder the responsibility of the fourth summit. As Nepal will also assume the chairmanship of the SAARC after the 18th SAARC Summit to be held in Kathmandu, it will be an excellent opportunity for Nepal to demonstrate its capability in setting mission and vision for more effective regional cooperation for mutual benefits and contribute towards larger goals of regional integration, development and prosperity.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	On the sidelines of the Summit, the Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet with his counterparts from BIMSTEC Member Countries. The Prime Minister will also meet with the opposition leader of Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.&nbsp;</div>',
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			'description' => 'Prime Minister Sushil Koirala left for Myanmar on Sunday (March 2) leading a Nepali delegation to the Third BIMSTEC Summit that is being held in Nay Pyi Taw, on March 4. Te delegation includes Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dinesh Bhattarai Officiating Foreign Secretary and other senior government officials.',
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			'title' => 'Nepal Political Economic News In Brief ( 3 - 9 March 2014 )',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Parliament Forms 81-member Special Committee on Security</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A meeting of the Legislative-Parliament on February 24 decided to form an 81-member special committee that would work specifically on security issues of the country. Members of the committee include Nepali Congress leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Poudel, UML leaders Jhalanath Khanal, KP Oli and Madhav Kumar Nepal along with UCPN (Maoist) leaders Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Janardan Sharma, among others. Similarly, the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Defense Minister and three individuals nominated by the PM also remain the committee&rsquo;s members.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Onsari Gharti Magar Elected CA Vice-chair</strong></span></div>
<div>
	UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker Onsari Gharti Magar was elected the Constituent Assembly vice-chairperson and Deputy Speaker of the Legislature-Parliament in an election on February 26. Magar received 484 votes, securing a clear majority out of the 489 votes cast. Her candidacy was proposed by UCPN (M) leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara and supported by Nepali Congress lawmaker Ananda Dhungana on Tuesday. Magar&rsquo;s only contender was Anuradha Thapa from Nepal Workers and Peasants Party.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Koirala Expands Cabinet&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Two weeks after his election as the country&rsquo;s top executive, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Tuesday (February 25) expanded his two-member Cabinet, inducting 18 new ministers and one Minister of State. The new ministers include 10 from the major coalition partner CPN (UML) and nine from the Neplali Congress. &ldquo;With today&rsquo;s Cabinet expansion and UML&rsquo;s participation, the new coalition government will be a stable one,&rdquo; said Minendra Rijal, the newly appointed Minister for Information and Communications. Unlike the NC ministers, UML members are relatively new faces. Six UML ministers are not members of parliament. Gautam served as DPM and Home Minister twice, in 1997 in the Lokendra Bahadur Chand-led government and then in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government in 2008.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>&lsquo;We will promulgate democratic statute within a year&rsquo;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Newly elected Minister for Information and Communications Minendra Rijal said the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML will write a new constitution incorporating the views of entire Nepali people. Speaking at a felicitation programme in the Capital on February 26, Minister Rijal said the two parties have formed the government with a view to delivering the constitution within a year. Minister Rijal said, &ldquo;This government will be focused on constitution writing. No one can topple this government as it is formed by the two largest parties. We will come up with a democratic constitution incorporating the views of entire Nepali people.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Local elections in six months: Deputy PM Singh</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Development, Prakash Man Singh has said that elections to the local bodies (DDCs, VDCs and municipalities) will be held within the next six months. Speaking at a programme in Kathmandu on Feb 27, Singh said the lack of people&rsquo;s representatives at the local bodies has increased hassles of the citizens in getting services from the government offices. &ldquo;We want to end the difficulty faced by people while receiving services from the local bodies. For this to happen, we need to conduct the local elections,&rdquo; Singh said.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'A meeting of the Legislative-Parliament on February 24 decided to form an 81-member special committee that would work specifically on security issues of the country.',
			'sortorder' => '2538',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2697',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Weekly Round Up ( 24 February - 2 March 2014 )',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 Concluded</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 was held at Bhrikutimandap in the Capital from 28 February to 2 March. Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal (APPON), Department of Drug Administration, FNCCI, Nepal Pharmaceutical Association, Nepal Graduate Pharmacists Association among others were the organizers of the expo. &ldquo;Sustenance through Quality&rdquo; was the main theme of the expo. The three-day expo had participants from both national and international levels including 46 domestic and 45 international (India and Singapore) pharmaceutical companies, according to the organisers. Nepal is self reliant in some 77 different medicines, according to the APPON. Around 30,000 people visited the expo. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Revenue Collection up by 22 pc</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Revenue mobilisation by the government has increased by 22 per cent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year. Revenue collection stood at Rs 188.9 billion in review period while same was recorded Rs 154.59 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year. However, the revenue collection is below the target of Rs 192.37 billion.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Govt to Form Task Force to Control Trade Deficit</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The government is set to form a high level task force to bring down increasing trade deficit. Preparations have been made to form a special task force to minimise the increasing import and maximize the decreasing export, said an official at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM). According to the OPMCM, stakeholder ministries and departments have agreed for the same. The move will help to save the country&rsquo;s economy from further deterioration, said OPMCM Spokesperson Mahendra Kumar Thapa. The high level task force will have economists, experts and industrialists.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>CII-FNCCI Reps Meet Prez Yadav, PM Koirala</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) led by its president Ajay S Shriram along with Nepali delegates from private sector held separate meetings with President Dr Ram Baran Yadav and newly elected Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on the bilateral trade, economic relations and investment between the two countries. During the meetings, the delegation said that the Indian investors are keen to make joint investment in employment generation, hydropower, commercial agriculture and tourism in Nepal. Shriram also urged the government to create the favourable environment for doing business in Nepal. &ldquo;Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and CII are also committed to work together for employment generation and economic development in the country.&rdquo; The CII delegation assured the Nepali authorities to convey the message of the Nepal government regarding joint investment in Nepal to the Indian investors. It also assured best support to boost the economic relationship between the two countries. FNCCI and CII have agreed to work together for trade and investment between Nepal and India, said FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya. &ldquo;Both sides have also agreed to host Nepal-India Economic Summit turn by turn every year.&rdquo; The CII delegation was in Kathmandu to participate in the &lsquo;Nepal Economic Summit 2014&rsquo; jointly organised by the government and the FNCCI.</div>',
			'published' => true,
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 was held at Bhrikutimandap in the Capital from 28 February to 2 March. Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal (APPON), Department of Drug Administration, FNCCI, Nepal Pharmaceutical Association, Nepal Graduate Pharmacists Association among others were the organizers of the expo.',
			'sortorder' => '2537',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2695',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Nepal Economic Summit 2014 Concludes: Development Strategies For Energy, Tourism And Agriculture In ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal Economic Summit 2014 which started in the capital on Monday (Feb 24) with the aim of attracting foreign investment to Nepal concluded on Wednesday (Feb 26), issuing a 19-point declaration. According to the declaration, the government and private sector will work together to formulate separate development strategies for energy, tourism and agriculture within the next six months. The move is aimed at achieving inclusive and broad-based economic growth.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;We will work on adopting the Energy Development Strategy, Tourism Development Strategy and Agriculture Development Strategy within the next six months with appropriate action plans for respective stakeholder agencies,&rdquo; said Madhu Kumar Marasini, joint secretary at the finance ministry, while reading out the declaration named &ldquo;A Commitment to Economic Reform&rdquo;.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The summit also committed to implement the second generation of economic reforms.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the summit vowed to move Nepal 10 notches up on the Doing Business Index by 2016. According to the declaration, the government and the private sector will identify and work with local and global investors to execute at least four different large-scale projects in tourism, hydropower and agriculture sectors to create at least 50,000 jobs by 2015.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the declaration, both the private sector and the government will work to increase private sector investment in commercial agriculture by developing and implementing incentive mechanism for high value products where Nepal can have a competitive advantage. Similarly, to encourage innovation in energy supply and increase in private sector participation, the government has announced setting up an independent power trading company. The company will provide a platform for trading energy between individual consumers and suppliers, thereby reducing the fiscal burden of Nepal Electricity Authority.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Economic Summit 2014 which started in the capital on Monday (Feb 24) with the aim of attracting foreign investment to Nepal concluded on Wednesday (Feb 26), issuing a 19-point declaration. According to the declaration, the government and private sector will work together to formulate separate development strategies for energy, tourism and agriculture within the next six months. The move is aimed at achieving inclusive and broad-based economic growth.',
			'sortorder' => '2536',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2690',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Chinese Traders Prefer Hundi To Formal Channels',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Hundi, the money transfer business through informal channels, has been a dominant mode of payment in trade between Nepal and China.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chinese traders have adopted Hundi as a mode of payment because it helps reduce cost in comparison with trade in dollar, experts say. The Tibet Autonomous Region of China has not made it mandatory to trade through formal channels, providing freedom to traders to adopt Hundi as a mode of payment.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chinese businessmen directly contact Nepali firms and import goods to their country, according to traders. The trade volume with China has been expanding but the official figure suggests extremely low export from Nepal. Traders say the reason behind static export figure is the use of Hundi as a mode of payment.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Anup Bahadur Malla, chairman of Export Promotion Committee, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), estimates that Nepal&rsquo;s trade with China through the informal channel is more than ten folds than that through the formal channel. Nepal&rsquo;s&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	export to China stood at Rs 2.53 billion in the last fiscal year.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Trade of goods worth Rs 20 billion took place via illegal channels,&rdquo; Malla claims. Nepal exports around 40 per cent carpet to China, he said. &ldquo;But the official data is very low than this figure.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal exports carpet, handicrafts, agro products, metal, Thanka and Yarchagumba to China. Tibetans want trade in RMB (Tibetan currency) rather than in dollar, Malla said. &ldquo;Now the solution to end Hundi is the Nepal Rastra Bank should allow traders to open bank accounts in RMB.&rdquo; China has been providing zero-tariff facility while exporting 7,787 goods to China from Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to experts, the government should take immediate measures to control Hundi. Hundi has emerged as a serious threat to national economy after fake Value Added Tax (VAT) bill and fake customs declaration form scam, a Finance Ministry source said. Hundi &mdash; an underground banking system that allows money transfer without leaving any paper record because there is no contract, bank statements or transaction record &mdash; is posing serious threat to the formal economy, the source added.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>Hundi hits economy because:</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It is an illegal underground banking channel</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It increases capital flight</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It is main channel for terrorist financing&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It poses threats to formalise national economy</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It encourage the import of under-invoiced goods&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It increases chances of foreign currency misappropriation</strong></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Hundi, the money transfer business through informal channels, has been a dominant mode of payment in trade between Nepal and China.',
			'sortorder' => '2535',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2694',
			'article_category_id' => '139',
			'title' => 'Nepal And The World News In Brief (3 - 9 March 2013)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>US Economic Growth Rate Revised Down</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The US economy grew at a much slower rate from October to December than originally predicted, the US Commerce Department said. US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from an initial estimate of 3.2%. The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending due to severe winter weather.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Major Bitcoin Exchange Files for Bankruptcy</strong></span></div>
<div>
	After weeks of speculation over its financial health, the beleaguered &nbsp;Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has filed for bankruptcy protection. A company lawyer made the announcement at an impromptu news conference held at Tokyo District Court, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mt. Gox says it has &yen;6.5 billion ($63.9 million) in liabilities at present. Mt. Gox suspended Bitcoin withdrawals in early February, ultimately blaming a transaction bug that could have led to theft. The exchange went offline altogether on Monday amid reports that 744,000 bitcoins had been stolen.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Japanese on Spending Spree Ahead of Sales Tax Rise</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Japanese consumers are on a spending spree ahead of a sales tax hike, and companies are increasing production to meet increased demand. The country&rsquo;s retail sales grew 4.4% in January compared to a year ago, marking a sixth straight month of gains. Industrial production rose by 4% in January, marking the second straight monthly jump in factory activity. Most of the spending and production increase is due to a rush in purchases ahead of higher sales tax in April.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Ukrainian currency hits 10-year low</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Ukraine&rsquo;s currency, the hryvnia, has fallen to a new low of 10 to the US dollar. The currency&rsquo;s decline reflects political upheavals and longer-term persistent economic weakness. But it is also likely to aggravate those underlying problems and adds to Ukraine&rsquo;s need for international financial assistance.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>UK Govt Considers Visa Auctions for Millionaires</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Visas to settle down in Britain could be auctioned to some of the wealthiest bidders under new proposals being considered by the UK government. Under the proposal, overseas millionaires will be invited to bid for a limited proportion of investor or Tier 1 UK visas that allow holders and their families to live indefinitely in Britain.&nbsp;</div>',
			'published' => true,
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The US economy grew at a much slower rate from October to December than originally predicted, the US Commerce Department said. US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from an initial estimate of 3.2%. The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending due to severe winter weather.',
			'sortorder' => '2534',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2650',
			'article_category_id' => '99',
			'title' => 'Scrumptious Slices Of Happiness',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	Pizza is a dish that needs no introduction and is loved the world around, and Nepal is no exception. Pizza is served at almost all the eateries in city; however, there are only a few places that serve pizzas that taste the way it should.<br />
	<br />
	If you happen to be a pizza devotee, and want to enjoy yummy, gooey and cheesy pizzas, Alfresco Restaurant at Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza is where you should rush to. The International Pizza Promotion at the restaurant has started from 21st February, and will last till 8th March.<br />
	<br />
	According to Balaram Pathak, Food and Beverage Director at Soaltee, pizza is a very popular food among people of all ages, and that&rsquo;s the reason behind its promotion at the restaurant.<br />
	<br />
	Yuba Raj Pokhrel, Executive Chef at Soaltee said that people perceive pizza as an Italian dish, but there is much more to it. &ldquo;As this is International Pizza Promotion, we have tried to give the flavour of every cuisine possible through our pizzas,&rdquo; said Pokhrel.<br />
	<br />
	The special pizza menu has on it around 20 different varieties of pizzas. It includes classic Neapolitan pizza, and also boasts of Australian, Swedish, Danish, Indian, Mexican, French, American, Thai, Oriental, Arabic and Japanese variation of pizza. Distinct toppings are used to give the authentic taste to respective varieties.<br />
	<br />
	Classic Neapolitan pizza with tomatoes, anchovy, salmon, capers and olives topped with mozzarella could be everyone&rsquo;s favourite. If you want a Mexican twist to your pizza, try Avocado Shrimp Mexicana. It&rsquo;s a pizza with fresh avocado, shrimp, minced mutton and corn chips covered in cheddar and mozzarella. Gotaland Danish Pizza is another option, and comes with cocktail sausage, Swedish meat balls, pickled gherkins, berry jam, corn flakes and dill leaves. The most exotic pizza on the menu could be Mayo Jaga. It&rsquo;s a pizza with Japanese flavour. The toppings for it are corn, baby onion, pimento, teriyaki potato, nori and miso marinated shitake, garnished with herb mayo and wasabi paste. There are numerous others that will suit every palate possible.<br />
	<br />
	A bowl of yellow bean soup is served complimentary on every order of pizza, and the pizza is served with different sauces like mustard and herb, garlic and cheese sauce. Alfresco is where you ought to be this spring if you want to savour extraordinary pizzas with every flavour possible.</p>',
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			'created' => '2014-02-23',
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			'description' => 'Pizza is a dish that needs no introduction and is loved the world around, and Nepal is no exception. Pizza is served at almost all the eateries in city;',
			'sortorder' => '2533',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2657',
			'article_category_id' => '137',
			'title' => 'Report Stresses Need For Bold Moves Toward Gender Equality At Work',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	A new report by the World Bank Group stresses the need for bold, coordinated actions to advance equal opportunities for women in the world of work, such as addressing gender biases early, expanding women&rsquo;s access to property and finance, and raising legal retirement ages&mdash; with major payoffs in tackling poverty.<br />
	<br />
	By virtually every global measure, women are more economically excluded than men, according to &lsquo;Gender at Work.&rsquo; &ldquo;Trends suggest women&rsquo;s labor force participation worldwide over the last two decades has stagnated, dropping from 57 to 55 percent globally. This is despite accumulating evidence that jobs benefit women, families, businesses, and communities,&rdquo; the report informs.<br />
	<br />
	The report says since women face multiple constraints to jobs, starting early and extending throughout their lives, progressive, broad-based, and coordinated policy action is needed to close gender gaps. A companion to the 2013 World Development Report on jobs, it says options should include mainstreaming gender equality into jobs and growth strategies, reforming legal systems, and engaging the private sector in innovative solutions to promote gender equality.<br />
	<br />
	It also says social norms can exacerbate the deprivation and constraints women face. Nearly four in 10 people globally&mdash;close to one half in developing countries&mdash;agree that when jobs are scarce, men are more entitled to them than women. Common constraints faced by the most disadvantaged women include lack of mobility, time, and skills, exposure to violence, and the absence of basic legal rights.<br />
	<br />
	In Latin America and the Caribbean, women&rsquo;s labor force participation has risen by 35 percent since 1990. Analysis by the World Bank Group has found that in 2010, extreme poverty would have been 30 percent higher and average income inequality 28 percent higher, were it not for women&rsquo;s increased income through increased labor earnings, access to pensions, and labor force participation from 2000-2010.<br />
	<br />
	Country-level diagnostics are vital to help governments in determining the best policies and more involvement by the private sector&mdash;by far the largest source of jobs&mdash;is critical, the report says. The private sector can lead the way by creating family-friendly working environment and policies, attracting women into non-traditional roles and sectors, and reviewing human resource policies and systems for addressing discrimination and harassment, the report suggests. Accordingly, it said that more investment is needed to fill major gaps in data and knowledge.<br />
	<br />
	To advance gender equality at work, the report recommends governments target actions that cover a woman&rsquo;s life cycle&mdash;saying interventions that focus only on women of productive age start too late and end too early. Biases can begin very early in life, sometimes in subtle ways, making it ultimately difficult and costly to resolve inequality.<br />
	<br />
	The report warns that ageing populations in the developing world will become increasingly important for governments to consider. Through 2050, the old-age dependency ratio in developing countries is expected to soar by 144 percent, during which time the child dependency ratio is projected to fall by 20 percent, altering the nature of the care burden in families and societies.</p>',
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			'description' => 'A new report by the World Bank Group stresses the need for bold, coordinated actions to advance equal opportunities for women in the world of work, such as addressing gender biases early, expanding women’s access to property and finance, and raising legal retirement ages— with major payoffs in tackling poverty.',
			'sortorder' => '2532',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2661',
			'article_category_id' => '109',
			'title' => 'Nepse’s Rally Continues',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (Nepse) Index continues to hold to the gains of last week on Sunday. The benchmark index of the country&rsquo;s capital market, which opened at 822.67 points on the first day of its weekly trading, moved 9.19 points up. On Sunday, Nepse rallied to 838 points before settling at 831.86 points.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Analysts say that the rise in Nepse was attributed to the news about formation of a new cabinet. According to news circulating around the Nepali media sphere on Sunday, &nbsp;a new cabinet will form by this week after a political settlement between Nepali Congress and CPN (UML). Though unconfirmed, the settlement is said to be regarding the portfolio division of home ministry among others.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Sunday&rsquo;s turnover was recorded at Rs 423.13 million. Similarly, a total of 976,585 units of shares of 125 companies were traded in the stock market throughout 2,915 transactions. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Most of the trading sub-indices end the day in green territory with Hydropower achieving the position of biggest gainer (87.12 points) followed by Insurance (46.42 points), Finance (12.54 points), Banking (9.19 points) Development Banks (4.15 points) and Hotels (0.92 points). &lsquo;Others&rsquo; sub-index, meanwhile, ended the day in red losing 5.88 points. Sensitive index representing class &lsquo;A&rsquo; listed companies in the secondary market also rose 1.84 points to close at 180.48 points.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Weekly Indices" src="/userfiles/images/indices%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 302px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Nepse Rose 20 Points Last Week</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepse continued its impetus as the benchmark index went up 19.56 points last week. Opening its weekly trading on the first day (Sunday) at 803.11 points, Nepse settled at a 63-month high of 822.67 points on the last day (Thursday). Following a bull run after the appointment of Nepali Congress (NC) leader Sushil Koirala as the new Prime Minister of the country, Nepse crossed the resistance level of 806 points last week. On Thursday, the index rallied over 825 points before closing at 822.67. On the commencement of weekly trading (Sunday), Nepse index recorded lowest weekly level at 800.32 points. Despite the on going dispute between NC and CPN (UML) over the portfolio division of key ministries -including the Home Ministry-investors reacted positively to the new political development.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Shares worth Rs 1.12 billion totalling 2.85 million units were traded in the stock market through 9,386 transactions. The turnover and number of transactions declined 30.71 per cent and 30.43 per cent respectively. &nbsp;Meanwhile, unit of shares traded also decreased 45.58 per cent.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Promoter shares of Everest Bank Limited climbed to the top spot in terms of weekly turnover. Similarly, in terms number of share units being transacted for the week, Nabil Balance Fund-1 remained at the number one spot. In terms of market capitalization, Nepal Telecom maintained its top position as earlier weeks.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Most of the trading sub-indices witnessed increase last week. Insurance sub-index was the biggest weekly gainer with 325.53 points. Likewise, Hydropower was the second biggest gainer (88.68 points), followed by Finance (31 points), Development Banks (15 points) and Banking (8.23 points). Hotels was the biggest loser for the week as the trading sub-index saw a decline of 29.99 points which was followed by Manufacturing and Processing (9.6 points). &lsquo;Others&rsquo; sub-index, meanwhile, remained same as previous week. For the week, the Sensitive Index representing the share trading of blue chip stocks belonging toclass &lsquo;A&rsquo; listed companies went up 3.51 points. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Last week, shares of 148 companies were transacted in the domestic stock market. 100 companies observed gain in their share prices while, 28 logged decline. Share prices of 20 companies remained unchanged over the period.</div>',
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			'description' => 'Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (Nepse) Index continues to hold to the gains of last week on Sunday. The benchmark index of the country’s capital market, which opened at 822.67 points on the first day of its weekly trading, moved 9.19 points up. On Sunday, Nepse rallied to 838 points before settling at 831.86 points.',
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			'article_category_id' => '212',
			'title' => 'Mobile World Congress 2014: What To Expect',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		Since its inception in 2009, the Barcelona-based GSMA Mobile World Congress has become the world&#39;s largest exhibition for the global mobile industry. The sixth edition of MWC (24th to 27th February) is expected to showcase latest handsets from the well-known and new manufacturers. Here&#39;s sneak peek at what we expect to see at one of the biggest mobile tech shows of the year:</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="SAMSUNG" src="/userfiles/images/SS.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 104px;" />Samsung</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		Samsung will host Unpacked event in Barcelona on Feb 24, which features the subscript 5 after its name hinting that the Galaxy S5 will make its first appearance. The company sent invitation to various international medias after rumors suggested that Samsung will release a new flagship device with a QHD display at Mobile World Congress, which was believed to be the S5. In addition to a 2560 x 1600 5.25-inch display, we&#39;re expecting to see Samsung&#39;s next big thing debut with iris scanning technology, a revamped TouchWiz UI with a flatter design, a 64-bit processor and an improved 16MP camera.&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		Samsung is also expected to unveil recently announced Galaxy Note 3 Neo, which comes in two flavors. The high-end version runs on a hexacore processor comprised of two 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 cores and four 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 cores.The lower end 3G version will be powered by a 1.6-GHz quad-core processor. Toting 5.5-inch displays, both handsets are a slightly smaller version of the Galaxy Note 3 which sports a roomier 5.7-inch screen.&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="LG" src="/userfiles/images/bt3%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="float: RIGHt; margin: 0px 0px 10px 0px;width: 100px; height: 98px;" />LG</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		LG recently revealed the G Pro 2, the successor to its Optimus G Pro phablet, in Korea earlier this week. The device comes equipped with a massive 5.9-inch 1080p display, a 2.26-GHz Snapdragon 800 processor and a 13MP camera. LG is touting the device&#39;s ability to record 4K footage and slow motion as its primary new features. We&#39;re expecting to get some hands-on time with the device in Barcelona following LG&#39;s press event.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<strong style="font-size: 16px;"><img alt="NOKIA" src="/userfiles/images/bt4%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 57px;" />Nokia</strong></div>
	<div>
		Nokia is expected to unveil the Nokia X on Monday morning. That&#39;s the latest evolution of its inexpensive Asha feature phones. While the X is based on the open-source version of Android, it won&#39;t appear to be an &quot;Android&quot; phone at all, as it&#39;ll run Nokia and Microsoft services in place of the usual Google ones. It&#39;ll run some Android apps, though, and possible the Amazon Appstore. Reliable leaker@evleaks says it&#39;ll have a 4-inch, 800-by-480 screen and come in six colors.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="SONY" src="/userfiles/images/bt5%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 112px;" />Sony</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		Sony has released a teaser video for its MWC event, scheduled for 24 February 2014, where it is expected to reveal its new flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z2. The teaser video doesn&#39;t really reveal much, and just says &quot;Something extraordinary is coming&quot;, and &quot;Xperia Details 24.02.2014&quot;. Numerous leaks about the Sony &#39;D6503 Sirius&#39; Xperia Z2 indicate the smartphone will feature a quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974-AB) chipset clocked at 2.3GHz with Adreno 330 GPU; 3GB of RAM; 5.2-inch full-HD display; a 20.7-megapixel rear camera, and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="HTC" src="/userfiles/images/bt6%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; width: 125px; height: 116px;" />HTC</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		While it may be too early to see a successor to the flagship HTC One, the Taiwan-based gadget maker could reveal a new mid-range device. The HTC Desire 8, which was reportedly leaked earlier this week, is rumored to sport a phablet-sized 5.5-inch display, a 13MP main camera, 5MP front shooter and a clean white buttonless design.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="Huawei " src="/userfiles/images/bt7%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 111px;" />Huawei&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		The Ascend P7 is expected to become the next flagship smartphone of Chinese manufacturer Huawei, and mere days before the MWC images leaked out on the web. The images reveal that the Ascend P7 could come in pink, gold, white, and black. It also features a dual LED flash, an improvement over the single LED flash in last year&rsquo;s Ascend P6.&nbsp;</div>
	<div style="text-align: right;">
		<em>(Sources: Various Tech Portals)</em></div>
</div>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'Since its inception in 2009, the Barcelona-based GSMA Mobile World Congress has become the world's largest exhibition for the global mobile industry. The sixth edition of MWC (24th to 27th February) is expected to showcase latest handsets from the well-known and new manufacturers. Here's sneak peek at what we expect to see at one of the biggest mobile tech shows of the year:',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2665',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'CIAA Made Focal Point  For Projects Of National Pride',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The government has set up a focal point at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for the Projects of National Pride. The aim behind the government move is to expedite the works of the ambitious projects.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The focal point for the Projects of National Pride has been set up at the CIAA to monitor the progress of these projects,&rdquo; CIAA&rsquo;s technical expert Yogendra Kumar Rai told The Corporate. According to Rai, the chief of the focal point, which was constituted little more than two weeks ago, has started collecting information regarding all Projects of National Pride.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The task of the focal point is not to investigate but to expedite the works of these crucial projects,&rdquo; Rai said adding that the focal point would try to find a solution to the problems faced by the Projects of National Pride.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Some of the most important infrastructure projects were announced as the Projects of National Pride when Dr Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister. A booklet titled &lsquo;Economic Development and Prosperity&rsquo; published by the Ministry of Finance back then had listed 17 projects as the Projects of National Pride. Four new projects have been added to the list, taking the number of such projects to 21.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The focal point at the CIAA is currently studying the files of the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP), one of the Projects of National Pride, according to Sarojman Shakya, senior divisional engineer at CIAA. Started nearly 15 years ago, the project was targeted to complete in the current fiscal year. However, there is no possibility of the project, which has faced several hurdles so far, to complete in the current fiscal year.</div>',
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			'description' => 'The government has set up a focal point at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for the Projects of National Pride. The aim behind the government move is to expedite the works of the ambitious projects',
			'sortorder' => '2529',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2654',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Rhetoric And Reality Of Foreign Investment',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<p>
	With the slogan of making Nepal a lucrative destination for investment, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), in association with the government, is organizing a three-day Nepal Economic Summit 2014 from February 24. According to FNCCI, the main organiser of the event, the Summit will be a milestone for policy changes to attract foreign investment, both domestic and foreign, in three key sectors of Nepal &ndash; agriculture, tourism and energy. Economists and some businessmen, however, say that &lsquo;attracting foreign investment&rsquo; has been one of the overused phrases over the years. &ldquo;Luring foreign investment has now become rhetorical,&rdquo; agreed economist and former National Planning Commission Vice Chairman Deependra Bahadur Kshetry.</p>
<p>
	The government should ensure investment friendly environment for the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), he told <em>The Corporate</em>. The most important aspect to lure FDI is taking investors into confidence, Kshetry added. &ldquo;China is not a liberal economy. Yet, why is foreign investment inflow high in china? Because the country has investment friendly environment and it has succeeded to win confidence of investors.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	The event is aimed at seeking all possible solution on how we can make Nepal a lucrative destination for investment globally and can remove hurdles that prevail at present, director general at FNCCI Dr Hemanta Dawadi said. The summit will be followed by abusiness conclave in March this year. FNCCI will be inviting potential investors to this conclave for discussing investment possibilities, Dawadi informed.</p>
<p>
	Economist Prithvi Raj Ligal, on the other hand, said that the hurdles have already been identified. All we need is sincere commitments from concerned stakeholders for addressing existing hurdles and to foster an environment favourable for investment, he added. Political instability, security issues, poor infrastructure and frequent labour unrest in the nation among others are some of the core issues that pose serious challenge to attract foreign investment, he opined.</p>
<p>
	Questioning the very objective of organizing of such meets while identified bottlenecks remain unaddressed, he said that the government should focus its efforts to address problems also, instead of solely focusing on repeatedly organizing summit after summit. &ldquo;Gathering world&rsquo;s renowned business figures is a good initiative. But repeating the same actions on the same line will be useless. Its time to address the identified bottlenecks while establishing business contacts simultaneously,&rdquo; Ligal said. The organizers, on the other hand, claim the summit will be a groundbreaking event. FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya said the Summit aims solely to create a platform where business leaders, experts, high level political leaders and international delegates will search for a common ground that will help make Nepal an attractive destination for local as well as foreign investors.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;Nepal has tremendous investment potentials in agriculture, tourism and energy sectors. However, there are policy hurdles&nbsp; and there is a lack of investment-friendly environment. The Summit will look for ways to tackle such problems,&rdquo; said Vaidya.</p>
<p>
	The FNCCI has already prepared a list of 27 projects that are concidered &lsquo;quite feasible&rsquo; for investment. Vaidya said the Summit will try to attract FDI in these projects. &ldquo;The Summit will help explore investment possibilities for these 27 projects whose total cost has been estimated at Rs 300 billion,&rdquo; said Vaidya.</p>
<p>
	Economists, successful entrepreneurs and experts in agriculture, tourism and clean energy from the USA, the UK, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia, Germany and Thailand, among others, will be attending this Summit, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala.</p>
<p>
	Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Bank and its private sector arm International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, UK Government&rsquo;s Department for International Development (DFID), German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and Nepal Tourism Board are the partners of the Summit. Similarly, Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation, is the knowledge partner of the event.</p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>FDI in Seven Months</strong></span><br />
	Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nepal has reached Rs 18.9 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. At a programme organised at the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office on February 16, officials said that 135 FDI projects have been approved during the period. The country received Rs 19.94 billion FDI in fiscal year 2012/13 and Rs 7.14 billion in the previous fiscal year.</p>',
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			'description' => 'It is high time the business community and the government proved their effi ciency to attract more foreign investment instead of organizing one after another conference and summit.',
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			'title' => 'Boss Tells Some Jokes',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
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	The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody, but one girl laughed uproariously.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; grumbled the boss, &ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t you got a sense of humour?&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have to laugh,&rdquo; she replied, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m leaving Friday.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>&nbsp; -ML</strong></div>',
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			'description' => 'The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody, but one girl laughed uproariously.',
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			'title' => 'UN Report Sees USD 1.45 Trillion Global Warming Cost',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Global warming will reduce the world&#39;s crop production by up to two percent every decade and wreak $1.45 trillion of economic damage by the end of this century, according to a draft UN report, Japanese media said Friday. The document is the second volume in a long-awaited trilogy by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a Nobel-winning group of scientists, which is set to be issued next month after a five-day meeting in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The trilogy is the IPCC&#39;s first great overview of the causes and effects of global warming, and options for dealing with it, since 2007. According to the draft, if global temperatures rise by 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 Fahrenheit), the world&#39;s aggregated gross domestic production will fall by 0.2 to 2 percent, the mass circulation said. That would translate into 15 trillion yen to 148 trillion yen ($147 billion to $1.45 trillion) in economic losses, calculated against the world&#39;s total GDP in 2012, it said.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The planet&#39;s crop production will decline by up to two percent every decade as rainfall patterns shift and droughts batter farmland, even as demand for food rises a projected 14 percent, it said. Other effects from global warming include the loss of land to rising sea levels, forcing hundreds of millions of people to migrate from coastal areas, with the most vulnerable regions including East, South and Southeast Asia, it said.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The draft report, which will be reviewed in the March 25-29 meeting in Yokohama, calls for mitigation measures to reduce the vulnerability of environments to climate change such as flood protection projects and research on the prevention of infectious diseases, it said. In the first volume of the trilogy, the IPCC said it was more certain than ever that humans were the cause of global warming and predicted temperatures would rise another 0.3 to 4.8 degrees Celsius (0.5-8.6 degrees Fahrenheit) this century. Heatwaves, floods, droughts and rising seas are among the threats that will intensify through warming, it said in in the report released in September in Stockholm.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said the report was &quot;an alarm-clock moment for the world&quot;. &quot;To steer humanity out of the high danger zone, governments must step up immediate climate action and craft an agreement in 2015&quot; against greenhouse gases, she said at the time. The IPCC has delivered four previous assessments in its 25-year history. Each edition has sounded an ever-louder siren to warn that temperatures are rising and the risk to the climate system is accentuating.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The projections for this century are based on computer models of trends in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, especially from coal, oil and gas, which provide the backbone of energy supply today. A Japanese environment ministry official declined to comment on the report, citing IPCC&#39;s request to keep it behind closed doors until the final version is approved in Yokohama. (AFP)</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Global warming will reduce the world's crop production by up to two percent every decade and wreak $1.45 trillion of economic damage by the end of this century, according to a draft UN report, Japanese media said Friday. The document is the second volume in a long-awaited trilogy by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a Nobel-winning group of scientists, which is set to be issued next month after a five-day meeting in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.',
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	(int) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2692',
			'article_category_id' => '138',
			'title' => 'Corruption Prevails At All Levels Of Nepal Government: US DoS',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Widespread corruption and lack of transparency exists at all levels of government bodies in Nepal, according to a report published by the US Department of State (DoS) claimed. The &ldquo;Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013&rdquo; said that corruption is widely present at all levels of Nepal government and police, and the judiciary remain vulnerable to political pressure, bribery, and intimidation. &ldquo;Although the law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, there continued to be reports that officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,&rdquo; the report states.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The report released by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, 27th February further said that there were numerous reports of corrupt actions by government officials, political parties, and party-affiliated organizations. &ldquo;The UCPN(M) and CPN-M, in particular, reportedly demanded money from schools, businesses, workers, private citizens, and NGOs,&rdquo; it said. &nbsp;&ldquo;There were less frequent reports that student and labor groups associated with other political parties also demanded contributions from schools and businesses.&rdquo; The US DoS also claimed that corruption and impunity remained general problems within the Nepal Police.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the report also said that a large number of public officials were refraining from disclosing their annual financial statements. &ldquo;According to the National Vigilance Center, the body mandated to monitor financial disclosures and make them available to the public, an estimated 35,000 Nepali civil servants had not submitted and disclosed their annual financial statements as required by law in 2012,&rdquo; the report informed.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The report, however, mentioned some signs of progress in tackling corruption after the appointment of new leadership at the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) last year. &ldquo;Under new leadership, the CIAA took high-profile actions against the Nepal Energy Authority, the Department of Immigration, and the Department of Foreign Employment,&rdquo; the report said. The interim government led by former Chairman of the Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi named chief commissioner and one associate commissioner at CIAA in 2013.Before that the apex constitutional body for corruption control was leadership less for about five-year period.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the report, in August and September, the CIAA arrested 18 officials from the Department of Immigration, 15 from the Department of Foreign Employment, and nine from the Tribhuvan International Airport labour desk for sending 77 Nepali migrants to Qatar with fraudulent or improper documentation &ndash; a human trafficking-related offense. The most senior official arrested was the director general of the Department of Foreign Employment.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Widespread corruption and lack of transparency exists at all levels of government bodies in Nepal, according to a report published by the US Department of State (DoS) claimed. The “Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013” said that corruption is widely present at all levels of Nepal government and police, and the judiciary remain vulnerable to political pressure, bribery, and intimidation. “Although the law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, there continued to be reports that officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,” the report states.',
			'sortorder' => '2540',
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	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2696',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'PM Off To Myanmar To Chair BIMSTEC',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Prime Minister Sushil Koirala left for Myanmar on Sunday (March 2) leading a Nepali delegation to the Third BIMSTEC Summit that is being held in Nay Pyi Taw, on March 4. Te delegation includes Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dinesh Bhattarai Officiating Foreign Secretary and other senior government officials. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister Koirala is scheduled to address the Summit which will be participated by the heads of State/Government of the Member States of BIMSTEC. &nbsp;Prior to the Summit, a Preparatory meeting took place on March 1. Similarly, a Senior Officials meeting and Ministerial Meeting will take place on March 2 and 3, respectively.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The Summit and its related meetings will deliberate upon the various issues relating to the 14 priority areas identified under BIMSTEC cooperation, which include trade and investment, energy, poverty alleviation, transport and infrastructure, agriculture etc. The Summit will make some key decisions towards making the regional cooperation and collaboration more effective and productive. Nepal is a lead country in the area of poverty alleviation.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	During the Summit, three agreements regarding the establishment of the BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat, Centre for Weather and Climate, and Cultural Industries Commission and BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory will be signed by the Foreign/External Affairs Ministers in presence of the Heads of State/Government. The Summit will also endorse the nomination of Sumith Nakandala as the first Secretary General of the BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat to be established in Dhaka, Bangladesh.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	As per the system of alphabetical rotation and established practice, Nepal will assume the Chairmanship of BIMSTEC following the Third BIMSTEC Summit. It will have to shoulder the responsibility of the fourth summit. As Nepal will also assume the chairmanship of the SAARC after the 18th SAARC Summit to be held in Kathmandu, it will be an excellent opportunity for Nepal to demonstrate its capability in setting mission and vision for more effective regional cooperation for mutual benefits and contribute towards larger goals of regional integration, development and prosperity.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	On the sidelines of the Summit, the Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet with his counterparts from BIMSTEC Member Countries. The Prime Minister will also meet with the opposition leader of Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.&nbsp;</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Prime Minister Sushil Koirala left for Myanmar on Sunday (March 2) leading a Nepali delegation to the Third BIMSTEC Summit that is being held in Nay Pyi Taw, on March 4. Te delegation includes Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dinesh Bhattarai Officiating Foreign Secretary and other senior government officials.',
			'sortorder' => '2539',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2698',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Nepal Political Economic News In Brief ( 3 - 9 March 2014 )',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Parliament Forms 81-member Special Committee on Security</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A meeting of the Legislative-Parliament on February 24 decided to form an 81-member special committee that would work specifically on security issues of the country. Members of the committee include Nepali Congress leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Poudel, UML leaders Jhalanath Khanal, KP Oli and Madhav Kumar Nepal along with UCPN (Maoist) leaders Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Janardan Sharma, among others. Similarly, the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Defense Minister and three individuals nominated by the PM also remain the committee&rsquo;s members.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Onsari Gharti Magar Elected CA Vice-chair</strong></span></div>
<div>
	UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker Onsari Gharti Magar was elected the Constituent Assembly vice-chairperson and Deputy Speaker of the Legislature-Parliament in an election on February 26. Magar received 484 votes, securing a clear majority out of the 489 votes cast. Her candidacy was proposed by UCPN (M) leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara and supported by Nepali Congress lawmaker Ananda Dhungana on Tuesday. Magar&rsquo;s only contender was Anuradha Thapa from Nepal Workers and Peasants Party.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Koirala Expands Cabinet&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Two weeks after his election as the country&rsquo;s top executive, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Tuesday (February 25) expanded his two-member Cabinet, inducting 18 new ministers and one Minister of State. The new ministers include 10 from the major coalition partner CPN (UML) and nine from the Neplali Congress. &ldquo;With today&rsquo;s Cabinet expansion and UML&rsquo;s participation, the new coalition government will be a stable one,&rdquo; said Minendra Rijal, the newly appointed Minister for Information and Communications. Unlike the NC ministers, UML members are relatively new faces. Six UML ministers are not members of parliament. Gautam served as DPM and Home Minister twice, in 1997 in the Lokendra Bahadur Chand-led government and then in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government in 2008.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>&lsquo;We will promulgate democratic statute within a year&rsquo;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Newly elected Minister for Information and Communications Minendra Rijal said the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML will write a new constitution incorporating the views of entire Nepali people. Speaking at a felicitation programme in the Capital on February 26, Minister Rijal said the two parties have formed the government with a view to delivering the constitution within a year. Minister Rijal said, &ldquo;This government will be focused on constitution writing. No one can topple this government as it is formed by the two largest parties. We will come up with a democratic constitution incorporating the views of entire Nepali people.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Local elections in six months: Deputy PM Singh</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Development, Prakash Man Singh has said that elections to the local bodies (DDCs, VDCs and municipalities) will be held within the next six months. Speaking at a programme in Kathmandu on Feb 27, Singh said the lack of people&rsquo;s representatives at the local bodies has increased hassles of the citizens in getting services from the government offices. &ldquo;We want to end the difficulty faced by people while receiving services from the local bodies. For this to happen, we need to conduct the local elections,&rdquo; Singh said.</div>',
			'published' => true,
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			'description' => 'A meeting of the Legislative-Parliament on February 24 decided to form an 81-member special committee that would work specifically on security issues of the country.',
			'sortorder' => '2538',
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2697',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Weekly Round Up ( 24 February - 2 March 2014 )',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 Concluded</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 was held at Bhrikutimandap in the Capital from 28 February to 2 March. Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal (APPON), Department of Drug Administration, FNCCI, Nepal Pharmaceutical Association, Nepal Graduate Pharmacists Association among others were the organizers of the expo. &ldquo;Sustenance through Quality&rdquo; was the main theme of the expo. The three-day expo had participants from both national and international levels including 46 domestic and 45 international (India and Singapore) pharmaceutical companies, according to the organisers. Nepal is self reliant in some 77 different medicines, according to the APPON. Around 30,000 people visited the expo. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Revenue Collection up by 22 pc</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Revenue mobilisation by the government has increased by 22 per cent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year. Revenue collection stood at Rs 188.9 billion in review period while same was recorded Rs 154.59 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year. However, the revenue collection is below the target of Rs 192.37 billion.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Govt to Form Task Force to Control Trade Deficit</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The government is set to form a high level task force to bring down increasing trade deficit. Preparations have been made to form a special task force to minimise the increasing import and maximize the decreasing export, said an official at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM). According to the OPMCM, stakeholder ministries and departments have agreed for the same. The move will help to save the country&rsquo;s economy from further deterioration, said OPMCM Spokesperson Mahendra Kumar Thapa. The high level task force will have economists, experts and industrialists.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>CII-FNCCI Reps Meet Prez Yadav, PM Koirala</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) led by its president Ajay S Shriram along with Nepali delegates from private sector held separate meetings with President Dr Ram Baran Yadav and newly elected Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on the bilateral trade, economic relations and investment between the two countries. During the meetings, the delegation said that the Indian investors are keen to make joint investment in employment generation, hydropower, commercial agriculture and tourism in Nepal. Shriram also urged the government to create the favourable environment for doing business in Nepal. &ldquo;Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and CII are also committed to work together for employment generation and economic development in the country.&rdquo; The CII delegation assured the Nepali authorities to convey the message of the Nepal government regarding joint investment in Nepal to the Indian investors. It also assured best support to boost the economic relationship between the two countries. FNCCI and CII have agreed to work together for trade and investment between Nepal and India, said FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya. &ldquo;Both sides have also agreed to host Nepal-India Economic Summit turn by turn every year.&rdquo; The CII delegation was in Kathmandu to participate in the &lsquo;Nepal Economic Summit 2014&rsquo; jointly organised by the government and the FNCCI.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 was held at Bhrikutimandap in the Capital from 28 February to 2 March. Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal (APPON), Department of Drug Administration, FNCCI, Nepal Pharmaceutical Association, Nepal Graduate Pharmacists Association among others were the organizers of the expo.',
			'sortorder' => '2537',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2695',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Nepal Economic Summit 2014 Concludes: Development Strategies For Energy, Tourism And Agriculture In ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal Economic Summit 2014 which started in the capital on Monday (Feb 24) with the aim of attracting foreign investment to Nepal concluded on Wednesday (Feb 26), issuing a 19-point declaration. According to the declaration, the government and private sector will work together to formulate separate development strategies for energy, tourism and agriculture within the next six months. The move is aimed at achieving inclusive and broad-based economic growth.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;We will work on adopting the Energy Development Strategy, Tourism Development Strategy and Agriculture Development Strategy within the next six months with appropriate action plans for respective stakeholder agencies,&rdquo; said Madhu Kumar Marasini, joint secretary at the finance ministry, while reading out the declaration named &ldquo;A Commitment to Economic Reform&rdquo;.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The summit also committed to implement the second generation of economic reforms.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the summit vowed to move Nepal 10 notches up on the Doing Business Index by 2016. According to the declaration, the government and the private sector will identify and work with local and global investors to execute at least four different large-scale projects in tourism, hydropower and agriculture sectors to create at least 50,000 jobs by 2015.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the declaration, both the private sector and the government will work to increase private sector investment in commercial agriculture by developing and implementing incentive mechanism for high value products where Nepal can have a competitive advantage. Similarly, to encourage innovation in energy supply and increase in private sector participation, the government has announced setting up an independent power trading company. The company will provide a platform for trading energy between individual consumers and suppliers, thereby reducing the fiscal burden of Nepal Electricity Authority.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Economic Summit 2014 which started in the capital on Monday (Feb 24) with the aim of attracting foreign investment to Nepal concluded on Wednesday (Feb 26), issuing a 19-point declaration. According to the declaration, the government and private sector will work together to formulate separate development strategies for energy, tourism and agriculture within the next six months. The move is aimed at achieving inclusive and broad-based economic growth.',
			'sortorder' => '2536',
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	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2690',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Chinese Traders Prefer Hundi To Formal Channels',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Hundi, the money transfer business through informal channels, has been a dominant mode of payment in trade between Nepal and China.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chinese traders have adopted Hundi as a mode of payment because it helps reduce cost in comparison with trade in dollar, experts say. The Tibet Autonomous Region of China has not made it mandatory to trade through formal channels, providing freedom to traders to adopt Hundi as a mode of payment.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chinese businessmen directly contact Nepali firms and import goods to their country, according to traders. The trade volume with China has been expanding but the official figure suggests extremely low export from Nepal. Traders say the reason behind static export figure is the use of Hundi as a mode of payment.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Anup Bahadur Malla, chairman of Export Promotion Committee, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), estimates that Nepal&rsquo;s trade with China through the informal channel is more than ten folds than that through the formal channel. Nepal&rsquo;s&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	export to China stood at Rs 2.53 billion in the last fiscal year.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Trade of goods worth Rs 20 billion took place via illegal channels,&rdquo; Malla claims. Nepal exports around 40 per cent carpet to China, he said. &ldquo;But the official data is very low than this figure.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal exports carpet, handicrafts, agro products, metal, Thanka and Yarchagumba to China. Tibetans want trade in RMB (Tibetan currency) rather than in dollar, Malla said. &ldquo;Now the solution to end Hundi is the Nepal Rastra Bank should allow traders to open bank accounts in RMB.&rdquo; China has been providing zero-tariff facility while exporting 7,787 goods to China from Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to experts, the government should take immediate measures to control Hundi. Hundi has emerged as a serious threat to national economy after fake Value Added Tax (VAT) bill and fake customs declaration form scam, a Finance Ministry source said. Hundi &mdash; an underground banking system that allows money transfer without leaving any paper record because there is no contract, bank statements or transaction record &mdash; is posing serious threat to the formal economy, the source added.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>Hundi hits economy because:</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It is an illegal underground banking channel</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It increases capital flight</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It is main channel for terrorist financing&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It poses threats to formalise national economy</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It encourage the import of under-invoiced goods&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It increases chances of foreign currency misappropriation</strong></div>',
			'published' => true,
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			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Hundi, the money transfer business through informal channels, has been a dominant mode of payment in trade between Nepal and China.',
			'sortorder' => '2535',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2694',
			'article_category_id' => '139',
			'title' => 'Nepal And The World News In Brief (3 - 9 March 2013)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>US Economic Growth Rate Revised Down</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The US economy grew at a much slower rate from October to December than originally predicted, the US Commerce Department said. US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from an initial estimate of 3.2%. The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending due to severe winter weather.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Major Bitcoin Exchange Files for Bankruptcy</strong></span></div>
<div>
	After weeks of speculation over its financial health, the beleaguered &nbsp;Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has filed for bankruptcy protection. A company lawyer made the announcement at an impromptu news conference held at Tokyo District Court, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mt. Gox says it has &yen;6.5 billion ($63.9 million) in liabilities at present. Mt. Gox suspended Bitcoin withdrawals in early February, ultimately blaming a transaction bug that could have led to theft. The exchange went offline altogether on Monday amid reports that 744,000 bitcoins had been stolen.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Japanese on Spending Spree Ahead of Sales Tax Rise</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Japanese consumers are on a spending spree ahead of a sales tax hike, and companies are increasing production to meet increased demand. The country&rsquo;s retail sales grew 4.4% in January compared to a year ago, marking a sixth straight month of gains. Industrial production rose by 4% in January, marking the second straight monthly jump in factory activity. Most of the spending and production increase is due to a rush in purchases ahead of higher sales tax in April.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Ukrainian currency hits 10-year low</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Ukraine&rsquo;s currency, the hryvnia, has fallen to a new low of 10 to the US dollar. The currency&rsquo;s decline reflects political upheavals and longer-term persistent economic weakness. But it is also likely to aggravate those underlying problems and adds to Ukraine&rsquo;s need for international financial assistance.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>UK Govt Considers Visa Auctions for Millionaires</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Visas to settle down in Britain could be auctioned to some of the wealthiest bidders under new proposals being considered by the UK government. Under the proposal, overseas millionaires will be invited to bid for a limited proportion of investor or Tier 1 UK visas that allow holders and their families to live indefinitely in Britain.&nbsp;</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The US economy grew at a much slower rate from October to December than originally predicted, the US Commerce Department said. US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from an initial estimate of 3.2%. The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending due to severe winter weather.',
			'sortorder' => '2534',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2650',
			'article_category_id' => '99',
			'title' => 'Scrumptious Slices Of Happiness',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	Pizza is a dish that needs no introduction and is loved the world around, and Nepal is no exception. Pizza is served at almost all the eateries in city; however, there are only a few places that serve pizzas that taste the way it should.<br />
	<br />
	If you happen to be a pizza devotee, and want to enjoy yummy, gooey and cheesy pizzas, Alfresco Restaurant at Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza is where you should rush to. The International Pizza Promotion at the restaurant has started from 21st February, and will last till 8th March.<br />
	<br />
	According to Balaram Pathak, Food and Beverage Director at Soaltee, pizza is a very popular food among people of all ages, and that&rsquo;s the reason behind its promotion at the restaurant.<br />
	<br />
	Yuba Raj Pokhrel, Executive Chef at Soaltee said that people perceive pizza as an Italian dish, but there is much more to it. &ldquo;As this is International Pizza Promotion, we have tried to give the flavour of every cuisine possible through our pizzas,&rdquo; said Pokhrel.<br />
	<br />
	The special pizza menu has on it around 20 different varieties of pizzas. It includes classic Neapolitan pizza, and also boasts of Australian, Swedish, Danish, Indian, Mexican, French, American, Thai, Oriental, Arabic and Japanese variation of pizza. Distinct toppings are used to give the authentic taste to respective varieties.<br />
	<br />
	Classic Neapolitan pizza with tomatoes, anchovy, salmon, capers and olives topped with mozzarella could be everyone&rsquo;s favourite. If you want a Mexican twist to your pizza, try Avocado Shrimp Mexicana. It&rsquo;s a pizza with fresh avocado, shrimp, minced mutton and corn chips covered in cheddar and mozzarella. Gotaland Danish Pizza is another option, and comes with cocktail sausage, Swedish meat balls, pickled gherkins, berry jam, corn flakes and dill leaves. The most exotic pizza on the menu could be Mayo Jaga. It&rsquo;s a pizza with Japanese flavour. The toppings for it are corn, baby onion, pimento, teriyaki potato, nori and miso marinated shitake, garnished with herb mayo and wasabi paste. There are numerous others that will suit every palate possible.<br />
	<br />
	A bowl of yellow bean soup is served complimentary on every order of pizza, and the pizza is served with different sauces like mustard and herb, garlic and cheese sauce. Alfresco is where you ought to be this spring if you want to savour extraordinary pizzas with every flavour possible.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-23',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Pizza is a dish that needs no introduction and is loved the world around, and Nepal is no exception. Pizza is served at almost all the eateries in city;',
			'sortorder' => '2533',
			'image' => null,
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		)
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2657',
			'article_category_id' => '137',
			'title' => 'Report Stresses Need For Bold Moves Toward Gender Equality At Work',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	A new report by the World Bank Group stresses the need for bold, coordinated actions to advance equal opportunities for women in the world of work, such as addressing gender biases early, expanding women&rsquo;s access to property and finance, and raising legal retirement ages&mdash; with major payoffs in tackling poverty.<br />
	<br />
	By virtually every global measure, women are more economically excluded than men, according to &lsquo;Gender at Work.&rsquo; &ldquo;Trends suggest women&rsquo;s labor force participation worldwide over the last two decades has stagnated, dropping from 57 to 55 percent globally. This is despite accumulating evidence that jobs benefit women, families, businesses, and communities,&rdquo; the report informs.<br />
	<br />
	The report says since women face multiple constraints to jobs, starting early and extending throughout their lives, progressive, broad-based, and coordinated policy action is needed to close gender gaps. A companion to the 2013 World Development Report on jobs, it says options should include mainstreaming gender equality into jobs and growth strategies, reforming legal systems, and engaging the private sector in innovative solutions to promote gender equality.<br />
	<br />
	It also says social norms can exacerbate the deprivation and constraints women face. Nearly four in 10 people globally&mdash;close to one half in developing countries&mdash;agree that when jobs are scarce, men are more entitled to them than women. Common constraints faced by the most disadvantaged women include lack of mobility, time, and skills, exposure to violence, and the absence of basic legal rights.<br />
	<br />
	In Latin America and the Caribbean, women&rsquo;s labor force participation has risen by 35 percent since 1990. Analysis by the World Bank Group has found that in 2010, extreme poverty would have been 30 percent higher and average income inequality 28 percent higher, were it not for women&rsquo;s increased income through increased labor earnings, access to pensions, and labor force participation from 2000-2010.<br />
	<br />
	Country-level diagnostics are vital to help governments in determining the best policies and more involvement by the private sector&mdash;by far the largest source of jobs&mdash;is critical, the report says. The private sector can lead the way by creating family-friendly working environment and policies, attracting women into non-traditional roles and sectors, and reviewing human resource policies and systems for addressing discrimination and harassment, the report suggests. Accordingly, it said that more investment is needed to fill major gaps in data and knowledge.<br />
	<br />
	To advance gender equality at work, the report recommends governments target actions that cover a woman&rsquo;s life cycle&mdash;saying interventions that focus only on women of productive age start too late and end too early. Biases can begin very early in life, sometimes in subtle ways, making it ultimately difficult and costly to resolve inequality.<br />
	<br />
	The report warns that ageing populations in the developing world will become increasingly important for governments to consider. Through 2050, the old-age dependency ratio in developing countries is expected to soar by 144 percent, during which time the child dependency ratio is projected to fall by 20 percent, altering the nature of the care burden in families and societies.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-23',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'A new report by the World Bank Group stresses the need for bold, coordinated actions to advance equal opportunities for women in the world of work, such as addressing gender biases early, expanding women’s access to property and finance, and raising legal retirement ages— with major payoffs in tackling poverty.',
			'sortorder' => '2532',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
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			'main_news' => false,
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	),
	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2661',
			'article_category_id' => '109',
			'title' => 'Nepse’s Rally Continues',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (Nepse) Index continues to hold to the gains of last week on Sunday. The benchmark index of the country&rsquo;s capital market, which opened at 822.67 points on the first day of its weekly trading, moved 9.19 points up. On Sunday, Nepse rallied to 838 points before settling at 831.86 points.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Analysts say that the rise in Nepse was attributed to the news about formation of a new cabinet. According to news circulating around the Nepali media sphere on Sunday, &nbsp;a new cabinet will form by this week after a political settlement between Nepali Congress and CPN (UML). Though unconfirmed, the settlement is said to be regarding the portfolio division of home ministry among others.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Sunday&rsquo;s turnover was recorded at Rs 423.13 million. Similarly, a total of 976,585 units of shares of 125 companies were traded in the stock market throughout 2,915 transactions. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Most of the trading sub-indices end the day in green territory with Hydropower achieving the position of biggest gainer (87.12 points) followed by Insurance (46.42 points), Finance (12.54 points), Banking (9.19 points) Development Banks (4.15 points) and Hotels (0.92 points). &lsquo;Others&rsquo; sub-index, meanwhile, ended the day in red losing 5.88 points. Sensitive index representing class &lsquo;A&rsquo; listed companies in the secondary market also rose 1.84 points to close at 180.48 points.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Weekly Indices" src="/userfiles/images/indices%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 302px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Nepse Rose 20 Points Last Week</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepse continued its impetus as the benchmark index went up 19.56 points last week. Opening its weekly trading on the first day (Sunday) at 803.11 points, Nepse settled at a 63-month high of 822.67 points on the last day (Thursday). Following a bull run after the appointment of Nepali Congress (NC) leader Sushil Koirala as the new Prime Minister of the country, Nepse crossed the resistance level of 806 points last week. On Thursday, the index rallied over 825 points before closing at 822.67. On the commencement of weekly trading (Sunday), Nepse index recorded lowest weekly level at 800.32 points. Despite the on going dispute between NC and CPN (UML) over the portfolio division of key ministries -including the Home Ministry-investors reacted positively to the new political development.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Shares worth Rs 1.12 billion totalling 2.85 million units were traded in the stock market through 9,386 transactions. The turnover and number of transactions declined 30.71 per cent and 30.43 per cent respectively. &nbsp;Meanwhile, unit of shares traded also decreased 45.58 per cent.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Promoter shares of Everest Bank Limited climbed to the top spot in terms of weekly turnover. Similarly, in terms number of share units being transacted for the week, Nabil Balance Fund-1 remained at the number one spot. In terms of market capitalization, Nepal Telecom maintained its top position as earlier weeks.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Most of the trading sub-indices witnessed increase last week. Insurance sub-index was the biggest weekly gainer with 325.53 points. Likewise, Hydropower was the second biggest gainer (88.68 points), followed by Finance (31 points), Development Banks (15 points) and Banking (8.23 points). Hotels was the biggest loser for the week as the trading sub-index saw a decline of 29.99 points which was followed by Manufacturing and Processing (9.6 points). &lsquo;Others&rsquo; sub-index, meanwhile, remained same as previous week. For the week, the Sensitive Index representing the share trading of blue chip stocks belonging toclass &lsquo;A&rsquo; listed companies went up 3.51 points. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Last week, shares of 148 companies were transacted in the domestic stock market. 100 companies observed gain in their share prices while, 28 logged decline. Share prices of 20 companies remained unchanged over the period.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-24',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (Nepse) Index continues to hold to the gains of last week on Sunday. The benchmark index of the country’s capital market, which opened at 822.67 points on the first day of its weekly trading, moved 9.19 points up. On Sunday, Nepse rallied to 838 points before settling at 831.86 points.',
			'sortorder' => '2531',
			'image' => null,
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	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2682',
			'article_category_id' => '212',
			'title' => 'Mobile World Congress 2014: What To Expect',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		Since its inception in 2009, the Barcelona-based GSMA Mobile World Congress has become the world&#39;s largest exhibition for the global mobile industry. The sixth edition of MWC (24th to 27th February) is expected to showcase latest handsets from the well-known and new manufacturers. Here&#39;s sneak peek at what we expect to see at one of the biggest mobile tech shows of the year:</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="SAMSUNG" src="/userfiles/images/SS.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 104px;" />Samsung</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		Samsung will host Unpacked event in Barcelona on Feb 24, which features the subscript 5 after its name hinting that the Galaxy S5 will make its first appearance. The company sent invitation to various international medias after rumors suggested that Samsung will release a new flagship device with a QHD display at Mobile World Congress, which was believed to be the S5. In addition to a 2560 x 1600 5.25-inch display, we&#39;re expecting to see Samsung&#39;s next big thing debut with iris scanning technology, a revamped TouchWiz UI with a flatter design, a 64-bit processor and an improved 16MP camera.&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		Samsung is also expected to unveil recently announced Galaxy Note 3 Neo, which comes in two flavors. The high-end version runs on a hexacore processor comprised of two 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 cores and four 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 cores.The lower end 3G version will be powered by a 1.6-GHz quad-core processor. Toting 5.5-inch displays, both handsets are a slightly smaller version of the Galaxy Note 3 which sports a roomier 5.7-inch screen.&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="LG" src="/userfiles/images/bt3%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="float: RIGHt; margin: 0px 0px 10px 0px;width: 100px; height: 98px;" />LG</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		LG recently revealed the G Pro 2, the successor to its Optimus G Pro phablet, in Korea earlier this week. The device comes equipped with a massive 5.9-inch 1080p display, a 2.26-GHz Snapdragon 800 processor and a 13MP camera. LG is touting the device&#39;s ability to record 4K footage and slow motion as its primary new features. We&#39;re expecting to get some hands-on time with the device in Barcelona following LG&#39;s press event.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<strong style="font-size: 16px;"><img alt="NOKIA" src="/userfiles/images/bt4%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 57px;" />Nokia</strong></div>
	<div>
		Nokia is expected to unveil the Nokia X on Monday morning. That&#39;s the latest evolution of its inexpensive Asha feature phones. While the X is based on the open-source version of Android, it won&#39;t appear to be an &quot;Android&quot; phone at all, as it&#39;ll run Nokia and Microsoft services in place of the usual Google ones. It&#39;ll run some Android apps, though, and possible the Amazon Appstore. Reliable leaker@evleaks says it&#39;ll have a 4-inch, 800-by-480 screen and come in six colors.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="SONY" src="/userfiles/images/bt5%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 112px;" />Sony</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		Sony has released a teaser video for its MWC event, scheduled for 24 February 2014, where it is expected to reveal its new flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z2. The teaser video doesn&#39;t really reveal much, and just says &quot;Something extraordinary is coming&quot;, and &quot;Xperia Details 24.02.2014&quot;. Numerous leaks about the Sony &#39;D6503 Sirius&#39; Xperia Z2 indicate the smartphone will feature a quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974-AB) chipset clocked at 2.3GHz with Adreno 330 GPU; 3GB of RAM; 5.2-inch full-HD display; a 20.7-megapixel rear camera, and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="HTC" src="/userfiles/images/bt6%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; width: 125px; height: 116px;" />HTC</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		While it may be too early to see a successor to the flagship HTC One, the Taiwan-based gadget maker could reveal a new mid-range device. The HTC Desire 8, which was reportedly leaked earlier this week, is rumored to sport a phablet-sized 5.5-inch display, a 13MP main camera, 5MP front shooter and a clean white buttonless design.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="Huawei " src="/userfiles/images/bt7%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 111px;" />Huawei&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		The Ascend P7 is expected to become the next flagship smartphone of Chinese manufacturer Huawei, and mere days before the MWC images leaked out on the web. The images reveal that the Ascend P7 could come in pink, gold, white, and black. It also features a dual LED flash, an improvement over the single LED flash in last year&rsquo;s Ascend P6.&nbsp;</div>
	<div style="text-align: right;">
		<em>(Sources: Various Tech Portals)</em></div>
</div>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-25',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Since its inception in 2009, the Barcelona-based GSMA Mobile World Congress has become the world's largest exhibition for the global mobile industry. The sixth edition of MWC (24th to 27th February) is expected to showcase latest handsets from the well-known and new manufacturers. Here's sneak peek at what we expect to see at one of the biggest mobile tech shows of the year:',
			'sortorder' => '2530',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2665',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'CIAA Made Focal Point  For Projects Of National Pride',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The government has set up a focal point at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for the Projects of National Pride. The aim behind the government move is to expedite the works of the ambitious projects.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The focal point for the Projects of National Pride has been set up at the CIAA to monitor the progress of these projects,&rdquo; CIAA&rsquo;s technical expert Yogendra Kumar Rai told The Corporate. According to Rai, the chief of the focal point, which was constituted little more than two weeks ago, has started collecting information regarding all Projects of National Pride.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The task of the focal point is not to investigate but to expedite the works of these crucial projects,&rdquo; Rai said adding that the focal point would try to find a solution to the problems faced by the Projects of National Pride.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Some of the most important infrastructure projects were announced as the Projects of National Pride when Dr Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister. A booklet titled &lsquo;Economic Development and Prosperity&rsquo; published by the Ministry of Finance back then had listed 17 projects as the Projects of National Pride. Four new projects have been added to the list, taking the number of such projects to 21.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The focal point at the CIAA is currently studying the files of the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP), one of the Projects of National Pride, according to Sarojman Shakya, senior divisional engineer at CIAA. Started nearly 15 years ago, the project was targeted to complete in the current fiscal year. However, there is no possibility of the project, which has faced several hurdles so far, to complete in the current fiscal year.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-24',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The government has set up a focal point at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for the Projects of National Pride. The aim behind the government move is to expedite the works of the ambitious projects',
			'sortorder' => '2529',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	(int) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2654',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Rhetoric And Reality Of Foreign Investment',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<p>
	With the slogan of making Nepal a lucrative destination for investment, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), in association with the government, is organizing a three-day Nepal Economic Summit 2014 from February 24. According to FNCCI, the main organiser of the event, the Summit will be a milestone for policy changes to attract foreign investment, both domestic and foreign, in three key sectors of Nepal &ndash; agriculture, tourism and energy. Economists and some businessmen, however, say that &lsquo;attracting foreign investment&rsquo; has been one of the overused phrases over the years. &ldquo;Luring foreign investment has now become rhetorical,&rdquo; agreed economist and former National Planning Commission Vice Chairman Deependra Bahadur Kshetry.</p>
<p>
	The government should ensure investment friendly environment for the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), he told <em>The Corporate</em>. The most important aspect to lure FDI is taking investors into confidence, Kshetry added. &ldquo;China is not a liberal economy. Yet, why is foreign investment inflow high in china? Because the country has investment friendly environment and it has succeeded to win confidence of investors.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	The event is aimed at seeking all possible solution on how we can make Nepal a lucrative destination for investment globally and can remove hurdles that prevail at present, director general at FNCCI Dr Hemanta Dawadi said. The summit will be followed by abusiness conclave in March this year. FNCCI will be inviting potential investors to this conclave for discussing investment possibilities, Dawadi informed.</p>
<p>
	Economist Prithvi Raj Ligal, on the other hand, said that the hurdles have already been identified. All we need is sincere commitments from concerned stakeholders for addressing existing hurdles and to foster an environment favourable for investment, he added. Political instability, security issues, poor infrastructure and frequent labour unrest in the nation among others are some of the core issues that pose serious challenge to attract foreign investment, he opined.</p>
<p>
	Questioning the very objective of organizing of such meets while identified bottlenecks remain unaddressed, he said that the government should focus its efforts to address problems also, instead of solely focusing on repeatedly organizing summit after summit. &ldquo;Gathering world&rsquo;s renowned business figures is a good initiative. But repeating the same actions on the same line will be useless. Its time to address the identified bottlenecks while establishing business contacts simultaneously,&rdquo; Ligal said. The organizers, on the other hand, claim the summit will be a groundbreaking event. FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya said the Summit aims solely to create a platform where business leaders, experts, high level political leaders and international delegates will search for a common ground that will help make Nepal an attractive destination for local as well as foreign investors.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;Nepal has tremendous investment potentials in agriculture, tourism and energy sectors. However, there are policy hurdles&nbsp; and there is a lack of investment-friendly environment. The Summit will look for ways to tackle such problems,&rdquo; said Vaidya.</p>
<p>
	The FNCCI has already prepared a list of 27 projects that are concidered &lsquo;quite feasible&rsquo; for investment. Vaidya said the Summit will try to attract FDI in these projects. &ldquo;The Summit will help explore investment possibilities for these 27 projects whose total cost has been estimated at Rs 300 billion,&rdquo; said Vaidya.</p>
<p>
	Economists, successful entrepreneurs and experts in agriculture, tourism and clean energy from the USA, the UK, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia, Germany and Thailand, among others, will be attending this Summit, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala.</p>
<p>
	Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Bank and its private sector arm International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, UK Government&rsquo;s Department for International Development (DFID), German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and Nepal Tourism Board are the partners of the Summit. Similarly, Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation, is the knowledge partner of the event.</p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>FDI in Seven Months</strong></span><br />
	Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nepal has reached Rs 18.9 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. At a programme organised at the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office on February 16, officials said that 135 FDI projects have been approved during the period. The country received Rs 19.94 billion FDI in fiscal year 2012/13 and Rs 7.14 billion in the previous fiscal year.</p>',
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			'description' => 'It is high time the business community and the government proved their effi ciency to attract more foreign investment instead of organizing one after another conference and summit.',
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			'id' => '2701',
			'article_category_id' => '86',
			'title' => 'Boss Tells Some Jokes',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody, but one girl laughed uproariously.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;What&rsquo;s the matter?&rdquo; grumbled the boss, &ldquo;Haven&rsquo;t you got a sense of humour?&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have to laugh,&rdquo; she replied, &ldquo;I&rsquo;m leaving Friday.&rdquo; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; <strong>&nbsp; -ML</strong></div>',
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			'description' => 'The boss returned from lunch in a good mood and called the whole staff in to listen to a couple of jokes he had picked up. Everybody, but one girl laughed uproariously.',
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			'id' => '2693',
			'article_category_id' => '138',
			'title' => 'UN Report Sees USD 1.45 Trillion Global Warming Cost',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Global warming will reduce the world&#39;s crop production by up to two percent every decade and wreak $1.45 trillion of economic damage by the end of this century, according to a draft UN report, Japanese media said Friday. The document is the second volume in a long-awaited trilogy by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a Nobel-winning group of scientists, which is set to be issued next month after a five-day meeting in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The trilogy is the IPCC&#39;s first great overview of the causes and effects of global warming, and options for dealing with it, since 2007. According to the draft, if global temperatures rise by 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 Fahrenheit), the world&#39;s aggregated gross domestic production will fall by 0.2 to 2 percent, the mass circulation said. That would translate into 15 trillion yen to 148 trillion yen ($147 billion to $1.45 trillion) in economic losses, calculated against the world&#39;s total GDP in 2012, it said.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The planet&#39;s crop production will decline by up to two percent every decade as rainfall patterns shift and droughts batter farmland, even as demand for food rises a projected 14 percent, it said. Other effects from global warming include the loss of land to rising sea levels, forcing hundreds of millions of people to migrate from coastal areas, with the most vulnerable regions including East, South and Southeast Asia, it said.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The draft report, which will be reviewed in the March 25-29 meeting in Yokohama, calls for mitigation measures to reduce the vulnerability of environments to climate change such as flood protection projects and research on the prevention of infectious diseases, it said. In the first volume of the trilogy, the IPCC said it was more certain than ever that humans were the cause of global warming and predicted temperatures would rise another 0.3 to 4.8 degrees Celsius (0.5-8.6 degrees Fahrenheit) this century. Heatwaves, floods, droughts and rising seas are among the threats that will intensify through warming, it said in in the report released in September in Stockholm.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	UN climate chief Christiana Figueres said the report was &quot;an alarm-clock moment for the world&quot;. &quot;To steer humanity out of the high danger zone, governments must step up immediate climate action and craft an agreement in 2015&quot; against greenhouse gases, she said at the time. The IPCC has delivered four previous assessments in its 25-year history. Each edition has sounded an ever-louder siren to warn that temperatures are rising and the risk to the climate system is accentuating.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The projections for this century are based on computer models of trends in heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions, especially from coal, oil and gas, which provide the backbone of energy supply today. A Japanese environment ministry official declined to comment on the report, citing IPCC&#39;s request to keep it behind closed doors until the final version is approved in Yokohama. (AFP)</div>',
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			'description' => 'Global warming will reduce the world's crop production by up to two percent every decade and wreak $1.45 trillion of economic damage by the end of this century, according to a draft UN report, Japanese media said Friday. The document is the second volume in a long-awaited trilogy by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a Nobel-winning group of scientists, which is set to be issued next month after a five-day meeting in Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.',
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			'id' => '2692',
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			'title' => 'Corruption Prevails At All Levels Of Nepal Government: US DoS',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Widespread corruption and lack of transparency exists at all levels of government bodies in Nepal, according to a report published by the US Department of State (DoS) claimed. The &ldquo;Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013&rdquo; said that corruption is widely present at all levels of Nepal government and police, and the judiciary remain vulnerable to political pressure, bribery, and intimidation. &ldquo;Although the law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, there continued to be reports that officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,&rdquo; the report states.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The report released by US Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, 27th February further said that there were numerous reports of corrupt actions by government officials, political parties, and party-affiliated organizations. &ldquo;The UCPN(M) and CPN-M, in particular, reportedly demanded money from schools, businesses, workers, private citizens, and NGOs,&rdquo; it said. &nbsp;&ldquo;There were less frequent reports that student and labor groups associated with other political parties also demanded contributions from schools and businesses.&rdquo; The US DoS also claimed that corruption and impunity remained general problems within the Nepal Police.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the report also said that a large number of public officials were refraining from disclosing their annual financial statements. &ldquo;According to the National Vigilance Center, the body mandated to monitor financial disclosures and make them available to the public, an estimated 35,000 Nepali civil servants had not submitted and disclosed their annual financial statements as required by law in 2012,&rdquo; the report informed.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The report, however, mentioned some signs of progress in tackling corruption after the appointment of new leadership at the Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) last year. &ldquo;Under new leadership, the CIAA took high-profile actions against the Nepal Energy Authority, the Department of Immigration, and the Department of Foreign Employment,&rdquo; the report said. The interim government led by former Chairman of the Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi named chief commissioner and one associate commissioner at CIAA in 2013.Before that the apex constitutional body for corruption control was leadership less for about five-year period.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the report, in August and September, the CIAA arrested 18 officials from the Department of Immigration, 15 from the Department of Foreign Employment, and nine from the Tribhuvan International Airport labour desk for sending 77 Nepali migrants to Qatar with fraudulent or improper documentation &ndash; a human trafficking-related offense. The most senior official arrested was the director general of the Department of Foreign Employment.</div>',
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			'description' => 'Widespread corruption and lack of transparency exists at all levels of government bodies in Nepal, according to a report published by the US Department of State (DoS) claimed. The “Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013” said that corruption is widely present at all levels of Nepal government and police, and the judiciary remain vulnerable to political pressure, bribery, and intimidation. “Although the law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, there continued to be reports that officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity,” the report states.',
			'sortorder' => '2540',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2696',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'PM Off To Myanmar To Chair BIMSTEC',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Prime Minister Sushil Koirala left for Myanmar on Sunday (March 2) leading a Nepali delegation to the Third BIMSTEC Summit that is being held in Nay Pyi Taw, on March 4. Te delegation includes Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dinesh Bhattarai Officiating Foreign Secretary and other senior government officials. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister Koirala is scheduled to address the Summit which will be participated by the heads of State/Government of the Member States of BIMSTEC. &nbsp;Prior to the Summit, a Preparatory meeting took place on March 1. Similarly, a Senior Officials meeting and Ministerial Meeting will take place on March 2 and 3, respectively.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The Summit and its related meetings will deliberate upon the various issues relating to the 14 priority areas identified under BIMSTEC cooperation, which include trade and investment, energy, poverty alleviation, transport and infrastructure, agriculture etc. The Summit will make some key decisions towards making the regional cooperation and collaboration more effective and productive. Nepal is a lead country in the area of poverty alleviation.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	During the Summit, three agreements regarding the establishment of the BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat, Centre for Weather and Climate, and Cultural Industries Commission and BIMSTEC Cultural Industries Observatory will be signed by the Foreign/External Affairs Ministers in presence of the Heads of State/Government. The Summit will also endorse the nomination of Sumith Nakandala as the first Secretary General of the BIMSTEC Permanent Secretariat to be established in Dhaka, Bangladesh.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	As per the system of alphabetical rotation and established practice, Nepal will assume the Chairmanship of BIMSTEC following the Third BIMSTEC Summit. It will have to shoulder the responsibility of the fourth summit. As Nepal will also assume the chairmanship of the SAARC after the 18th SAARC Summit to be held in Kathmandu, it will be an excellent opportunity for Nepal to demonstrate its capability in setting mission and vision for more effective regional cooperation for mutual benefits and contribute towards larger goals of regional integration, development and prosperity.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	On the sidelines of the Summit, the Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet with his counterparts from BIMSTEC Member Countries. The Prime Minister will also meet with the opposition leader of Myanmar, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.&nbsp;</div>',
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			'description' => 'Prime Minister Sushil Koirala left for Myanmar on Sunday (March 2) leading a Nepali delegation to the Third BIMSTEC Summit that is being held in Nay Pyi Taw, on March 4. Te delegation includes Foreign Minister Mahendra Pandey, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dinesh Bhattarai Officiating Foreign Secretary and other senior government officials.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2698',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Nepal Political Economic News In Brief ( 3 - 9 March 2014 )',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Parliament Forms 81-member Special Committee on Security</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A meeting of the Legislative-Parliament on February 24 decided to form an 81-member special committee that would work specifically on security issues of the country. Members of the committee include Nepali Congress leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba and Ram Chandra Poudel, UML leaders Jhalanath Khanal, KP Oli and Madhav Kumar Nepal along with UCPN (Maoist) leaders Dr Baburam Bhattarai, Krishna Bahadur Mahara and Janardan Sharma, among others. Similarly, the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Defense Minister and three individuals nominated by the PM also remain the committee&rsquo;s members.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Onsari Gharti Magar Elected CA Vice-chair</strong></span></div>
<div>
	UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker Onsari Gharti Magar was elected the Constituent Assembly vice-chairperson and Deputy Speaker of the Legislature-Parliament in an election on February 26. Magar received 484 votes, securing a clear majority out of the 489 votes cast. Her candidacy was proposed by UCPN (M) leader Krishna Bahadur Mahara and supported by Nepali Congress lawmaker Ananda Dhungana on Tuesday. Magar&rsquo;s only contender was Anuradha Thapa from Nepal Workers and Peasants Party.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Koirala Expands Cabinet&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Two weeks after his election as the country&rsquo;s top executive, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on Tuesday (February 25) expanded his two-member Cabinet, inducting 18 new ministers and one Minister of State. The new ministers include 10 from the major coalition partner CPN (UML) and nine from the Neplali Congress. &ldquo;With today&rsquo;s Cabinet expansion and UML&rsquo;s participation, the new coalition government will be a stable one,&rdquo; said Minendra Rijal, the newly appointed Minister for Information and Communications. Unlike the NC ministers, UML members are relatively new faces. Six UML ministers are not members of parliament. Gautam served as DPM and Home Minister twice, in 1997 in the Lokendra Bahadur Chand-led government and then in the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government in 2008.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>&lsquo;We will promulgate democratic statute within a year&rsquo;</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Newly elected Minister for Information and Communications Minendra Rijal said the Nepali Congress and CPN-UML will write a new constitution incorporating the views of entire Nepali people. Speaking at a felicitation programme in the Capital on February 26, Minister Rijal said the two parties have formed the government with a view to delivering the constitution within a year. Minister Rijal said, &ldquo;This government will be focused on constitution writing. No one can topple this government as it is formed by the two largest parties. We will come up with a democratic constitution incorporating the views of entire Nepali people.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Local elections in six months: Deputy PM Singh</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Development, Prakash Man Singh has said that elections to the local bodies (DDCs, VDCs and municipalities) will be held within the next six months. Speaking at a programme in Kathmandu on Feb 27, Singh said the lack of people&rsquo;s representatives at the local bodies has increased hassles of the citizens in getting services from the government offices. &ldquo;We want to end the difficulty faced by people while receiving services from the local bodies. For this to happen, we need to conduct the local elections,&rdquo; Singh said.</div>',
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			'description' => 'A meeting of the Legislative-Parliament on February 24 decided to form an 81-member special committee that would work specifically on security issues of the country.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2697',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Weekly Round Up ( 24 February - 2 March 2014 )',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 Concluded</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 was held at Bhrikutimandap in the Capital from 28 February to 2 March. Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal (APPON), Department of Drug Administration, FNCCI, Nepal Pharmaceutical Association, Nepal Graduate Pharmacists Association among others were the organizers of the expo. &ldquo;Sustenance through Quality&rdquo; was the main theme of the expo. The three-day expo had participants from both national and international levels including 46 domestic and 45 international (India and Singapore) pharmaceutical companies, according to the organisers. Nepal is self reliant in some 77 different medicines, according to the APPON. Around 30,000 people visited the expo. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Revenue Collection up by 22 pc</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Revenue mobilisation by the government has increased by 22 per cent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year. Revenue collection stood at Rs 188.9 billion in review period while same was recorded Rs 154.59 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year. However, the revenue collection is below the target of Rs 192.37 billion.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Govt to Form Task Force to Control Trade Deficit</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The government is set to form a high level task force to bring down increasing trade deficit. Preparations have been made to form a special task force to minimise the increasing import and maximize the decreasing export, said an official at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM). According to the OPMCM, stakeholder ministries and departments have agreed for the same. The move will help to save the country&rsquo;s economy from further deterioration, said OPMCM Spokesperson Mahendra Kumar Thapa. The high level task force will have economists, experts and industrialists.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>CII-FNCCI Reps Meet Prez Yadav, PM Koirala</strong></span></div>
<div>
	A delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) led by its president Ajay S Shriram along with Nepali delegates from private sector held separate meetings with President Dr Ram Baran Yadav and newly elected Prime Minister Sushil Koirala on the bilateral trade, economic relations and investment between the two countries. During the meetings, the delegation said that the Indian investors are keen to make joint investment in employment generation, hydropower, commercial agriculture and tourism in Nepal. Shriram also urged the government to create the favourable environment for doing business in Nepal. &ldquo;Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and CII are also committed to work together for employment generation and economic development in the country.&rdquo; The CII delegation assured the Nepali authorities to convey the message of the Nepal government regarding joint investment in Nepal to the Indian investors. It also assured best support to boost the economic relationship between the two countries. FNCCI and CII have agreed to work together for trade and investment between Nepal and India, said FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya. &ldquo;Both sides have also agreed to host Nepal-India Economic Summit turn by turn every year.&rdquo; The CII delegation was in Kathmandu to participate in the &lsquo;Nepal Economic Summit 2014&rsquo; jointly organised by the government and the FNCCI.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Pharma Expo-2014 was held at Bhrikutimandap in the Capital from 28 February to 2 March. Association of Pharmaceutical Producers of Nepal (APPON), Department of Drug Administration, FNCCI, Nepal Pharmaceutical Association, Nepal Graduate Pharmacists Association among others were the organizers of the expo.',
			'sortorder' => '2537',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2695',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'Nepal Economic Summit 2014 Concludes: Development Strategies For Energy, Tourism And Agriculture In ',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal Economic Summit 2014 which started in the capital on Monday (Feb 24) with the aim of attracting foreign investment to Nepal concluded on Wednesday (Feb 26), issuing a 19-point declaration. According to the declaration, the government and private sector will work together to formulate separate development strategies for energy, tourism and agriculture within the next six months. The move is aimed at achieving inclusive and broad-based economic growth.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;We will work on adopting the Energy Development Strategy, Tourism Development Strategy and Agriculture Development Strategy within the next six months with appropriate action plans for respective stakeholder agencies,&rdquo; said Madhu Kumar Marasini, joint secretary at the finance ministry, while reading out the declaration named &ldquo;A Commitment to Economic Reform&rdquo;.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The summit also committed to implement the second generation of economic reforms.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Similarly, the summit vowed to move Nepal 10 notches up on the Doing Business Index by 2016. According to the declaration, the government and the private sector will identify and work with local and global investors to execute at least four different large-scale projects in tourism, hydropower and agriculture sectors to create at least 50,000 jobs by 2015.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to the declaration, both the private sector and the government will work to increase private sector investment in commercial agriculture by developing and implementing incentive mechanism for high value products where Nepal can have a competitive advantage. Similarly, to encourage innovation in energy supply and increase in private sector participation, the government has announced setting up an independent power trading company. The company will provide a platform for trading energy between individual consumers and suppliers, thereby reducing the fiscal burden of Nepal Electricity Authority.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Economic Summit 2014 which started in the capital on Monday (Feb 24) with the aim of attracting foreign investment to Nepal concluded on Wednesday (Feb 26), issuing a 19-point declaration. According to the declaration, the government and private sector will work together to formulate separate development strategies for energy, tourism and agriculture within the next six months. The move is aimed at achieving inclusive and broad-based economic growth.',
			'sortorder' => '2536',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
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		)
	),
	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2690',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Chinese Traders Prefer Hundi To Formal Channels',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Hundi, the money transfer business through informal channels, has been a dominant mode of payment in trade between Nepal and China.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chinese traders have adopted Hundi as a mode of payment because it helps reduce cost in comparison with trade in dollar, experts say. The Tibet Autonomous Region of China has not made it mandatory to trade through formal channels, providing freedom to traders to adopt Hundi as a mode of payment.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Chinese businessmen directly contact Nepali firms and import goods to their country, according to traders. The trade volume with China has been expanding but the official figure suggests extremely low export from Nepal. Traders say the reason behind static export figure is the use of Hundi as a mode of payment.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Anup Bahadur Malla, chairman of Export Promotion Committee, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), estimates that Nepal&rsquo;s trade with China through the informal channel is more than ten folds than that through the formal channel. Nepal&rsquo;s&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	export to China stood at Rs 2.53 billion in the last fiscal year.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;Trade of goods worth Rs 20 billion took place via illegal channels,&rdquo; Malla claims. Nepal exports around 40 per cent carpet to China, he said. &ldquo;But the official data is very low than this figure.&rdquo;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal exports carpet, handicrafts, agro products, metal, Thanka and Yarchagumba to China. Tibetans want trade in RMB (Tibetan currency) rather than in dollar, Malla said. &ldquo;Now the solution to end Hundi is the Nepal Rastra Bank should allow traders to open bank accounts in RMB.&rdquo; China has been providing zero-tariff facility while exporting 7,787 goods to China from Nepal.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	According to experts, the government should take immediate measures to control Hundi. Hundi has emerged as a serious threat to national economy after fake Value Added Tax (VAT) bill and fake customs declaration form scam, a Finance Ministry source said. Hundi &mdash; an underground banking system that allows money transfer without leaving any paper record because there is no contract, bank statements or transaction record &mdash; is posing serious threat to the formal economy, the source added.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>Hundi hits economy because:</strong></span></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It is an illegal underground banking channel</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It increases capital flight</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It is main channel for terrorist financing&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It poses threats to formalise national economy</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It encourage the import of under-invoiced goods&nbsp;</strong></div>
<div>
	<strong>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>It increases chances of foreign currency misappropriation</strong></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Hundi, the money transfer business through informal channels, has been a dominant mode of payment in trade between Nepal and China.',
			'sortorder' => '2535',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2694',
			'article_category_id' => '139',
			'title' => 'Nepal And The World News In Brief (3 - 9 March 2013)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>US Economic Growth Rate Revised Down</strong></span></div>
<div>
	The US economy grew at a much slower rate from October to December than originally predicted, the US Commerce Department said. US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from an initial estimate of 3.2%. The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending due to severe winter weather.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Major Bitcoin Exchange Files for Bankruptcy</strong></span></div>
<div>
	After weeks of speculation over its financial health, the beleaguered &nbsp;Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox has filed for bankruptcy protection. A company lawyer made the announcement at an impromptu news conference held at Tokyo District Court, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mt. Gox says it has &yen;6.5 billion ($63.9 million) in liabilities at present. Mt. Gox suspended Bitcoin withdrawals in early February, ultimately blaming a transaction bug that could have led to theft. The exchange went offline altogether on Monday amid reports that 744,000 bitcoins had been stolen.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Japanese on Spending Spree Ahead of Sales Tax Rise</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Japanese consumers are on a spending spree ahead of a sales tax hike, and companies are increasing production to meet increased demand. The country&rsquo;s retail sales grew 4.4% in January compared to a year ago, marking a sixth straight month of gains. Industrial production rose by 4% in January, marking the second straight monthly jump in factory activity. Most of the spending and production increase is due to a rush in purchases ahead of higher sales tax in April.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Ukrainian currency hits 10-year low</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Ukraine&rsquo;s currency, the hryvnia, has fallen to a new low of 10 to the US dollar. The currency&rsquo;s decline reflects political upheavals and longer-term persistent economic weakness. But it is also likely to aggravate those underlying problems and adds to Ukraine&rsquo;s need for international financial assistance.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>UK Govt Considers Visa Auctions for Millionaires</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Visas to settle down in Britain could be auctioned to some of the wealthiest bidders under new proposals being considered by the UK government. Under the proposal, overseas millionaires will be invited to bid for a limited proportion of investor or Tier 1 UK visas that allow holders and their families to live indefinitely in Britain.&nbsp;</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-03-03',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'The US economy grew at a much slower rate from October to December than originally predicted, the US Commerce Department said. US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised rate of 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2013, down from an initial estimate of 3.2%. The revision is down to weaker than expected consumer spending due to severe winter weather.',
			'sortorder' => '2534',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2650',
			'article_category_id' => '99',
			'title' => 'Scrumptious Slices Of Happiness',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	Pizza is a dish that needs no introduction and is loved the world around, and Nepal is no exception. Pizza is served at almost all the eateries in city; however, there are only a few places that serve pizzas that taste the way it should.<br />
	<br />
	If you happen to be a pizza devotee, and want to enjoy yummy, gooey and cheesy pizzas, Alfresco Restaurant at Hotel Soaltee Crowne Plaza is where you should rush to. The International Pizza Promotion at the restaurant has started from 21st February, and will last till 8th March.<br />
	<br />
	According to Balaram Pathak, Food and Beverage Director at Soaltee, pizza is a very popular food among people of all ages, and that&rsquo;s the reason behind its promotion at the restaurant.<br />
	<br />
	Yuba Raj Pokhrel, Executive Chef at Soaltee said that people perceive pizza as an Italian dish, but there is much more to it. &ldquo;As this is International Pizza Promotion, we have tried to give the flavour of every cuisine possible through our pizzas,&rdquo; said Pokhrel.<br />
	<br />
	The special pizza menu has on it around 20 different varieties of pizzas. It includes classic Neapolitan pizza, and also boasts of Australian, Swedish, Danish, Indian, Mexican, French, American, Thai, Oriental, Arabic and Japanese variation of pizza. Distinct toppings are used to give the authentic taste to respective varieties.<br />
	<br />
	Classic Neapolitan pizza with tomatoes, anchovy, salmon, capers and olives topped with mozzarella could be everyone&rsquo;s favourite. If you want a Mexican twist to your pizza, try Avocado Shrimp Mexicana. It&rsquo;s a pizza with fresh avocado, shrimp, minced mutton and corn chips covered in cheddar and mozzarella. Gotaland Danish Pizza is another option, and comes with cocktail sausage, Swedish meat balls, pickled gherkins, berry jam, corn flakes and dill leaves. The most exotic pizza on the menu could be Mayo Jaga. It&rsquo;s a pizza with Japanese flavour. The toppings for it are corn, baby onion, pimento, teriyaki potato, nori and miso marinated shitake, garnished with herb mayo and wasabi paste. There are numerous others that will suit every palate possible.<br />
	<br />
	A bowl of yellow bean soup is served complimentary on every order of pizza, and the pizza is served with different sauces like mustard and herb, garlic and cheese sauce. Alfresco is where you ought to be this spring if you want to savour extraordinary pizzas with every flavour possible.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-23',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Pizza is a dish that needs no introduction and is loved the world around, and Nepal is no exception. Pizza is served at almost all the eateries in city;',
			'sortorder' => '2533',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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		)
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2657',
			'article_category_id' => '137',
			'title' => 'Report Stresses Need For Bold Moves Toward Gender Equality At Work',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	A new report by the World Bank Group stresses the need for bold, coordinated actions to advance equal opportunities for women in the world of work, such as addressing gender biases early, expanding women&rsquo;s access to property and finance, and raising legal retirement ages&mdash; with major payoffs in tackling poverty.<br />
	<br />
	By virtually every global measure, women are more economically excluded than men, according to &lsquo;Gender at Work.&rsquo; &ldquo;Trends suggest women&rsquo;s labor force participation worldwide over the last two decades has stagnated, dropping from 57 to 55 percent globally. This is despite accumulating evidence that jobs benefit women, families, businesses, and communities,&rdquo; the report informs.<br />
	<br />
	The report says since women face multiple constraints to jobs, starting early and extending throughout their lives, progressive, broad-based, and coordinated policy action is needed to close gender gaps. A companion to the 2013 World Development Report on jobs, it says options should include mainstreaming gender equality into jobs and growth strategies, reforming legal systems, and engaging the private sector in innovative solutions to promote gender equality.<br />
	<br />
	It also says social norms can exacerbate the deprivation and constraints women face. Nearly four in 10 people globally&mdash;close to one half in developing countries&mdash;agree that when jobs are scarce, men are more entitled to them than women. Common constraints faced by the most disadvantaged women include lack of mobility, time, and skills, exposure to violence, and the absence of basic legal rights.<br />
	<br />
	In Latin America and the Caribbean, women&rsquo;s labor force participation has risen by 35 percent since 1990. Analysis by the World Bank Group has found that in 2010, extreme poverty would have been 30 percent higher and average income inequality 28 percent higher, were it not for women&rsquo;s increased income through increased labor earnings, access to pensions, and labor force participation from 2000-2010.<br />
	<br />
	Country-level diagnostics are vital to help governments in determining the best policies and more involvement by the private sector&mdash;by far the largest source of jobs&mdash;is critical, the report says. The private sector can lead the way by creating family-friendly working environment and policies, attracting women into non-traditional roles and sectors, and reviewing human resource policies and systems for addressing discrimination and harassment, the report suggests. Accordingly, it said that more investment is needed to fill major gaps in data and knowledge.<br />
	<br />
	To advance gender equality at work, the report recommends governments target actions that cover a woman&rsquo;s life cycle&mdash;saying interventions that focus only on women of productive age start too late and end too early. Biases can begin very early in life, sometimes in subtle ways, making it ultimately difficult and costly to resolve inequality.<br />
	<br />
	The report warns that ageing populations in the developing world will become increasingly important for governments to consider. Through 2050, the old-age dependency ratio in developing countries is expected to soar by 144 percent, during which time the child dependency ratio is projected to fall by 20 percent, altering the nature of the care burden in families and societies.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-23',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'A new report by the World Bank Group stresses the need for bold, coordinated actions to advance equal opportunities for women in the world of work, such as addressing gender biases early, expanding women’s access to property and finance, and raising legal retirement ages— with major payoffs in tackling poverty.',
			'sortorder' => '2532',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2661',
			'article_category_id' => '109',
			'title' => 'Nepse’s Rally Continues',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (Nepse) Index continues to hold to the gains of last week on Sunday. The benchmark index of the country&rsquo;s capital market, which opened at 822.67 points on the first day of its weekly trading, moved 9.19 points up. On Sunday, Nepse rallied to 838 points before settling at 831.86 points.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Analysts say that the rise in Nepse was attributed to the news about formation of a new cabinet. According to news circulating around the Nepali media sphere on Sunday, &nbsp;a new cabinet will form by this week after a political settlement between Nepali Congress and CPN (UML). Though unconfirmed, the settlement is said to be regarding the portfolio division of home ministry among others.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Sunday&rsquo;s turnover was recorded at Rs 423.13 million. Similarly, a total of 976,585 units of shares of 125 companies were traded in the stock market throughout 2,915 transactions. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Most of the trading sub-indices end the day in green territory with Hydropower achieving the position of biggest gainer (87.12 points) followed by Insurance (46.42 points), Finance (12.54 points), Banking (9.19 points) Development Banks (4.15 points) and Hotels (0.92 points). &lsquo;Others&rsquo; sub-index, meanwhile, ended the day in red losing 5.88 points. Sensitive index representing class &lsquo;A&rsquo; listed companies in the secondary market also rose 1.84 points to close at 180.48 points.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<img alt="Weekly Indices" src="/userfiles/images/indices%20(Copy).jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 302px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" /></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>Nepse Rose 20 Points Last Week</strong></span></div>
<div>
	Nepse continued its impetus as the benchmark index went up 19.56 points last week. Opening its weekly trading on the first day (Sunday) at 803.11 points, Nepse settled at a 63-month high of 822.67 points on the last day (Thursday). Following a bull run after the appointment of Nepali Congress (NC) leader Sushil Koirala as the new Prime Minister of the country, Nepse crossed the resistance level of 806 points last week. On Thursday, the index rallied over 825 points before closing at 822.67. On the commencement of weekly trading (Sunday), Nepse index recorded lowest weekly level at 800.32 points. Despite the on going dispute between NC and CPN (UML) over the portfolio division of key ministries -including the Home Ministry-investors reacted positively to the new political development.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Shares worth Rs 1.12 billion totalling 2.85 million units were traded in the stock market through 9,386 transactions. The turnover and number of transactions declined 30.71 per cent and 30.43 per cent respectively. &nbsp;Meanwhile, unit of shares traded also decreased 45.58 per cent.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Promoter shares of Everest Bank Limited climbed to the top spot in terms of weekly turnover. Similarly, in terms number of share units being transacted for the week, Nabil Balance Fund-1 remained at the number one spot. In terms of market capitalization, Nepal Telecom maintained its top position as earlier weeks.&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Most of the trading sub-indices witnessed increase last week. Insurance sub-index was the biggest weekly gainer with 325.53 points. Likewise, Hydropower was the second biggest gainer (88.68 points), followed by Finance (31 points), Development Banks (15 points) and Banking (8.23 points). Hotels was the biggest loser for the week as the trading sub-index saw a decline of 29.99 points which was followed by Manufacturing and Processing (9.6 points). &lsquo;Others&rsquo; sub-index, meanwhile, remained same as previous week. For the week, the Sensitive Index representing the share trading of blue chip stocks belonging toclass &lsquo;A&rsquo; listed companies went up 3.51 points. &nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Last week, shares of 148 companies were transacted in the domestic stock market. 100 companies observed gain in their share prices while, 28 logged decline. Share prices of 20 companies remained unchanged over the period.</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2014-02-24',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (Nepse) Index continues to hold to the gains of last week on Sunday. The benchmark index of the country’s capital market, which opened at 822.67 points on the first day of its weekly trading, moved 9.19 points up. On Sunday, Nepse rallied to 838 points before settling at 831.86 points.',
			'sortorder' => '2531',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
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	),
	(int) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2682',
			'article_category_id' => '212',
			'title' => 'Mobile World Congress 2014: What To Expect',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		Since its inception in 2009, the Barcelona-based GSMA Mobile World Congress has become the world&#39;s largest exhibition for the global mobile industry. The sixth edition of MWC (24th to 27th February) is expected to showcase latest handsets from the well-known and new manufacturers. Here&#39;s sneak peek at what we expect to see at one of the biggest mobile tech shows of the year:</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="SAMSUNG" src="/userfiles/images/SS.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 104px;" />Samsung</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		Samsung will host Unpacked event in Barcelona on Feb 24, which features the subscript 5 after its name hinting that the Galaxy S5 will make its first appearance. The company sent invitation to various international medias after rumors suggested that Samsung will release a new flagship device with a QHD display at Mobile World Congress, which was believed to be the S5. In addition to a 2560 x 1600 5.25-inch display, we&#39;re expecting to see Samsung&#39;s next big thing debut with iris scanning technology, a revamped TouchWiz UI with a flatter design, a 64-bit processor and an improved 16MP camera.&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		Samsung is also expected to unveil recently announced Galaxy Note 3 Neo, which comes in two flavors. The high-end version runs on a hexacore processor comprised of two 1.7GHz Cortex-A15 cores and four 1.3GHz Cortex-A7 cores.The lower end 3G version will be powered by a 1.6-GHz quad-core processor. Toting 5.5-inch displays, both handsets are a slightly smaller version of the Galaxy Note 3 which sports a roomier 5.7-inch screen.&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="LG" src="/userfiles/images/bt3%20(Copy)(1).jpg" style="float: RIGHt; margin: 0px 0px 10px 0px;width: 100px; height: 98px;" />LG</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		LG recently revealed the G Pro 2, the successor to its Optimus G Pro phablet, in Korea earlier this week. The device comes equipped with a massive 5.9-inch 1080p display, a 2.26-GHz Snapdragon 800 processor and a 13MP camera. LG is touting the device&#39;s ability to record 4K footage and slow motion as its primary new features. We&#39;re expecting to get some hands-on time with the device in Barcelona following LG&#39;s press event.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<strong style="font-size: 16px;"><img alt="NOKIA" src="/userfiles/images/bt4%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 57px;" />Nokia</strong></div>
	<div>
		Nokia is expected to unveil the Nokia X on Monday morning. That&#39;s the latest evolution of its inexpensive Asha feature phones. While the X is based on the open-source version of Android, it won&#39;t appear to be an &quot;Android&quot; phone at all, as it&#39;ll run Nokia and Microsoft services in place of the usual Google ones. It&#39;ll run some Android apps, though, and possible the Amazon Appstore. Reliable leaker@evleaks says it&#39;ll have a 4-inch, 800-by-480 screen and come in six colors.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="SONY" src="/userfiles/images/bt5%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 112px;" />Sony</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		Sony has released a teaser video for its MWC event, scheduled for 24 February 2014, where it is expected to reveal its new flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z2. The teaser video doesn&#39;t really reveal much, and just says &quot;Something extraordinary is coming&quot;, and &quot;Xperia Details 24.02.2014&quot;. Numerous leaks about the Sony &#39;D6503 Sirius&#39; Xperia Z2 indicate the smartphone will feature a quad-core Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974-AB) chipset clocked at 2.3GHz with Adreno 330 GPU; 3GB of RAM; 5.2-inch full-HD display; a 20.7-megapixel rear camera, and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="HTC" src="/userfiles/images/bt6%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: right; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; width: 125px; height: 116px;" />HTC</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		While it may be too early to see a successor to the flagship HTC One, the Taiwan-based gadget maker could reveal a new mid-range device. The HTC Desire 8, which was reportedly leaked earlier this week, is rumored to sport a phablet-sized 5.5-inch display, a 13MP main camera, 5MP front shooter and a clean white buttonless design.</div>
	<div>
		&nbsp;</div>
	<div>
		<span style="font-size:16px;"><strong><img alt="Huawei " src="/userfiles/images/bt7%20(Copy)(2).jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; width: 150px; height: 111px;" />Huawei&nbsp;</strong></span></div>
	<div>
		The Ascend P7 is expected to become the next flagship smartphone of Chinese manufacturer Huawei, and mere days before the MWC images leaked out on the web. The images reveal that the Ascend P7 could come in pink, gold, white, and black. It also features a dual LED flash, an improvement over the single LED flash in last year&rsquo;s Ascend P6.&nbsp;</div>
	<div style="text-align: right;">
		<em>(Sources: Various Tech Portals)</em></div>
</div>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>',
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			'created' => '2014-02-25',
			'modified' => '2014-03-03',
			'keywords' => 'the corporate weekly from Nepal, nepali corporate events – news – interviews – reviews, nepali corporate focus, nepali corporate status and news, news from nepali corporate industry, corporate happenings – events – news from nepal',
			'description' => 'Since its inception in 2009, the Barcelona-based GSMA Mobile World Congress has become the world's largest exhibition for the global mobile industry. The sixth edition of MWC (24th to 27th February) is expected to showcase latest handsets from the well-known and new manufacturers. Here's sneak peek at what we expect to see at one of the biggest mobile tech shows of the year:',
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	(int) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2665',
			'article_category_id' => '140',
			'title' => 'CIAA Made Focal Point  For Projects Of National Pride',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<strong>--By TC Correspondent</strong></div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The government has set up a focal point at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for the Projects of National Pride. The aim behind the government move is to expedite the works of the ambitious projects.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The focal point for the Projects of National Pride has been set up at the CIAA to monitor the progress of these projects,&rdquo; CIAA&rsquo;s technical expert Yogendra Kumar Rai told The Corporate. According to Rai, the chief of the focal point, which was constituted little more than two weeks ago, has started collecting information regarding all Projects of National Pride.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	&ldquo;The task of the focal point is not to investigate but to expedite the works of these crucial projects,&rdquo; Rai said adding that the focal point would try to find a solution to the problems faced by the Projects of National Pride.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	Some of the most important infrastructure projects were announced as the Projects of National Pride when Dr Baburam Bhattarai was the prime minister. A booklet titled &lsquo;Economic Development and Prosperity&rsquo; published by the Ministry of Finance back then had listed 17 projects as the Projects of National Pride. Four new projects have been added to the list, taking the number of such projects to 21.</div>
<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<div>
	The focal point at the CIAA is currently studying the files of the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP), one of the Projects of National Pride, according to Sarojman Shakya, senior divisional engineer at CIAA. Started nearly 15 years ago, the project was targeted to complete in the current fiscal year. However, there is no possibility of the project, which has faced several hurdles so far, to complete in the current fiscal year.</div>',
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			'description' => 'The government has set up a focal point at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for the Projects of National Pride. The aim behind the government move is to expedite the works of the ambitious projects',
			'sortorder' => '2529',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '2654',
			'article_category_id' => '91',
			'title' => 'Rhetoric And Reality Of Foreign Investment',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	&nbsp;</div>
<p>
	With the slogan of making Nepal a lucrative destination for investment, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), in association with the government, is organizing a three-day Nepal Economic Summit 2014 from February 24. According to FNCCI, the main organiser of the event, the Summit will be a milestone for policy changes to attract foreign investment, both domestic and foreign, in three key sectors of Nepal &ndash; agriculture, tourism and energy. Economists and some businessmen, however, say that &lsquo;attracting foreign investment&rsquo; has been one of the overused phrases over the years. &ldquo;Luring foreign investment has now become rhetorical,&rdquo; agreed economist and former National Planning Commission Vice Chairman Deependra Bahadur Kshetry.</p>
<p>
	The government should ensure investment friendly environment for the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), he told <em>The Corporate</em>. The most important aspect to lure FDI is taking investors into confidence, Kshetry added. &ldquo;China is not a liberal economy. Yet, why is foreign investment inflow high in china? Because the country has investment friendly environment and it has succeeded to win confidence of investors.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
	The event is aimed at seeking all possible solution on how we can make Nepal a lucrative destination for investment globally and can remove hurdles that prevail at present, director general at FNCCI Dr Hemanta Dawadi said. The summit will be followed by abusiness conclave in March this year. FNCCI will be inviting potential investors to this conclave for discussing investment possibilities, Dawadi informed.</p>
<p>
	Economist Prithvi Raj Ligal, on the other hand, said that the hurdles have already been identified. All we need is sincere commitments from concerned stakeholders for addressing existing hurdles and to foster an environment favourable for investment, he added. Political instability, security issues, poor infrastructure and frequent labour unrest in the nation among others are some of the core issues that pose serious challenge to attract foreign investment, he opined.</p>
<p>
	Questioning the very objective of organizing of such meets while identified bottlenecks remain unaddressed, he said that the government should focus its efforts to address problems also, instead of solely focusing on repeatedly organizing summit after summit. &ldquo;Gathering world&rsquo;s renowned business figures is a good initiative. But repeating the same actions on the same line will be useless. Its time to address the identified bottlenecks while establishing business contacts simultaneously,&rdquo; Ligal said. The organizers, on the other hand, claim the summit will be a groundbreaking event. FNCCI President Suraj Vaidya said the Summit aims solely to create a platform where business leaders, experts, high level political leaders and international delegates will search for a common ground that will help make Nepal an attractive destination for local as well as foreign investors.</p>
<p>
	&ldquo;Nepal has tremendous investment potentials in agriculture, tourism and energy sectors. However, there are policy hurdles&nbsp; and there is a lack of investment-friendly environment. The Summit will look for ways to tackle such problems,&rdquo; said Vaidya.</p>
<p>
	The FNCCI has already prepared a list of 27 projects that are concidered &lsquo;quite feasible&rsquo; for investment. Vaidya said the Summit will try to attract FDI in these projects. &ldquo;The Summit will help explore investment possibilities for these 27 projects whose total cost has been estimated at Rs 300 billion,&rdquo; said Vaidya.</p>
<p>
	Economists, successful entrepreneurs and experts in agriculture, tourism and clean energy from the USA, the UK, India, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Australia, Germany and Thailand, among others, will be attending this Summit, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala.</p>
<p>
	Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Bank and its private sector arm International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, UK Government&rsquo;s Department for International Development (DFID), German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and Nepal Tourism Board are the partners of the Summit. Similarly, Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation, is the knowledge partner of the event.</p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>FDI in Seven Months</strong></span><br />
	Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Nepal has reached Rs 18.9 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. At a programme organised at the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office on February 16, officials said that 135 FDI projects have been approved during the period. The country received Rs 19.94 billion FDI in fiscal year 2012/13 and Rs 7.14 billion in the previous fiscal year.</p>',
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			'description' => 'It is high time the business community and the government proved their effi ciency to attract more foreign investment instead of organizing one after another conference and summit.',
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