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			'id' => '506',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Industries Rob NEA Of Rs 70 Million',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">It has been revealed that 81 industrial customers of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have stolen electricity worth Rs 70 million. The revelation came after a team from NEA’s Electricity Leakage Control Division inspected the Time of the Day (ToD) electricity meters of the industrial and business customers in Dhading, Gorkha, Kawasoti, Bharatpur, Tandi, Simara and Birgunj last month. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">“The inspection of the ToD meters of these clients also showed that 15 million units of electricity was not billed due to under-billing or leakage and pilferage,” said NEA Executive Directive Dipendra Nath Sharma, “Based on the prevailing tariff rates and the demand concession, the amount that the NEA needs to recover from these clients for stolen electricity totals around Rs 70 million.” <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The industries which have stolen electricity by tampering ToD meters include KP Cement, Nirapus Plastic Industry, Safari Adventure Lodge, Shree Simran Crusher Industry, Koshi Gas Industry, Ghimire Furniture and Popular Rice Mill. These industries were found to have tampered with their ToD meters to steal electricity. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There are 4,000 ToD meters in use by industries and business houses across the country. Sharma informed that NEA was planning to install GPRS equipment at all these ToD meters so that the NEA headquarters would be able to calculate the exact units of electricity used by these customers. “We will have installed this equipment at all ToD meters within the next one year. We have now intensified the campaign to control electricity leakage in the industrial corridor,” said Sharma.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'It has been revealed that 81 industrial customers of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have stolen electricity worth Rs 70 million.',
			'sortorder' => '412',
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			'id' => '505',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'DDC Raising Capacity',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) is planning to expand the capacity of milk processing centre at Balaju. Siyaram Prasad Singh, Deputy General Manager of DDC said that the capacity is being expanded to meet the growing demand of dairy products. According to Singh, Rs 140 million is being invested for the expansion which will increase the capacity from the current 110,000 litres per day (LPD) to 250,000 LPD. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The works under the expansion project will commence within this fiscal year, he added. Similarly, DDC is planning to set up a new plant at Khumaltar for producing dairy products other than milk, such as 30,000 litres of yoghurt, 3,000 litres of ice-cream, 1,000 kilograms of cottage cheese per day.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) is planning to expand the capacity of milk processing centre at Balaju. Siyaram Prasad Singh,',
			'sortorder' => '411',
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			'id' => '504',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'ICRG Warns Nepal, Again',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Nepal received yet another warning from the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) over its slow progress in putting effective anti-money laundering (AML) measures in place. A meeting of ICRG held in Malaysia in the third week of September warned Nepal to fulfil all AML-related commitments in time and it categorically said that Nepal’s deadline to do so will not be extended again. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">“The ICRG meeting decided not to give any extra time to Nepal to meet its AML commitments which should have been fulfilled by December 2010,” said Nepal Rastra Bank Deputy Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari who participated in the meeting. Though Nepal endorsed an AML law recently, it has yet to implement Anti-Organised Crime Act, Mutual Legal Assistance Act and Extradition Act, which, according to the ICRG are effective measures against money laundering. While the draft of the Act against Organised Crime is under discussion at the Cabinet, the other two laws are awaiting Parliament’s approval. The meeting, according to Adhikari, also expressed dissatisfaction over certain provisions of the AML Act endorsed by Nepal’s Legislature-Parliament some four months ago. “The meeting concluded that the language of Nepal’s AML law is vague at many places while many of its provisions are inadequate, and thus, do not meet international standards. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">So it has asked Nepal to amend certain provisions and also include some new provisions in the Act,” said Adhikari. ICRG’s pressure to draft a more stringent AML law comes at a time when Nepal’s private sector has been protesting the existing law calling it “too stringent”. Adhikari informed that ICRG has directed Nepal to include provisions for seizing the properties of the people suspected of money laundering and confiscating them at the end if such people are found guilty. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">“The ICRG meeting has directed Nepal to amend the existing AML law by June 2013 to include such provisions,” said Adhikari. Asking Nepal to consider organised crimes as equivalent to terrorist activities, the meeting has stressed on the formulation and implementation of strong legal measures to counter terrorist financing.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal received yet another warning from the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) under the Financial Action Task Force',
			'sortorder' => '410',
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			'id' => '503',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'NS Quality Award 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="left" alt="" height="115" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ns quality.jpg" vspace="5" width="150" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology has presented Nepal Standard (NS) Quality Award 2011 to five industries on the occassion of 42nd World Standards Day. Gorkha Brewery received this award for its beer and beverages. Similarly, Probiotic Industries Pvt Ltd, a poultry feed industry, received the award in medium industries category. Cristal Product Pvt Ltd received NS award under small industries group. This industry in Hetauda produces HDPE pipes. Likewise, Hulas Wire Industries, a GI wire producer, and Swastik Oil Industries, a refined soybean oil producer each were given letter of appreciation.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology has presented Nepal Standard (NS) Quality Award 2011 to five industries on the occassion of 42nd World Standards Day.',
			'sortorder' => '409',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '502',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal’s Population Reaches 26.6 Million',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">First time in four decades, the average annual population growth rate of Nepal has slipped below two percent. The preliminary result of 11th national population census has revealed that the annual population growth rate in the last decade was 1.4 per cent only from 2.25 in the 2001 census. Making public the preliminary findings of the census, the Central Bureau of Statistics, announced that the total population of Nepal is now 26,620,809. When the absentee population (those who were away from the country during the census) is included in this, the number goes up to 28.6 million. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The census was conducted during the June 17-27, 2011. According to the initial report of census, decline in birth rate is the main reason in decrease of population growth rate. Large chunk of youth population being out of the country for various reasons is presumed to be the major cause for this decline. The initial result of 11th census shows that the population has increased by 15 per cent in a decade. Similarly, the average household size has declined to 4.7 from 5.44 in 2001. The female population is 765,000 more than male population. Thus the female population comprises of 51.44 per cent of total population. According to the report, the population of male and female in Nepal is 12,927,431 and 13,693,378 respectively. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Likewise, the population density has increased to 181 per square kilometres. Population density of Kathmandu is the highest with 4408 while Manang has the lowest with just three persons in a square kilometre. The urban population constitutes about 17 percent of the total population. More than half of the total population lives in Terai followed by Hill and Mountain region. According to CBS, most populated district is Kathmandu followed by Morang, Rupandehi, Jhapa and Kailali. Similarly, the least populated district is Manang followed by Mustang, Dolpa, Rasuwa and Humla.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'First time in four decades, the average annual population growth rate of Nepal has slipped below two percent',
			'sortorder' => '408',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
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			'main_news' => false,
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '501',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal Improves On Doing Business  Indicators',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Contrary to general perceptions, the overall business environment in Nepal has improved, according to the IFC-World Bank joint report Doing Business 2012 made public recently. Based on data collected during the period from June 2010 through May 2011, the report shows that though Nepal's situation has deteriorated in five indicators compared to the previous year, it has improved in other four indicators and remained unchanged in one indicator thus lifting the overall ranking by three places to 107 from 110 of the previous report. This is a good news to the present government which has announced plan to observe the year 2012-13 as Investment Year. Nepal's overall ranking was going down for the last few years continuously. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Globally, Singapore has ranked as number one in Doing Business followed by Hong Kong, New Zealand and United States. Among the South Asian region's economies, Bangladesh's rank fell from 118 to 122 while Maldives deteriorated from 78 to 79. However, the ranks of Bhutan (146 to 142), India (139 to 132) and Sri Lanka (98 to 89) improved. South Asian economies have an opportunity to increase access to information for entrepreneurs, said Sylvia Solf, lead author of the report. One route is new technology, which is increasingly used by governments to provide electronic services for filing taxes or registering businesses. This not only enhances efficiency but opens opportunities to increase transparency. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The most striking improvement in Nepal was in dealing with construction permits, according to the report, which shows that while Nepal was ranked 161 last year in this count, it has moved to 140 this year. Other areas of improvement are getting electricity, payng taxes and resolving insolvency while there was deterioration in the areas of starting a business, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors and trading across borders.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '2012-10-31',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Contrary to general perceptions, the overall business environment in Nepal has improved, according to the IFC-World Bank joint report Doing Business 2012 made public recently.',
			'sortorder' => '407',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '500',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Self Declaration Of Property In Limbo',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The scheme proposed by by this year’s budget to allow the self declaration of property is in limbo as the programme is deemed to be detrimental to country’s international commitment on anti money laundering. Declaring the property without investigating the source of it is against such international commitment. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">A source at the Ministry of Finance said that there is least chance of ‘self declaration of property’ to be announced this year. The source claimed that the attempt of the government to be flexible on property declaration has almost failed as the criteria set by the Financial Task Force cannot be violated. Krishna Hari Baskota, Finance Secretary also accepted the fact that it would be difficult to implement the voluntary declaration of property as proposed in the budget. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The government stepped back from its previous promise of announcing such sheme in fear that international organisations working against money laundering might blacklist Nepal. Bangladesh had withdrawn similar programme after the warning of Asia Pacific Group, a network of countries working on anti money laundering.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The scheme proposed by by this year’s budget to allow the self declaration of property is in limbo',
			'sortorder' => '406',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '499',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'World Bank Releases Interim Strategy For Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched a two years Interim Strategy for assistance in Nepal’s transitional phase and peace building. Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun released the strategy named, Interim Strategy Note for Nepal, for fiscal year 2012 and 2013 on October 18 in Kathmandu. The strategy promises to continue WBG efforts to achieve durable peace with investments in development and poverty reduction. “Given the transitional nature of Nepal’s current situation, with a new constitution being drafted and elections to follow, the World Bank Group has prepared a new Interim Strategy Note for Nepal,” reads the press statement issued by WBG. The strategy is formulated considering the Government of Nepal’s Three Year Plan. WBG says, “The interim strategy sets out some basic parameters of the WBG programme but still retains the flexibility to deal with the birth of a new republic. The strategy reflects considerable continuity, building on programs with successful track records that are adapted to local conditions.” The strategy emphasises greater selectivity, focusing on areas considered vital to Nepal’s development and complementing programs supported by other development partners. According to WBG, agriculture, infrastructure and social development are in top priority. The World Bank has decided to allocate US $ 400 million for two fiscal years. The aid will be provided through bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the concessionary financing arm. However, the size of the assistance will depend on Nepal’s good performance and successful economic management, according to WBG. These funds would be invested in four to five new operations per year. Similarly, World Bank has projected Nepal’s Gross Domestic Production growth to remain at three per cent for the fiscal year 2011/12.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched a two years Interim Strategy for assistance in Nepal’s transitional phase',
			'sortorder' => '405',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '498',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal Energy Investors Forum',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai opened the Nepal Energy Investors Forum on 13 October organised jointly by the Government of Nepal and Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Forum was organised for promoting private sector investment in hydropower development in Nepal. Senior officials from the Government of Nepal, along with business leaders, bankers, financiers, power developers and traders, development partners and civil society members attended the two-days-long forum to discuss investment in the hydropower sector in Nepal. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Addressing the Forum, Dr Bhattarai stressed the importance of private sector investment for the development of Nepal’s hydropower sector and said, “I would like to assure all investing and financing communities, domestic and foreign, that our policies are naturally geared towards being as investment friendly as possible.” The Prime Minister invited every potential developer to invest freely in hydropower projects in Nepal without any fear of expropriation. Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun, Energy Minister Posta Bahadur Bogati and Vice President of ADB Xiaoyu Zhao also addressed the Forum. The two-day event facilitated discussions on risks associated with undertaking hydropower projects in Nepal and to explore innovative financing mechanisms.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai opened the Nepal Energy Investors Forum on 13 October organised',
			'sortorder' => '404',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '497',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Beetle’s Nepal-India Friendship Drive',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><img align="left" alt="" height="215" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/beetles.jpg" vspace="5" width="312" />“Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011” organised by the Association of Nepal Beetle Users Group (ANBUG) concluded successfully on September 13. The closing ceremony was held on 27 September in which the visual show of the trip was highlighted. Gopal Sunder Lal Kakshapati, Founder President of ANBUG said, “We created history as a motor rally that originated in Nepal crossed Nepal’s international border for the first time.” ‘Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011’ was flagged off at Kathmandu by Jayanta Prasad, Indian Ambassador to Nepal on 6 September and reached Gangtok, the capital of Indian state of Sikkim via Kakarvitta border point in Jhapa district.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Lamichhane New NRNA Prez</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The fifth global convention of Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) unanimously elected Jiba Lamicchane to its apex post. The erstwhile Vice President was elected unopposed to the post of President after contender Dev Man Hirachan withdrew his candidacy at the elevent hour. For 20 posts, 34 had filed candidacy while six of them were elected unanimously. Capt Hitman Gurung and Rameshwar Shah were elected to the post of Vice President. Similarly, Tenzi Sherpa, Tek Bahadur Karki, Bhaban Bhatta and Hem Raj Sharma were elected to the posts of General Secretary, Secretary, Treasurer and Spokesperson respectively.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">SAARC Business Leaders’ Conclave</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" height="103" hspace="3" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/saarc.jpg" vspace="3" width="216" />The 4th SAARC Business Leaders Conclave (SBLC) held in Kathmandu during 20-22 September with the theme of “Peace and Prosperity through Regional Connectivity” concluded by adopting a 9-point Kathmandu Declaration. President Dr Ram Baran Yadav inaugurated the three-day conclave jointly organised by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). The conclave was attended by over 500 participants including business and political leaders, academia and experts from eight SAARC nations. The participants of the conclave stressed on the need for enhanced regional connectivity to achieve peace and prosperity in the region as envisioned in the doctrine of Regional Connectivity 2010-2020. Private sectors, experts and business leaders agreed to urge the governments in the region to harmonise customs procedures. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">They also stressed on the mutual recognition of standards and certifications, implementation of Regional Motor Vehicle Transport Agreement and Open Sky Policy linking major cities in the region and implementation of a common SAARC Energy Policy. The Kathmandu Declaration proposed the implementation of SAARC Transit Agreement, Shipment Agreement, Logistics Agreements, and ICT Agreement to make SAFTA a workable mechanism which will lead to Customs Union. Anisul Haq, President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce, recognised water, energy, climate change, food security, tourism, and investment as common priority concerns. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">He urged for more connectivity in the region by resolving conflicts among member states. Pradip Kumar Shrestha, Vice-President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce, underscored that the future of the entire South-Asian region is in the hands of young entrepreneurs. “Young entrepreneurs are growing in South Asia, the business leaders should support them to take the lead,” said Shrestha. The conclave vowed urgent implementation of Regional Environment Treaty, activation of SAARC Food Bank and proposed to set up a SAARC Disaster Management Institute to mitigate the impacts of natural calamities and climate change. The business community of the region also recommended signing of a Regional Investment Treaty.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Ambuja, Dugar Invest in Dang Cement</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">India’s Ambuja Cement Ltd and Nepal’s HC Dugar Group have bought Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd (DCIPL). Ambuja is now the majority shareholder of DCIPL with 80 per cent ownership. Dugar Group makes up for the remaining 20 per cent. DCIPL obtained the license for producing one million tons of cement per annum in 2003 but could not begin production for various reasons. “The construction of the physical infrastructures of the company will begin soon after the Tihar to become the largest cement factory of Nepal in terms of production capacity,” said DCIPL Chairman Bijay Dugar. According to sources, Ambuja and Dugar jointly bought DCIPL for Rs 300 million in April this year. It is learnt that Ambuja is planning to invest billions of rupees in the company that has an authorised capital of Rs six billion at present. “Currently, the cement companies with half the production capacity of DCIPL have an investment of three to four billion rupees. So, there is no doubt that DCIPL will have an investment of much more,” added Dugar. Ambuja Cement’s 50 per cent shares are owned by Swiss company HOLCIM, a global leader in cement production and supply. DCIPL was incorporated on May 27, 2003 by lawmaker and industrialist Surya Bahadur KC and others with the objective to produce Portland and other types of cement. As that group could not set up the plant, it was taken over by the new investors. Dugar said that DCIPL will mine limestone on its own to produce clinker. He also informed that technicians and top officials from HOLCIM and Ambuja will visit the industry site before Tihar. “The construction will begin soon after their inspection visit,” informed Dugar.</span></p>',
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			'description' => '“Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011” organised by the Association of Nepal Beetle Users Group (ANBUG) concluded successfully on September 13.',
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	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '494',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Manufacruting Prospect Unharnessed',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img alt="" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/Manufacturing.jpg" style="width: 524px; height: 585px;" /></p>
<p>
	A long-term vision for the Nepali Manufacturing Sector, known as vision 2020, prepared jointly by Nepal government, UNDP and UNIDO in 2002 had proposed to pursue a two-pronged industrialization strategy aimed at rural, agro-based industrialization, and formal urban-based industrial development. But a decade down the lane, nothing seems to be moving to the vision encapsulated then. The strategy proposed then as prioritising export-oriented labour-intensive manufacturing industries and tourism-related exotic products, where Nepal already enjoys considerable comparative advantage, still sounds equally relevant (see box for 2020 goals). But its proposal of raising the contribution of the sector to GDP from 10 to 20 per cent by 2020 appears highly unrealistic given its contribution of just about 7 per cent of GDP in FY 2010/11. From national economic standpoint, manufacturing has universally accepted double-edged goals -- consumption and/or exports. As Nepal is way below in meeting her consumers demand on virtually all sorts of items, and has equally good potential for export of various products, Nepalâ's manufacturing prospects, at least in theory, are truly bright.</p>
<p>
	It is because Nepali productions can replace the import in the domestic market and also have scope of export to rapidly growing neighbouring markets of India and, also China. Although the import to export trade ratio of Nepal in terms of value stands at 7:1, some of the Nepali produce like iron and steel products, acrylic yarn, hand-made woolen carpets, readymade garments and tea and coffee are faring well in international markets.</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/goals for 2020.jpg" style="width: 468px; height: 400px;" /></p>
<p>
	The history of manufacturing in Nepal is not very long. The Nepal Companies Act, 1936 provided basis for incorporation of industrial enterprises which in fact had provisions for joint-ventures and public sector industries. The most tangible outcome of this Act was establishment of Biratnagar Jute Mills, a collaborative venture of Indian and Nepalese entrepreneurs. The Mill is considered first manufacturing unit of industrial scale in Nepal. But the said Act had no provision for private limited companies until it was reformed in 1951.</p>
<p>
	This new act encouraged the establishment of ninety-two new private joint stock companies between 1952 and 1964. The Industrial Enterprises Act of 1974 enacted in the heydays of panchayat polity also recognized role of the private sector in the industrial growth. But the panchayat regime continued the policy of protecting the public sector production over the private one, which in fact constricted the desired growth of the sector. Establishment of about a dozen industrial estates including at Patan, Balaju, Hetauda, Pokhara, Dharan, Butawal, and Nepalganj in the 1980s certainly contributed to create an organized industrial atmosphere. Several modern industries with large manufacturing plants to produce jute, sugar, cigarettes, beer, matches, shoes, chemicals, cement, and bricks were installed. The garment and carpet production units in much diffused fashion spread in the Kathmandu valley and surrounding areas, targeted at export production. By the end of last fiscal year, number of manufacturing units registered under the Department of Industries has crossed well above 2,000. This not only shows that investment and industrialization has expanded but also that the internal market of Nepali products has grown substantially. Of late, private sector investment in manufacturing of cement, sugar and items of daily use has increased significantly. Western district of Dang is developing as the ‘cement city’ as at least a half-dozen large cement companies are all set to begin production pretty soon. Many would like to categorize the hydropower units also as manufacturing. In that case, it can be claimed that Nepal’s manufacturing sector has been able to attract quite large amount of investment, mainly from the private sector. Still, very weak positioning of Nepali exports --due to lack of diversification, market research and identification</p>
<p>
	and, choice of low-value high-volume products -- has not been helpful for both manufacturing and trade balance. The share of main Nepali export in the global market has been limited in quantity and value, and thus been unable to create their own sectoral economies of scale. The policy conundrum is still a major bottleneck. In many sectors, public enterprises continue to play dominant role which is very often than not inviting unfair market play by government intervention. Price distortion is the major resultant effect that in turn is discouraging the private sector investment, at least in the sectors where the government is directly involved. Recent successive governments with mainly socialist tilts have made the situation even more confusing, as their policies lacked clarity in private property, entrepreneurship and profit making.</p>
<p>
	Even beyond political spectrum, challenges of facilitating the growth of manufacturing sector are many. On the supply side, Nepal’s physical infrastructure, especially electricity supply, roads and use of up-to-date technology are inadequate to support a modern manufacturing sector so that it becomes capable of quickly responding to trends in world market demands for manufactured products. As the newest problem, lack of manpower is another bottleneck due to labour migration to foreign countries. Departing from a conventional thinking, identifying afresh new niche and competitive products is also a striking need of the day. Strategies for trade, policies and investment can follow.</p>',
			'published' => true,
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			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'A long-term vision for the Nepali Manufacturing Sector, known as vision 2020, prepared jointly by Nepal government, UNDP and UNIDO in 2002 had proposed to pursue a two-pronged industrialization strategy aimed at rural, agro-based industrialization, and formal urban-based industrial development. But a decade down the lane, nothing seems to be moving to the vision encapsulated then.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '496',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Manufacturers Are Treated As Criminals In This Country',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong>BIPPA should have been signed with India a couple of years ago because it is our nearest neighbour and the largest foreign investor in the country. BIPPA will be a milestone agreement as it promises added security to the Indian investors.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><img align="left" alt="coverstory" border="1" height="225" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/diwakar golchha.jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="200" /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How will the recent BIPPA agreement help in promoting the manufacturing sector? </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	BIPPA should have been signed with India a couple of years ago because it is our nearest neighbour and the largest foreign investor in the country. BIPPA will be a milestone agreement as it promises added security to the Indian investors. Manufacturing sector today has the biggest setback because of electricity problem. In this context, Indian investors have committed around 3,500 MW power generation in this country. In the second round of power summit going to be held in Kathmandu, we expect another 4-5,000 MW of electricity production commitment. Today, India is one of the largest international investors in the region and last year, Indian investors invested US $ 43 billion outside India. So, there is every reason for them to invest in Nepal as we are their nearest country where they will produce electricity and take to India. BIPPA, along with other agreements, shows a long term commitment of India towards Nepal.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How do you analyse the Nepali manufacturing sector and its growth trend?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	In recent years, the manufacturing sector has been neglected because of various reasons. It was neither in the priority of the government nor was there a concern to protect the domestic investments. So, many industries have shut down in the past seven to eight years. Our industries that had significant annual achievements are registering negative growth for a couple of years now. That is because of the wrong attitude of the bureaucracy and of course, none of the politicians are concerned. For the first time in the last 15 years, Nepali Industrialists have revived the hope they had lost after Dr Baburam Bhattarai became the Prime Minister. Manufacturers are treated as criminals in this country, which is why the entire investment climate is in dire straits. Even the facilities committed by the act of 1990 were denied and later withdrawn which is a betrayal to this sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Which is the most appropriate sector for manufacturing for Nepal? Why do you think this specific sector is not much developed as expected?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	There are so many products necessary to be manufactured in Nepal. Unless the climate for manufacturing and attitude of bureaucrats do not change and unless there is a strong body that can understand the multiplier effects of investment and language of economy, one cannot think of industrialisation. We have discussed the issues and problems we faced after 2000, with Dr Bhattarai. We are hopeful that the industrial revolution will take off after 2012-2013. Many sectors may revive provided there is lowered cost of production and cheaper cost of doing business transactions. There are numerous harassments like high finance cost, no electricity, and so many other reasons due to which industries do not come up. Unless there is power, nobody is going to put money into industry. I will not recommend anybody, at least in my family, to go for manufacturing at this point in time.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Everybody is complaining that Nepal does not have a suitable industrial environment. Golchha Organisation is one of the most successful corporate houses focused on manufacturing. How are you managing it?</strong> <img align="right" alt="" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/golchha2.jpg" style="text-align: justify; width: 153px; height: 239px;" vspace="5" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Successes and failures are always part of one’s life. If we are suffering because of the wrong attitude of the government, we might want to close down some industries so that it can give a message. We had to close down Sri Bhrikuti Pulp and Paper Nepal Limited because of the wrong attitude of the government. We are going to close down another important industry, Sri Nepal Boards Ltd due to the same reason. The successive governments thought that importing goods gets them more revenue which they can spend on regular expenses. However, that will leave the country’s development in lurch. There is no desire in the government for development of this country, the only desire is to garner more revenue and enjoy it. At this moment, Golchha Organisation is doing very well with its trading businesses. Trading involves more than 50 per cent of our total turnover while the service sector has around five per cent share and the remaining makes up for our manufacturing concerns.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How long do you think such a situation will persist in the country?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	It requires visionary leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia to build successful economies. We have our hopes pinned on Dr Bhattarai and we do see similar capabilities in him. If he could remain the Prime Minister of Nepal for the next 10 years, we believe that he can transform this country. But first and foremost, he should begin with a total transformation of the bureaucracy in Nepal.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Large corporate houses are shifting to the service sector. What is the reason behind it ? <br />
	</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	The Nepali people have enhanced their buying power today by virtue of remittance. They want better services and can spend money for that. Service is a sector where you have the possibility of a quick return without making a heavy investment like in an industry. Though are small hurdles like power shortage, strikes and blockades that are affecting this sector as well, it can still manage on its own. That is why the service sector is bound to develop and people are flocking for this sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Can a country sustain based on imported goods only as corporate houses and industries are shifting to service sector from manufacturing?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	There is always a phase like this and ultimately, the nation will have no alternative. Unless you have a manufacturing sector, how much service can you possibly sell? Everything has a limitation so the service sector too will reach a saturation point. Ultimately, when there is a possibility of easy investment and return, competition to make a mark in the manufacturing sector will intensify. There has to be balance in everything because nothing can grow imbalanced. You cannot say that one sector will grow and another sector is not required.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Why are there very little measures to promote goods that have comparative and competitive advantages?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	At the moment, Nepal has no comparative advantage whatsoever. Once we have sufficient power, labourers more inclined towards working rather than politics, banking sector more favourable for investment, a favourable government and its economy-friendly policies, we will have comparative advantages. Unless these logistics are there, one cannot compete. Today, in India, there are industries that are 20 times bigger than what we have in our country. Given India’s automation and advancement, it is difficult for us to compete with our older and manual technology. So, it is almost impossible to achieve higher cost advantage and efficiency in Nepal. If the policies are correct and the sizes of operation are reasonable, we will definitely compete.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>There are duplications even with the limited size of the Nepali manufacturing sector. How sustainable is it and what are your suggestions to control such duplications?</strong> Duplication has been the phenomenon of the entire world. Nepal is not the only country which faces this problem. There are some industries who lead with original ideas and some others who follow. Only time can tell whether such practices will succeed or not. The capable ones will sustain and the incapable ones will take their own path. Investors have to think which sector they have to go, you can’t push your product. Once there is a pull factor, you will produce more because if you try to push things, you will never get the desired results. The market is the best judge to accept or not to accept such practices.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'id' => '495',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Industrial Development Is Impossible Without Basic Infrastructure',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What is the present status of the manufacturing sector in Nepal?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The market for both consumable goods and durables has been growing and expanding in the international arena. Growth of manufacturing sector ensures overall economic growth. As a result, demand for both consumable goods and capital goods increases. Demand of consumable and capital goods has been growing globally. That is why we can say that the manufacturing sector has been growing the world over. But the problem is that though the demand for these goods is rising globally, production of these goods has centred around booming economies like China and India. As far as Nepal is concerned, we are in a very sorry state in manufacturing sector. Leave alone the possibility of expansion; even the goods that we used to manufacture in our own country have been displaced. For example, we used to produce fabrics in our country but Chinese readymade clothing available at cheaper prices has now replaced them. There were about 35 factories owned by the government but most of these public sector industries have shut down. We were the third largest jute producers in the world at one point of time. The health of our oldest factory, Biratnagar Jute Mill, has been deteriorating with the production and profit of this factory nosediving. The carpet industry used to contribute 20-22 per cent towards our national income but this percentage has been witnessing a downward trend. The contribution of the private sector is not very satisfactory. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="cover story" border="1" height="308" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bholanath pokheral.jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="250" /><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How do you analyse the growth of the manufacturing sector in Nepal? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Had our factories used our own resources or inputs, it would have yielded high value. But our manufacturing industry has been providing more of an assembling facility to intermediary products that we bring from international market rather than producing goods by ourselves. If we analyse the history of the growth of manufacturing sector in Nepal, the industrial development that began from the 1980s started to expand from 1990's revolution with the radical shift in power and the country adopting the path of democracy and liberalism. We had significant growth in the manufacturing sector from 1995 to 2002. The growth was up to 20 per cent. But after 2002, the contribution of manufacturing sector has been even lesser than the contribution of agriculture. Nepal hasn’t been able to exploit its position between the two economic giants. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What are the impediments for investing in the manufacturing sector? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Like water, capital flows to a place where there is favourable investment environment. The movement of capital can neither be controlled nor stopped. We have been witnessing that the factories that were opened in our country have now shifted to places like Himachal Pradesh in India because the environment of Nepal is not investment-friendly. A number of causes are responsible for this local market, international market, labour issues, tax policy, political instability, insecurity, lack of basic infrastructure etc. The private sector claims that labour issues and government bureaucracy are the key hurdles for industrial growth. Nepal's labour productivity is one of the lowest in the world and lack of skilled manpower has been the greatest challenge for industries. The labour situation is so bad that they are hiring Indian nationals to run their industries. Besides, there are labour unions to worsen the situation. Energy crisis is another major problem for us as we have to face 18 to 20 hours power outage a day. This goes to prove that we donâte have consistent policies and the policies change with every new government that takes charge. Cartels and syndicates are some other problems that plague the sector. Lack of basic infrastructures like roads, water, etc is something that we all know about. Industrial development is impossible without these basic infrastructures. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>A lot of corporate houses previously involved in manufacturing have been shifting to the service sector. Can an economy sustain based on the service sector and imported goods?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">According to economic theories, the growth in the size of an economy results in the expansion of its service sector. Investment moves from one sector to another on the basis of two factors: risk and profit. At present, investment in the manufacturing sector involves very high risk as there are number of impediments involved. Most of our industries are located in the three industrial corridors of Nepal first, from Itahari to Rani, the second from Hetauda to Birgunj and the third from Butwal to Sunauli because these places have better arrangement of infrastructures like roads, water and electricity connection. So, even though an economy cannot sustain with a growth in the service sector alone, capital has moved to this sector in Nepal as it involves less risk and high rate of return. Until the impediments are cleared, investment in manufacturing sector will not materialise.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Why can’t agriculture be developed as an important industry in our country? Our agriculture sector has not been able to create demand because it is not vibrant enough. The greatest challenge in the agriculture sector is the labour problem. Youths have left their villages for opportunities in the cities or outside the country and fertile lands have either turned barren or have shifted to permanent cropping. The consumption demand is growing in the villages due to remittance inflow and not because of the contribution of agriculture. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How can we reach the level of sustainability or even export Nepal's manufactured goods to the international market?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">There are a few aspects to consider before we think about expanding the market of our products to the international level. The first is the quality of our products. Can our products stand on the same level compared to similar products available in the international market? Can we sell our products at a competitive price? For this, the cost of production should be low. High labour and management efficiency in addition to cheap capital can decrease the production cost. But, the scenario in our country is just the opposite and hence, there are a very few products with this possibility. Take the example of honey which we used to export to Europe not too long ago. But Europe no longer accepts our honey as they found traces of insecticides in it. We don’t have a facility to test it and certify that our honey is pure. Similarly, Nepalis in general do not show strong trait of entrepreneurship. One of the economics theories states that a refugee has a greater possibility of becoming a good entrepreneur than any other person. Even the history shows that people who have left their countries with a determination to go through hardships have become successful entrepreneurs. Second, the theory claims that certain caste or creed have better entrepreneurial skills than others. Nepali entrepreneurs belonging to Thakali and Newar castes have not been able to groom themselves as international businessmen like the Marwaris have. Most of the countries in the world have China Towns that are famous for Chinese food. In the same manner, Thakalis too can promote their authentic dishes in the international market. The Nepalis in general should also use their natural skills and groom themselves to earn respect in the international arena. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>Despite all these barriers, do you see possibilities that can take Nepal on the way to prosperity?</strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">One sector with tremendous possibility is limestone as we are very rich in this resource. If we can use limestone and subsitute the import of cement, we can save a considerable amount of foreign currency. However, this sector hasn't developed the way it should have. Besides limestone, hydropower, tourism, medicinal herbs etc are other possibilities that we can explore. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>When will we actually have favourable industrial and investment environment?</strong></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Political stability only can ensure favourable industrial and investment environment because it will ensure stable economic policies. But that is not enough. Investment will get attracted only when we have consistent policies and programmes and when the government is clear about private investments. The risk factor is high during political instability so let's hope that we achieve the same through constitution, an election and formation of a stable government. Though the country is following this path, the progress has been very slow. Similarly, labourers should be clear about both their rights and responsibilities. They are presently acting more like the political parties wings rather than institutions that must fight for the rights of labours. Similarly, quality people living abroad must return to build their own country. The government can take an initiative in this regard by guaranteeing employment, security and welfare to them in Nepal. It's certainly going to take some time to sort out these issues but we must not lose hope and remain optimistic. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What is the prospect of Nepalâ's manufacturing sector? What are the remedial measures you would like to recommend? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There is no way out other than utilising our competitive advantage. The greatest competitive advantage of Nepal is its location between the two emerging economic giants. We can certainly facilitate trade between China and India and at the same time, expand our economy by participating in theirs. We donâte have vast natural resources and the only resource we can take pride in is water, however, it is not a secured resource as it is in the grip of climate change. Tourism can be developed as a big industry while specialisation in agriculture can be another possibility. If we can process our medicinal herbs in our own country, it can contribute significantly to our national economy. The trend so far is that we sell our raw-materials at very low prices while buying processed items very expensively. The practice of herding and limping is another hitch because it hurts specialisation. If these aspects could be corrected, we can imagine a prosperous economy in our country in the foreseeable future.</span></p>',
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			'description' => 'The market for both consumable goods and durables has been growing and expanding in the international arena. Growth of manufacturing sector ensures overall economic growth. As a result, demand for both consumable',
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			'id' => '490',
			'article_category_id' => '38',
			'title' => 'Crisis For The Better (October 2011)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<div style="text-align: justify;">
		<strong><span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="right" alt="" border="2" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/saujanya.jpg" style="width: 124px; height: 160px;" vspace="5" />By Saujanya Acharya</span></strong></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">It has been roughly six months after the catastrophe caused by the quake along the coast of northern Japan. It was a terrifying day for the people across the world to see one of the economic giants drowning under the water and getting washed away. Well, it seems the nature spares nobody. Earthquake and tsunami were not the only problems. The nature also hit a devastating creation of man: a nuclear power plant. Hence, within a very short time span, the Japanese society had to face three different crises.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The case of Japan provides a great study for the field of management: to be more precise, the handling of crisis in a large institution. When corner shops face a crisis, such as plummeting sales, decision making is quite simple as the options include whether to shut down the business, or keep operating at a lower cost level. However, at a larger scale, decision makers are asked for much more careful decision: one decision could trigger another problem in a chain effect.&nbsp;As far as crisis management is concerned, the Japanese government has been quite effective despite the public criticism – especially, from the international media.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Japanese government is criticized for its lack of information disclosure regarding the crisis in the nuclear power plants in Fukushima. It was only in the later stage of the crisis that the Japanese government finally admitted the situation to be as worse as that of Chernobyl – even though the level of crisis was apparent to them from the earlier stages. Such strategy seems dishonest on the part of the government. Yet, it has proved to be a wise one.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" border="2" hspace="2" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/oct-management.jpg" style="width: 404px; height: 245px;" vspace="2" />It was wise because the outcome of Japanese government’s honesty would have been quite catastrophic – as it could have invited unwanted havoc. Even with their strategy of concealing the information, there were some disturbances. For example, people started to flee the Japanese cities in the north. This phenomenon was seen also in Tokyo Metropolitan Area which was declared safe by the scientists. This panic was caused by the media which highlighted the impending disaster of nuclear crisis in a very speculative manner. Hence, massive exodus of population from the major surrounding cities would have been inevitable, had the government from the beginning admitted that the disaster level was at 5.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Argument against the government’s action would be on ethical grounds only. The government should be looking after the welfare of the society. People have the right to know what sort of danger they are in. Hence, when the Japanese government held the leverage tight for the flow of information, it was denying its citizens their right to know the truth. Later the then Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his cabinet members were heavily criticized for such decisions. Their reputation was quite tarnished.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Yet, sympathy goes to those decision makers. They were in dilemma. Releasing complete information at once would have caused unwarranted panic. This could have generated another wave of socio-economic tsunami. On the other hand, gradual disclosure of information, with careful observation of the populace would have invited allegations of dishonesty. After all, the government as an institution had to take maximum measures to make sure that the impact on life and property was minimum – even if it had to come at the cost of their honesty. At least they had been able to avert socio-economic turmoil that would have been caused had the people and businesses chose to leave Japan.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Similarly, in the corporate setting, there are times for the management to be better off adopting the “controlled information” policy. As soon as there is a premonition or hype of a crisis in a company, non-managerial workers as well as line managers would try to put themselves in their comfort zones – such as finding different jobs. The problem is that there is no rigorous assessment of the situation – only the mid level or top level managers do so. Hence, even if their neck is not on the line, those workers would try to find a way out – because of lack of understanding. This actually ends up creating a problem in the company – which resembles a nature of self fulfilling prophecy.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" border="2" hspace="2" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/oct-management1.jpg" style="width: 404px; height: 190px;" vspace="2" />Instead, the management should try to avoid such panic among its workers. This does not allow them to exploit the workers through lack of information or misinformation. “Controlled information” strategy must take welfare of the workers as well as stability of the company into consideration.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">In short term, Japanese government somehow managed the crisis. But, what ahead ?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Japanese government would be asked for a lot more than just achieving stability. Being one of the economic giants, they have to be able to not only get out of the mess, but be back on its feet as one of the global economic powerhouses. Just like a star athlete getting back after a terrible injury, people appreciate a good comeback story.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">I believe the strength of a nation is shown by its response to crisis. When the earthquake hit, a friend of mine was in a supermarket in downtown Tokyo. The quake caused panic: goods fell on the ground, wine bottles shattered and racks collapsed on top of each other. Soon, it stopped shaking. And, people picked up their grocery items, stood on the queue, paid at the cashier, and left patiently. The country was in the midst of “the worst crisis since Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” as Kan put. Yet, people still showed up at their city offices the same week to fulfill their tax obligation. Apart from the quake and tsunami, explosion of the nuclear power plant caused a power shortage throughout eastern Japan. Essentially, the Japanese government declared implementation of daily load shedding for four hours. People and businesses immediately reacted – but not in the form of a public demonstration or protests. Most people started saving electricity at home. Businesses, malls and restaurants shut their businesses early to save electricity. By the end of the day, load shedding lasted less than an hour.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">In Japanese, crisis is written as 危機 (kiki). The word consists of two Chinese characters: 危 (ki) meaning “danger”, and 機 (ki) meaning “opportunity”. The word itself indicates the perception of crisis in the Japanese society. Yes, people were shocked, and filled with fear. But they kept their heads up, searching for a light at the end of a dark tunnel. Let history speak for itself. Every time crisis hits the island nation, Japanese golden age follows. The 1932 Great Kanto Earthquake – which destroyed entire Tokyo and killed approximately 140,000 people – was followed by Japanese military glory and its rise as one of the world’s superpowers. Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – which also destroyed both cities killing roughly 200,000 people – was followed by Japanese economic prosperity and its emergence as the world’s largest economy. Every time they fall, they rise up stronger. And I believe such characteristic shows the grandeur of the nation.&nbsp;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Crisis tests our strength. Whether on our management of crisis or standing up on our feet in the midst of it – crisis could be an inevitable challenge at any point in our life. Some break down; others prevail. With wise but unpopular, “controlled information” strategy, Japanese government did not escalate the existing natural crisis by averting socio-economic crisis. Secondly, Japanese philosophy of seeing opportunities in times of crisis needs to be appreciated by the business minds. It is this attitude that brought the country from bottom rock to a leading position. On the whole, one could expect a better tomorrow if a crisis is managed smartly.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><i>[Acharya grew up in Tokyo, Japan and attended St Mary’s International School. He is currently a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) student at Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM). He can be reached via email at saujanya820@gmail.com.]</i></span></div>',
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			'title' => 'Savvy: Everything In Your Car October 2011',
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	<div style="text-align: justify;">
		<strong>By Sujan Tiwari</strong></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Do better things always cost more? Not always. With Proton Savvy, safety, style, performance and convenience can be yours at an unbeatable price. Brought in Nepal by Constant Business Group, the Savvy is a brand new product in the automobile market of Nepal.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	At Rs 2,125,000, it is hard to find a better deal than the Savvy hatchback. Savvy has five doors, 15 inch alloy wheels, extensive safety features, good audio system, body coloured exterior components and the list goes on.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Savvy is made by Malaysian automakers Proton and features a Campro engine. Campro is the first automotive engine developed together by Proton and the auto giant Lotus.&nbsp;The Campro engine is developed to show Proton's ability to make their own engines that produce good power output and meet newer emission standards. The 4-cylinder, in line, SOHC Multi point injection 1149 cc engine produces a maximum power of 74 hp at 5500 rpm and a maximum torque of 105Nm at 4250 rpm. Savvy boasts a top speed of 170km/h and can go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 12.6 seconds, and that too with exceptional handling.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Regarding the design, the engineers at Proton tried to produce a small car that offered practicality, fuel economy, generous space and great all round performance. Now, it can be said they achieved it all. Achieving these goals involved engineering a new, stronger and more rigid platform, resulting in a vehicle that offers superior handling, balance and responsiveness. The Savvy has a lot to offer for its low entry price, strong equipment levels, looks, performance and economy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<img align="left" alt="car" border="1" height="151" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/car(1).jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="400" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The design is eye catching and is sure to turn heads as you drive by in the compact stylish and irresistible Proton Savvy. Savvy's stylish exterior projects a look of young, spirited and energetic car with its stylish curves and the attractive hood lid. It has an integrated headlamp unit with turn signals and additional halogen front fog lamps. Savvy has a spacious interior with 50/50 split fold rear seats with fold flat rear seats cushions for increased load capacity and practicality. The interior is as stylish as the curvaceous exterior, which is complemented with aluminum highlights on the steering wheel, gear shifter and dashboard. There are conveniences like a powerful air-conditioning system, power window and custom built Clarion audio system with a built in CD player and FM/AM.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The Proton Savvy is built sturdy and strong to protect you in many ways as it exceeds international safety regulations of the European community. The body of Savvy is built from strong L3 galvanized steel and is designed with crumple zone protection. Savvy offers side impact protection with side reinforcement bar. It got 3 star rating in Euro NCAP testing and has met international crash safety regulations.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The Savvy has enhanced suspension dynamics ensuring a responsive drive. With the Savvy, Proton has developed an incredibly light yet strong small car that delivers a perfect ride and handling. On the front, it has McPherson strut with coil springs, and stabilizer bar and on the rear, it has torsion beam axle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Savvy takes you where you want to go in comfort and style, whether it's in city or enjoying a winding hilly road. With its outstanding features, Savvy has been able to receive two known Car of the Year  awards from two ASEAN countries, including the Cars, Bikes &amp; Trucks New Straits Times/Am Bank Group 2006 Car of the Year Award in the Supermini category, and the Best City Car award at the 6th Indonesian Car of the Year 2007 awards. Proton Savvy also has been voted among Thailand's top 10 cars in 2008 by The Nation daily's car writers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The Savvy is also recognized in the Malaysian Book of Records as the most fuel-efficient car in Malaysia during an on-road test by Proton with an average fuel consumption of about 24 km/l. Here in Nepal, the car gives a mileage of 16 to 18 km/l in the city and 20 to 22 on the highways, the company claims.</div>',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '506',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Industries Rob NEA Of Rs 70 Million',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">It has been revealed that 81 industrial customers of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have stolen electricity worth Rs 70 million. The revelation came after a team from NEA’s Electricity Leakage Control Division inspected the Time of the Day (ToD) electricity meters of the industrial and business customers in Dhading, Gorkha, Kawasoti, Bharatpur, Tandi, Simara and Birgunj last month. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">“The inspection of the ToD meters of these clients also showed that 15 million units of electricity was not billed due to under-billing or leakage and pilferage,” said NEA Executive Directive Dipendra Nath Sharma, “Based on the prevailing tariff rates and the demand concession, the amount that the NEA needs to recover from these clients for stolen electricity totals around Rs 70 million.” <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The industries which have stolen electricity by tampering ToD meters include KP Cement, Nirapus Plastic Industry, Safari Adventure Lodge, Shree Simran Crusher Industry, Koshi Gas Industry, Ghimire Furniture and Popular Rice Mill. These industries were found to have tampered with their ToD meters to steal electricity. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There are 4,000 ToD meters in use by industries and business houses across the country. Sharma informed that NEA was planning to install GPRS equipment at all these ToD meters so that the NEA headquarters would be able to calculate the exact units of electricity used by these customers. “We will have installed this equipment at all ToD meters within the next one year. We have now intensified the campaign to control electricity leakage in the industrial corridor,” said Sharma.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'It has been revealed that 81 industrial customers of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have stolen electricity worth Rs 70 million.',
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			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'DDC Raising Capacity',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) is planning to expand the capacity of milk processing centre at Balaju. Siyaram Prasad Singh, Deputy General Manager of DDC said that the capacity is being expanded to meet the growing demand of dairy products. According to Singh, Rs 140 million is being invested for the expansion which will increase the capacity from the current 110,000 litres per day (LPD) to 250,000 LPD. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The works under the expansion project will commence within this fiscal year, he added. Similarly, DDC is planning to set up a new plant at Khumaltar for producing dairy products other than milk, such as 30,000 litres of yoghurt, 3,000 litres of ice-cream, 1,000 kilograms of cottage cheese per day.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
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			'description' => 'Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) is planning to expand the capacity of milk processing centre at Balaju. Siyaram Prasad Singh,',
			'sortorder' => '411',
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			'id' => '504',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'ICRG Warns Nepal, Again',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Nepal received yet another warning from the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) over its slow progress in putting effective anti-money laundering (AML) measures in place. A meeting of ICRG held in Malaysia in the third week of September warned Nepal to fulfil all AML-related commitments in time and it categorically said that Nepal’s deadline to do so will not be extended again. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">“The ICRG meeting decided not to give any extra time to Nepal to meet its AML commitments which should have been fulfilled by December 2010,” said Nepal Rastra Bank Deputy Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari who participated in the meeting. Though Nepal endorsed an AML law recently, it has yet to implement Anti-Organised Crime Act, Mutual Legal Assistance Act and Extradition Act, which, according to the ICRG are effective measures against money laundering. While the draft of the Act against Organised Crime is under discussion at the Cabinet, the other two laws are awaiting Parliament’s approval. The meeting, according to Adhikari, also expressed dissatisfaction over certain provisions of the AML Act endorsed by Nepal’s Legislature-Parliament some four months ago. “The meeting concluded that the language of Nepal’s AML law is vague at many places while many of its provisions are inadequate, and thus, do not meet international standards. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">So it has asked Nepal to amend certain provisions and also include some new provisions in the Act,” said Adhikari. ICRG’s pressure to draft a more stringent AML law comes at a time when Nepal’s private sector has been protesting the existing law calling it “too stringent”. Adhikari informed that ICRG has directed Nepal to include provisions for seizing the properties of the people suspected of money laundering and confiscating them at the end if such people are found guilty. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">“The ICRG meeting has directed Nepal to amend the existing AML law by June 2013 to include such provisions,” said Adhikari. Asking Nepal to consider organised crimes as equivalent to terrorist activities, the meeting has stressed on the formulation and implementation of strong legal measures to counter terrorist financing.</span></p>',
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			'description' => 'Nepal received yet another warning from the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) under the Financial Action Task Force',
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			'id' => '503',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'NS Quality Award 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="left" alt="" height="115" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ns quality.jpg" vspace="5" width="150" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology has presented Nepal Standard (NS) Quality Award 2011 to five industries on the occassion of 42nd World Standards Day. Gorkha Brewery received this award for its beer and beverages. Similarly, Probiotic Industries Pvt Ltd, a poultry feed industry, received the award in medium industries category. Cristal Product Pvt Ltd received NS award under small industries group. This industry in Hetauda produces HDPE pipes. Likewise, Hulas Wire Industries, a GI wire producer, and Swastik Oil Industries, a refined soybean oil producer each were given letter of appreciation.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology has presented Nepal Standard (NS) Quality Award 2011 to five industries on the occassion of 42nd World Standards Day.',
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			'id' => '502',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal’s Population Reaches 26.6 Million',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">First time in four decades, the average annual population growth rate of Nepal has slipped below two percent. The preliminary result of 11th national population census has revealed that the annual population growth rate in the last decade was 1.4 per cent only from 2.25 in the 2001 census. Making public the preliminary findings of the census, the Central Bureau of Statistics, announced that the total population of Nepal is now 26,620,809. When the absentee population (those who were away from the country during the census) is included in this, the number goes up to 28.6 million. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The census was conducted during the June 17-27, 2011. According to the initial report of census, decline in birth rate is the main reason in decrease of population growth rate. Large chunk of youth population being out of the country for various reasons is presumed to be the major cause for this decline. The initial result of 11th census shows that the population has increased by 15 per cent in a decade. Similarly, the average household size has declined to 4.7 from 5.44 in 2001. The female population is 765,000 more than male population. Thus the female population comprises of 51.44 per cent of total population. According to the report, the population of male and female in Nepal is 12,927,431 and 13,693,378 respectively. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Likewise, the population density has increased to 181 per square kilometres. Population density of Kathmandu is the highest with 4408 while Manang has the lowest with just three persons in a square kilometre. The urban population constitutes about 17 percent of the total population. More than half of the total population lives in Terai followed by Hill and Mountain region. According to CBS, most populated district is Kathmandu followed by Morang, Rupandehi, Jhapa and Kailali. Similarly, the least populated district is Manang followed by Mustang, Dolpa, Rasuwa and Humla.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'First time in four decades, the average annual population growth rate of Nepal has slipped below two percent',
			'sortorder' => '408',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	),
	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '501',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal Improves On Doing Business  Indicators',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Contrary to general perceptions, the overall business environment in Nepal has improved, according to the IFC-World Bank joint report Doing Business 2012 made public recently. Based on data collected during the period from June 2010 through May 2011, the report shows that though Nepal's situation has deteriorated in five indicators compared to the previous year, it has improved in other four indicators and remained unchanged in one indicator thus lifting the overall ranking by three places to 107 from 110 of the previous report. This is a good news to the present government which has announced plan to observe the year 2012-13 as Investment Year. Nepal's overall ranking was going down for the last few years continuously. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Globally, Singapore has ranked as number one in Doing Business followed by Hong Kong, New Zealand and United States. Among the South Asian region's economies, Bangladesh's rank fell from 118 to 122 while Maldives deteriorated from 78 to 79. However, the ranks of Bhutan (146 to 142), India (139 to 132) and Sri Lanka (98 to 89) improved. South Asian economies have an opportunity to increase access to information for entrepreneurs, said Sylvia Solf, lead author of the report. One route is new technology, which is increasingly used by governments to provide electronic services for filing taxes or registering businesses. This not only enhances efficiency but opens opportunities to increase transparency. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The most striking improvement in Nepal was in dealing with construction permits, according to the report, which shows that while Nepal was ranked 161 last year in this count, it has moved to 140 this year. Other areas of improvement are getting electricity, payng taxes and resolving insolvency while there was deterioration in the areas of starting a business, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors and trading across borders.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '2012-10-31',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Contrary to general perceptions, the overall business environment in Nepal has improved, according to the IFC-World Bank joint report Doing Business 2012 made public recently.',
			'sortorder' => '407',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '500',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Self Declaration Of Property In Limbo',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The scheme proposed by by this year’s budget to allow the self declaration of property is in limbo as the programme is deemed to be detrimental to country’s international commitment on anti money laundering. Declaring the property without investigating the source of it is against such international commitment. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">A source at the Ministry of Finance said that there is least chance of ‘self declaration of property’ to be announced this year. The source claimed that the attempt of the government to be flexible on property declaration has almost failed as the criteria set by the Financial Task Force cannot be violated. Krishna Hari Baskota, Finance Secretary also accepted the fact that it would be difficult to implement the voluntary declaration of property as proposed in the budget. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The government stepped back from its previous promise of announcing such sheme in fear that international organisations working against money laundering might blacklist Nepal. Bangladesh had withdrawn similar programme after the warning of Asia Pacific Group, a network of countries working on anti money laundering.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The scheme proposed by by this year’s budget to allow the self declaration of property is in limbo',
			'sortorder' => '406',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '499',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'World Bank Releases Interim Strategy For Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched a two years Interim Strategy for assistance in Nepal’s transitional phase and peace building. Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun released the strategy named, Interim Strategy Note for Nepal, for fiscal year 2012 and 2013 on October 18 in Kathmandu. The strategy promises to continue WBG efforts to achieve durable peace with investments in development and poverty reduction. “Given the transitional nature of Nepal’s current situation, with a new constitution being drafted and elections to follow, the World Bank Group has prepared a new Interim Strategy Note for Nepal,” reads the press statement issued by WBG. The strategy is formulated considering the Government of Nepal’s Three Year Plan. WBG says, “The interim strategy sets out some basic parameters of the WBG programme but still retains the flexibility to deal with the birth of a new republic. The strategy reflects considerable continuity, building on programs with successful track records that are adapted to local conditions.” The strategy emphasises greater selectivity, focusing on areas considered vital to Nepal’s development and complementing programs supported by other development partners. According to WBG, agriculture, infrastructure and social development are in top priority. The World Bank has decided to allocate US $ 400 million for two fiscal years. The aid will be provided through bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the concessionary financing arm. However, the size of the assistance will depend on Nepal’s good performance and successful economic management, according to WBG. These funds would be invested in four to five new operations per year. Similarly, World Bank has projected Nepal’s Gross Domestic Production growth to remain at three per cent for the fiscal year 2011/12.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched a two years Interim Strategy for assistance in Nepal’s transitional phase',
			'sortorder' => '405',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
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			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '498',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal Energy Investors Forum',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai opened the Nepal Energy Investors Forum on 13 October organised jointly by the Government of Nepal and Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Forum was organised for promoting private sector investment in hydropower development in Nepal. Senior officials from the Government of Nepal, along with business leaders, bankers, financiers, power developers and traders, development partners and civil society members attended the two-days-long forum to discuss investment in the hydropower sector in Nepal. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Addressing the Forum, Dr Bhattarai stressed the importance of private sector investment for the development of Nepal’s hydropower sector and said, “I would like to assure all investing and financing communities, domestic and foreign, that our policies are naturally geared towards being as investment friendly as possible.” The Prime Minister invited every potential developer to invest freely in hydropower projects in Nepal without any fear of expropriation. Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun, Energy Minister Posta Bahadur Bogati and Vice President of ADB Xiaoyu Zhao also addressed the Forum. The two-day event facilitated discussions on risks associated with undertaking hydropower projects in Nepal and to explore innovative financing mechanisms.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai opened the Nepal Energy Investors Forum on 13 October organised',
			'sortorder' => '404',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
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		)
	),
	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '497',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Beetle’s Nepal-India Friendship Drive',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><img align="left" alt="" height="215" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/beetles.jpg" vspace="5" width="312" />“Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011” organised by the Association of Nepal Beetle Users Group (ANBUG) concluded successfully on September 13. The closing ceremony was held on 27 September in which the visual show of the trip was highlighted. Gopal Sunder Lal Kakshapati, Founder President of ANBUG said, “We created history as a motor rally that originated in Nepal crossed Nepal’s international border for the first time.” ‘Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011’ was flagged off at Kathmandu by Jayanta Prasad, Indian Ambassador to Nepal on 6 September and reached Gangtok, the capital of Indian state of Sikkim via Kakarvitta border point in Jhapa district.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Lamichhane New NRNA Prez</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The fifth global convention of Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) unanimously elected Jiba Lamicchane to its apex post. The erstwhile Vice President was elected unopposed to the post of President after contender Dev Man Hirachan withdrew his candidacy at the elevent hour. For 20 posts, 34 had filed candidacy while six of them were elected unanimously. Capt Hitman Gurung and Rameshwar Shah were elected to the post of Vice President. Similarly, Tenzi Sherpa, Tek Bahadur Karki, Bhaban Bhatta and Hem Raj Sharma were elected to the posts of General Secretary, Secretary, Treasurer and Spokesperson respectively.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">SAARC Business Leaders’ Conclave</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" height="103" hspace="3" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/saarc.jpg" vspace="3" width="216" />The 4th SAARC Business Leaders Conclave (SBLC) held in Kathmandu during 20-22 September with the theme of “Peace and Prosperity through Regional Connectivity” concluded by adopting a 9-point Kathmandu Declaration. President Dr Ram Baran Yadav inaugurated the three-day conclave jointly organised by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). The conclave was attended by over 500 participants including business and political leaders, academia and experts from eight SAARC nations. The participants of the conclave stressed on the need for enhanced regional connectivity to achieve peace and prosperity in the region as envisioned in the doctrine of Regional Connectivity 2010-2020. Private sectors, experts and business leaders agreed to urge the governments in the region to harmonise customs procedures. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">They also stressed on the mutual recognition of standards and certifications, implementation of Regional Motor Vehicle Transport Agreement and Open Sky Policy linking major cities in the region and implementation of a common SAARC Energy Policy. The Kathmandu Declaration proposed the implementation of SAARC Transit Agreement, Shipment Agreement, Logistics Agreements, and ICT Agreement to make SAFTA a workable mechanism which will lead to Customs Union. Anisul Haq, President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce, recognised water, energy, climate change, food security, tourism, and investment as common priority concerns. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">He urged for more connectivity in the region by resolving conflicts among member states. Pradip Kumar Shrestha, Vice-President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce, underscored that the future of the entire South-Asian region is in the hands of young entrepreneurs. “Young entrepreneurs are growing in South Asia, the business leaders should support them to take the lead,” said Shrestha. The conclave vowed urgent implementation of Regional Environment Treaty, activation of SAARC Food Bank and proposed to set up a SAARC Disaster Management Institute to mitigate the impacts of natural calamities and climate change. The business community of the region also recommended signing of a Regional Investment Treaty.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Ambuja, Dugar Invest in Dang Cement</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">India’s Ambuja Cement Ltd and Nepal’s HC Dugar Group have bought Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd (DCIPL). Ambuja is now the majority shareholder of DCIPL with 80 per cent ownership. Dugar Group makes up for the remaining 20 per cent. DCIPL obtained the license for producing one million tons of cement per annum in 2003 but could not begin production for various reasons. “The construction of the physical infrastructures of the company will begin soon after the Tihar to become the largest cement factory of Nepal in terms of production capacity,” said DCIPL Chairman Bijay Dugar. According to sources, Ambuja and Dugar jointly bought DCIPL for Rs 300 million in April this year. It is learnt that Ambuja is planning to invest billions of rupees in the company that has an authorised capital of Rs six billion at present. “Currently, the cement companies with half the production capacity of DCIPL have an investment of three to four billion rupees. So, there is no doubt that DCIPL will have an investment of much more,” added Dugar. Ambuja Cement’s 50 per cent shares are owned by Swiss company HOLCIM, a global leader in cement production and supply. DCIPL was incorporated on May 27, 2003 by lawmaker and industrialist Surya Bahadur KC and others with the objective to produce Portland and other types of cement. As that group could not set up the plant, it was taken over by the new investors. Dugar said that DCIPL will mine limestone on its own to produce clinker. He also informed that technicians and top officials from HOLCIM and Ambuja will visit the industry site before Tihar. “The construction will begin soon after their inspection visit,” informed Dugar.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '“Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011” organised by the Association of Nepal Beetle Users Group (ANBUG) concluded successfully on September 13.',
			'sortorder' => '403',
			'image' => null,
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	),
	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '494',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Manufacruting Prospect Unharnessed',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img alt="" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/Manufacturing.jpg" style="width: 524px; height: 585px;" /></p>
<p>
	A long-term vision for the Nepali Manufacturing Sector, known as vision 2020, prepared jointly by Nepal government, UNDP and UNIDO in 2002 had proposed to pursue a two-pronged industrialization strategy aimed at rural, agro-based industrialization, and formal urban-based industrial development. But a decade down the lane, nothing seems to be moving to the vision encapsulated then. The strategy proposed then as prioritising export-oriented labour-intensive manufacturing industries and tourism-related exotic products, where Nepal already enjoys considerable comparative advantage, still sounds equally relevant (see box for 2020 goals). But its proposal of raising the contribution of the sector to GDP from 10 to 20 per cent by 2020 appears highly unrealistic given its contribution of just about 7 per cent of GDP in FY 2010/11. From national economic standpoint, manufacturing has universally accepted double-edged goals -- consumption and/or exports. As Nepal is way below in meeting her consumers demand on virtually all sorts of items, and has equally good potential for export of various products, Nepalâ's manufacturing prospects, at least in theory, are truly bright.</p>
<p>
	It is because Nepali productions can replace the import in the domestic market and also have scope of export to rapidly growing neighbouring markets of India and, also China. Although the import to export trade ratio of Nepal in terms of value stands at 7:1, some of the Nepali produce like iron and steel products, acrylic yarn, hand-made woolen carpets, readymade garments and tea and coffee are faring well in international markets.</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/goals for 2020.jpg" style="width: 468px; height: 400px;" /></p>
<p>
	The history of manufacturing in Nepal is not very long. The Nepal Companies Act, 1936 provided basis for incorporation of industrial enterprises which in fact had provisions for joint-ventures and public sector industries. The most tangible outcome of this Act was establishment of Biratnagar Jute Mills, a collaborative venture of Indian and Nepalese entrepreneurs. The Mill is considered first manufacturing unit of industrial scale in Nepal. But the said Act had no provision for private limited companies until it was reformed in 1951.</p>
<p>
	This new act encouraged the establishment of ninety-two new private joint stock companies between 1952 and 1964. The Industrial Enterprises Act of 1974 enacted in the heydays of panchayat polity also recognized role of the private sector in the industrial growth. But the panchayat regime continued the policy of protecting the public sector production over the private one, which in fact constricted the desired growth of the sector. Establishment of about a dozen industrial estates including at Patan, Balaju, Hetauda, Pokhara, Dharan, Butawal, and Nepalganj in the 1980s certainly contributed to create an organized industrial atmosphere. Several modern industries with large manufacturing plants to produce jute, sugar, cigarettes, beer, matches, shoes, chemicals, cement, and bricks were installed. The garment and carpet production units in much diffused fashion spread in the Kathmandu valley and surrounding areas, targeted at export production. By the end of last fiscal year, number of manufacturing units registered under the Department of Industries has crossed well above 2,000. This not only shows that investment and industrialization has expanded but also that the internal market of Nepali products has grown substantially. Of late, private sector investment in manufacturing of cement, sugar and items of daily use has increased significantly. Western district of Dang is developing as the ‘cement city’ as at least a half-dozen large cement companies are all set to begin production pretty soon. Many would like to categorize the hydropower units also as manufacturing. In that case, it can be claimed that Nepal’s manufacturing sector has been able to attract quite large amount of investment, mainly from the private sector. Still, very weak positioning of Nepali exports --due to lack of diversification, market research and identification</p>
<p>
	and, choice of low-value high-volume products -- has not been helpful for both manufacturing and trade balance. The share of main Nepali export in the global market has been limited in quantity and value, and thus been unable to create their own sectoral economies of scale. The policy conundrum is still a major bottleneck. In many sectors, public enterprises continue to play dominant role which is very often than not inviting unfair market play by government intervention. Price distortion is the major resultant effect that in turn is discouraging the private sector investment, at least in the sectors where the government is directly involved. Recent successive governments with mainly socialist tilts have made the situation even more confusing, as their policies lacked clarity in private property, entrepreneurship and profit making.</p>
<p>
	Even beyond political spectrum, challenges of facilitating the growth of manufacturing sector are many. On the supply side, Nepal’s physical infrastructure, especially electricity supply, roads and use of up-to-date technology are inadequate to support a modern manufacturing sector so that it becomes capable of quickly responding to trends in world market demands for manufactured products. As the newest problem, lack of manpower is another bottleneck due to labour migration to foreign countries. Departing from a conventional thinking, identifying afresh new niche and competitive products is also a striking need of the day. Strategies for trade, policies and investment can follow.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '2012-08-23',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'A long-term vision for the Nepali Manufacturing Sector, known as vision 2020, prepared jointly by Nepal government, UNDP and UNIDO in 2002 had proposed to pursue a two-pronged industrialization strategy aimed at rural, agro-based industrialization, and formal urban-based industrial development. But a decade down the lane, nothing seems to be moving to the vision encapsulated then.',
			'sortorder' => '402',
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	),
	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '496',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Manufacturers Are Treated As Criminals In This Country',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong>BIPPA should have been signed with India a couple of years ago because it is our nearest neighbour and the largest foreign investor in the country. BIPPA will be a milestone agreement as it promises added security to the Indian investors.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><img align="left" alt="coverstory" border="1" height="225" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/diwakar golchha.jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="200" /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How will the recent BIPPA agreement help in promoting the manufacturing sector? </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	BIPPA should have been signed with India a couple of years ago because it is our nearest neighbour and the largest foreign investor in the country. BIPPA will be a milestone agreement as it promises added security to the Indian investors. Manufacturing sector today has the biggest setback because of electricity problem. In this context, Indian investors have committed around 3,500 MW power generation in this country. In the second round of power summit going to be held in Kathmandu, we expect another 4-5,000 MW of electricity production commitment. Today, India is one of the largest international investors in the region and last year, Indian investors invested US $ 43 billion outside India. So, there is every reason for them to invest in Nepal as we are their nearest country where they will produce electricity and take to India. BIPPA, along with other agreements, shows a long term commitment of India towards Nepal.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How do you analyse the Nepali manufacturing sector and its growth trend?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	In recent years, the manufacturing sector has been neglected because of various reasons. It was neither in the priority of the government nor was there a concern to protect the domestic investments. So, many industries have shut down in the past seven to eight years. Our industries that had significant annual achievements are registering negative growth for a couple of years now. That is because of the wrong attitude of the bureaucracy and of course, none of the politicians are concerned. For the first time in the last 15 years, Nepali Industrialists have revived the hope they had lost after Dr Baburam Bhattarai became the Prime Minister. Manufacturers are treated as criminals in this country, which is why the entire investment climate is in dire straits. Even the facilities committed by the act of 1990 were denied and later withdrawn which is a betrayal to this sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Which is the most appropriate sector for manufacturing for Nepal? Why do you think this specific sector is not much developed as expected?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	There are so many products necessary to be manufactured in Nepal. Unless the climate for manufacturing and attitude of bureaucrats do not change and unless there is a strong body that can understand the multiplier effects of investment and language of economy, one cannot think of industrialisation. We have discussed the issues and problems we faced after 2000, with Dr Bhattarai. We are hopeful that the industrial revolution will take off after 2012-2013. Many sectors may revive provided there is lowered cost of production and cheaper cost of doing business transactions. There are numerous harassments like high finance cost, no electricity, and so many other reasons due to which industries do not come up. Unless there is power, nobody is going to put money into industry. I will not recommend anybody, at least in my family, to go for manufacturing at this point in time.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Everybody is complaining that Nepal does not have a suitable industrial environment. Golchha Organisation is one of the most successful corporate houses focused on manufacturing. How are you managing it?</strong> <img align="right" alt="" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/golchha2.jpg" style="text-align: justify; width: 153px; height: 239px;" vspace="5" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Successes and failures are always part of one’s life. If we are suffering because of the wrong attitude of the government, we might want to close down some industries so that it can give a message. We had to close down Sri Bhrikuti Pulp and Paper Nepal Limited because of the wrong attitude of the government. We are going to close down another important industry, Sri Nepal Boards Ltd due to the same reason. The successive governments thought that importing goods gets them more revenue which they can spend on regular expenses. However, that will leave the country’s development in lurch. There is no desire in the government for development of this country, the only desire is to garner more revenue and enjoy it. At this moment, Golchha Organisation is doing very well with its trading businesses. Trading involves more than 50 per cent of our total turnover while the service sector has around five per cent share and the remaining makes up for our manufacturing concerns.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How long do you think such a situation will persist in the country?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	It requires visionary leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia to build successful economies. We have our hopes pinned on Dr Bhattarai and we do see similar capabilities in him. If he could remain the Prime Minister of Nepal for the next 10 years, we believe that he can transform this country. But first and foremost, he should begin with a total transformation of the bureaucracy in Nepal.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Large corporate houses are shifting to the service sector. What is the reason behind it ? <br />
	</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	The Nepali people have enhanced their buying power today by virtue of remittance. They want better services and can spend money for that. Service is a sector where you have the possibility of a quick return without making a heavy investment like in an industry. Though are small hurdles like power shortage, strikes and blockades that are affecting this sector as well, it can still manage on its own. That is why the service sector is bound to develop and people are flocking for this sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Can a country sustain based on imported goods only as corporate houses and industries are shifting to service sector from manufacturing?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	There is always a phase like this and ultimately, the nation will have no alternative. Unless you have a manufacturing sector, how much service can you possibly sell? Everything has a limitation so the service sector too will reach a saturation point. Ultimately, when there is a possibility of easy investment and return, competition to make a mark in the manufacturing sector will intensify. There has to be balance in everything because nothing can grow imbalanced. You cannot say that one sector will grow and another sector is not required.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Why are there very little measures to promote goods that have comparative and competitive advantages?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	At the moment, Nepal has no comparative advantage whatsoever. Once we have sufficient power, labourers more inclined towards working rather than politics, banking sector more favourable for investment, a favourable government and its economy-friendly policies, we will have comparative advantages. Unless these logistics are there, one cannot compete. Today, in India, there are industries that are 20 times bigger than what we have in our country. Given India’s automation and advancement, it is difficult for us to compete with our older and manual technology. So, it is almost impossible to achieve higher cost advantage and efficiency in Nepal. If the policies are correct and the sizes of operation are reasonable, we will definitely compete.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>There are duplications even with the limited size of the Nepali manufacturing sector. How sustainable is it and what are your suggestions to control such duplications?</strong> Duplication has been the phenomenon of the entire world. Nepal is not the only country which faces this problem. There are some industries who lead with original ideas and some others who follow. Only time can tell whether such practices will succeed or not. The capable ones will sustain and the incapable ones will take their own path. Investors have to think which sector they have to go, you can’t push your product. Once there is a pull factor, you will produce more because if you try to push things, you will never get the desired results. The market is the best judge to accept or not to accept such practices.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'description' => 'BIPPA should have been signed with India a couple of years ago because it is our nearest neighbour and the largest foreign investor in the country. BIPPA will be a milestone agreement as it promises added security to the Indian investors.',
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			'id' => '495',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Industrial Development Is Impossible Without Basic Infrastructure',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What is the present status of the manufacturing sector in Nepal?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The market for both consumable goods and durables has been growing and expanding in the international arena. Growth of manufacturing sector ensures overall economic growth. As a result, demand for both consumable goods and capital goods increases. Demand of consumable and capital goods has been growing globally. That is why we can say that the manufacturing sector has been growing the world over. But the problem is that though the demand for these goods is rising globally, production of these goods has centred around booming economies like China and India. As far as Nepal is concerned, we are in a very sorry state in manufacturing sector. Leave alone the possibility of expansion; even the goods that we used to manufacture in our own country have been displaced. For example, we used to produce fabrics in our country but Chinese readymade clothing available at cheaper prices has now replaced them. There were about 35 factories owned by the government but most of these public sector industries have shut down. We were the third largest jute producers in the world at one point of time. The health of our oldest factory, Biratnagar Jute Mill, has been deteriorating with the production and profit of this factory nosediving. The carpet industry used to contribute 20-22 per cent towards our national income but this percentage has been witnessing a downward trend. The contribution of the private sector is not very satisfactory. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="cover story" border="1" height="308" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bholanath pokheral.jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="250" /><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How do you analyse the growth of the manufacturing sector in Nepal? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Had our factories used our own resources or inputs, it would have yielded high value. But our manufacturing industry has been providing more of an assembling facility to intermediary products that we bring from international market rather than producing goods by ourselves. If we analyse the history of the growth of manufacturing sector in Nepal, the industrial development that began from the 1980s started to expand from 1990's revolution with the radical shift in power and the country adopting the path of democracy and liberalism. We had significant growth in the manufacturing sector from 1995 to 2002. The growth was up to 20 per cent. But after 2002, the contribution of manufacturing sector has been even lesser than the contribution of agriculture. Nepal hasn’t been able to exploit its position between the two economic giants. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What are the impediments for investing in the manufacturing sector? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Like water, capital flows to a place where there is favourable investment environment. The movement of capital can neither be controlled nor stopped. We have been witnessing that the factories that were opened in our country have now shifted to places like Himachal Pradesh in India because the environment of Nepal is not investment-friendly. A number of causes are responsible for this local market, international market, labour issues, tax policy, political instability, insecurity, lack of basic infrastructure etc. The private sector claims that labour issues and government bureaucracy are the key hurdles for industrial growth. Nepal's labour productivity is one of the lowest in the world and lack of skilled manpower has been the greatest challenge for industries. The labour situation is so bad that they are hiring Indian nationals to run their industries. Besides, there are labour unions to worsen the situation. Energy crisis is another major problem for us as we have to face 18 to 20 hours power outage a day. This goes to prove that we donâte have consistent policies and the policies change with every new government that takes charge. Cartels and syndicates are some other problems that plague the sector. Lack of basic infrastructures like roads, water, etc is something that we all know about. Industrial development is impossible without these basic infrastructures. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>A lot of corporate houses previously involved in manufacturing have been shifting to the service sector. Can an economy sustain based on the service sector and imported goods?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">According to economic theories, the growth in the size of an economy results in the expansion of its service sector. Investment moves from one sector to another on the basis of two factors: risk and profit. At present, investment in the manufacturing sector involves very high risk as there are number of impediments involved. Most of our industries are located in the three industrial corridors of Nepal first, from Itahari to Rani, the second from Hetauda to Birgunj and the third from Butwal to Sunauli because these places have better arrangement of infrastructures like roads, water and electricity connection. So, even though an economy cannot sustain with a growth in the service sector alone, capital has moved to this sector in Nepal as it involves less risk and high rate of return. Until the impediments are cleared, investment in manufacturing sector will not materialise.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Why can’t agriculture be developed as an important industry in our country? Our agriculture sector has not been able to create demand because it is not vibrant enough. The greatest challenge in the agriculture sector is the labour problem. Youths have left their villages for opportunities in the cities or outside the country and fertile lands have either turned barren or have shifted to permanent cropping. The consumption demand is growing in the villages due to remittance inflow and not because of the contribution of agriculture. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How can we reach the level of sustainability or even export Nepal's manufactured goods to the international market?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">There are a few aspects to consider before we think about expanding the market of our products to the international level. The first is the quality of our products. Can our products stand on the same level compared to similar products available in the international market? Can we sell our products at a competitive price? For this, the cost of production should be low. High labour and management efficiency in addition to cheap capital can decrease the production cost. But, the scenario in our country is just the opposite and hence, there are a very few products with this possibility. Take the example of honey which we used to export to Europe not too long ago. But Europe no longer accepts our honey as they found traces of insecticides in it. We don’t have a facility to test it and certify that our honey is pure. Similarly, Nepalis in general do not show strong trait of entrepreneurship. One of the economics theories states that a refugee has a greater possibility of becoming a good entrepreneur than any other person. Even the history shows that people who have left their countries with a determination to go through hardships have become successful entrepreneurs. Second, the theory claims that certain caste or creed have better entrepreneurial skills than others. Nepali entrepreneurs belonging to Thakali and Newar castes have not been able to groom themselves as international businessmen like the Marwaris have. Most of the countries in the world have China Towns that are famous for Chinese food. In the same manner, Thakalis too can promote their authentic dishes in the international market. The Nepalis in general should also use their natural skills and groom themselves to earn respect in the international arena. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>Despite all these barriers, do you see possibilities that can take Nepal on the way to prosperity?</strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">One sector with tremendous possibility is limestone as we are very rich in this resource. If we can use limestone and subsitute the import of cement, we can save a considerable amount of foreign currency. However, this sector hasn't developed the way it should have. Besides limestone, hydropower, tourism, medicinal herbs etc are other possibilities that we can explore. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>When will we actually have favourable industrial and investment environment?</strong></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Political stability only can ensure favourable industrial and investment environment because it will ensure stable economic policies. But that is not enough. Investment will get attracted only when we have consistent policies and programmes and when the government is clear about private investments. The risk factor is high during political instability so let's hope that we achieve the same through constitution, an election and formation of a stable government. Though the country is following this path, the progress has been very slow. Similarly, labourers should be clear about both their rights and responsibilities. They are presently acting more like the political parties wings rather than institutions that must fight for the rights of labours. Similarly, quality people living abroad must return to build their own country. The government can take an initiative in this regard by guaranteeing employment, security and welfare to them in Nepal. It's certainly going to take some time to sort out these issues but we must not lose hope and remain optimistic. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What is the prospect of Nepalâ's manufacturing sector? What are the remedial measures you would like to recommend? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There is no way out other than utilising our competitive advantage. The greatest competitive advantage of Nepal is its location between the two emerging economic giants. We can certainly facilitate trade between China and India and at the same time, expand our economy by participating in theirs. We donâte have vast natural resources and the only resource we can take pride in is water, however, it is not a secured resource as it is in the grip of climate change. Tourism can be developed as a big industry while specialisation in agriculture can be another possibility. If we can process our medicinal herbs in our own country, it can contribute significantly to our national economy. The trend so far is that we sell our raw-materials at very low prices while buying processed items very expensively. The practice of herding and limping is another hitch because it hurts specialisation. If these aspects could be corrected, we can imagine a prosperous economy in our country in the foreseeable future.</span></p>',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '490',
			'article_category_id' => '38',
			'title' => 'Crisis For The Better (October 2011)',
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			'content' => '<div>
	<div style="text-align: justify;">
		<strong><span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="right" alt="" border="2" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/saujanya.jpg" style="width: 124px; height: 160px;" vspace="5" />By Saujanya Acharya</span></strong></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">It has been roughly six months after the catastrophe caused by the quake along the coast of northern Japan. It was a terrifying day for the people across the world to see one of the economic giants drowning under the water and getting washed away. Well, it seems the nature spares nobody. Earthquake and tsunami were not the only problems. The nature also hit a devastating creation of man: a nuclear power plant. Hence, within a very short time span, the Japanese society had to face three different crises.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The case of Japan provides a great study for the field of management: to be more precise, the handling of crisis in a large institution. When corner shops face a crisis, such as plummeting sales, decision making is quite simple as the options include whether to shut down the business, or keep operating at a lower cost level. However, at a larger scale, decision makers are asked for much more careful decision: one decision could trigger another problem in a chain effect.&nbsp;As far as crisis management is concerned, the Japanese government has been quite effective despite the public criticism – especially, from the international media.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Japanese government is criticized for its lack of information disclosure regarding the crisis in the nuclear power plants in Fukushima. It was only in the later stage of the crisis that the Japanese government finally admitted the situation to be as worse as that of Chernobyl – even though the level of crisis was apparent to them from the earlier stages. Such strategy seems dishonest on the part of the government. Yet, it has proved to be a wise one.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" border="2" hspace="2" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/oct-management.jpg" style="width: 404px; height: 245px;" vspace="2" />It was wise because the outcome of Japanese government’s honesty would have been quite catastrophic – as it could have invited unwanted havoc. Even with their strategy of concealing the information, there were some disturbances. For example, people started to flee the Japanese cities in the north. This phenomenon was seen also in Tokyo Metropolitan Area which was declared safe by the scientists. This panic was caused by the media which highlighted the impending disaster of nuclear crisis in a very speculative manner. Hence, massive exodus of population from the major surrounding cities would have been inevitable, had the government from the beginning admitted that the disaster level was at 5.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Argument against the government’s action would be on ethical grounds only. The government should be looking after the welfare of the society. People have the right to know what sort of danger they are in. Hence, when the Japanese government held the leverage tight for the flow of information, it was denying its citizens their right to know the truth. Later the then Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his cabinet members were heavily criticized for such decisions. Their reputation was quite tarnished.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Yet, sympathy goes to those decision makers. They were in dilemma. Releasing complete information at once would have caused unwarranted panic. This could have generated another wave of socio-economic tsunami. On the other hand, gradual disclosure of information, with careful observation of the populace would have invited allegations of dishonesty. After all, the government as an institution had to take maximum measures to make sure that the impact on life and property was minimum – even if it had to come at the cost of their honesty. At least they had been able to avert socio-economic turmoil that would have been caused had the people and businesses chose to leave Japan.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Similarly, in the corporate setting, there are times for the management to be better off adopting the “controlled information” policy. As soon as there is a premonition or hype of a crisis in a company, non-managerial workers as well as line managers would try to put themselves in their comfort zones – such as finding different jobs. The problem is that there is no rigorous assessment of the situation – only the mid level or top level managers do so. Hence, even if their neck is not on the line, those workers would try to find a way out – because of lack of understanding. This actually ends up creating a problem in the company – which resembles a nature of self fulfilling prophecy.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" border="2" hspace="2" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/oct-management1.jpg" style="width: 404px; height: 190px;" vspace="2" />Instead, the management should try to avoid such panic among its workers. This does not allow them to exploit the workers through lack of information or misinformation. “Controlled information” strategy must take welfare of the workers as well as stability of the company into consideration.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">In short term, Japanese government somehow managed the crisis. But, what ahead ?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Japanese government would be asked for a lot more than just achieving stability. Being one of the economic giants, they have to be able to not only get out of the mess, but be back on its feet as one of the global economic powerhouses. Just like a star athlete getting back after a terrible injury, people appreciate a good comeback story.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">I believe the strength of a nation is shown by its response to crisis. When the earthquake hit, a friend of mine was in a supermarket in downtown Tokyo. The quake caused panic: goods fell on the ground, wine bottles shattered and racks collapsed on top of each other. Soon, it stopped shaking. And, people picked up their grocery items, stood on the queue, paid at the cashier, and left patiently. The country was in the midst of “the worst crisis since Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” as Kan put. Yet, people still showed up at their city offices the same week to fulfill their tax obligation. Apart from the quake and tsunami, explosion of the nuclear power plant caused a power shortage throughout eastern Japan. Essentially, the Japanese government declared implementation of daily load shedding for four hours. People and businesses immediately reacted – but not in the form of a public demonstration or protests. Most people started saving electricity at home. Businesses, malls and restaurants shut their businesses early to save electricity. By the end of the day, load shedding lasted less than an hour.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">In Japanese, crisis is written as 危機 (kiki). The word consists of two Chinese characters: 危 (ki) meaning “danger”, and 機 (ki) meaning “opportunity”. The word itself indicates the perception of crisis in the Japanese society. Yes, people were shocked, and filled with fear. But they kept their heads up, searching for a light at the end of a dark tunnel. Let history speak for itself. Every time crisis hits the island nation, Japanese golden age follows. The 1932 Great Kanto Earthquake – which destroyed entire Tokyo and killed approximately 140,000 people – was followed by Japanese military glory and its rise as one of the world’s superpowers. Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – which also destroyed both cities killing roughly 200,000 people – was followed by Japanese economic prosperity and its emergence as the world’s largest economy. Every time they fall, they rise up stronger. And I believe such characteristic shows the grandeur of the nation.&nbsp;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Crisis tests our strength. Whether on our management of crisis or standing up on our feet in the midst of it – crisis could be an inevitable challenge at any point in our life. Some break down; others prevail. With wise but unpopular, “controlled information” strategy, Japanese government did not escalate the existing natural crisis by averting socio-economic crisis. Secondly, Japanese philosophy of seeing opportunities in times of crisis needs to be appreciated by the business minds. It is this attitude that brought the country from bottom rock to a leading position. On the whole, one could expect a better tomorrow if a crisis is managed smartly.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><i>[Acharya grew up in Tokyo, Japan and attended St Mary’s International School. He is currently a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) student at Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM). He can be reached via email at saujanya820@gmail.com.]</i></span></div>',
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			'title' => 'Savvy: Everything In Your Car October 2011',
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			'content' => '<div>
	<div style="text-align: justify;">
		<strong>By Sujan Tiwari</strong></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Do better things always cost more? Not always. With Proton Savvy, safety, style, performance and convenience can be yours at an unbeatable price. Brought in Nepal by Constant Business Group, the Savvy is a brand new product in the automobile market of Nepal.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	At Rs 2,125,000, it is hard to find a better deal than the Savvy hatchback. Savvy has five doors, 15 inch alloy wheels, extensive safety features, good audio system, body coloured exterior components and the list goes on.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Savvy is made by Malaysian automakers Proton and features a Campro engine. Campro is the first automotive engine developed together by Proton and the auto giant Lotus.&nbsp;The Campro engine is developed to show Proton's ability to make their own engines that produce good power output and meet newer emission standards. The 4-cylinder, in line, SOHC Multi point injection 1149 cc engine produces a maximum power of 74 hp at 5500 rpm and a maximum torque of 105Nm at 4250 rpm. Savvy boasts a top speed of 170km/h and can go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 12.6 seconds, and that too with exceptional handling.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Regarding the design, the engineers at Proton tried to produce a small car that offered practicality, fuel economy, generous space and great all round performance. Now, it can be said they achieved it all. Achieving these goals involved engineering a new, stronger and more rigid platform, resulting in a vehicle that offers superior handling, balance and responsiveness. The Savvy has a lot to offer for its low entry price, strong equipment levels, looks, performance and economy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<img align="left" alt="car" border="1" height="151" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/car(1).jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="400" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The design is eye catching and is sure to turn heads as you drive by in the compact stylish and irresistible Proton Savvy. Savvy's stylish exterior projects a look of young, spirited and energetic car with its stylish curves and the attractive hood lid. It has an integrated headlamp unit with turn signals and additional halogen front fog lamps. Savvy has a spacious interior with 50/50 split fold rear seats with fold flat rear seats cushions for increased load capacity and practicality. The interior is as stylish as the curvaceous exterior, which is complemented with aluminum highlights on the steering wheel, gear shifter and dashboard. There are conveniences like a powerful air-conditioning system, power window and custom built Clarion audio system with a built in CD player and FM/AM.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The Proton Savvy is built sturdy and strong to protect you in many ways as it exceeds international safety regulations of the European community. The body of Savvy is built from strong L3 galvanized steel and is designed with crumple zone protection. Savvy offers side impact protection with side reinforcement bar. It got 3 star rating in Euro NCAP testing and has met international crash safety regulations.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The Savvy has enhanced suspension dynamics ensuring a responsive drive. With the Savvy, Proton has developed an incredibly light yet strong small car that delivers a perfect ride and handling. On the front, it has McPherson strut with coil springs, and stabilizer bar and on the rear, it has torsion beam axle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Savvy takes you where you want to go in comfort and style, whether it's in city or enjoying a winding hilly road. With its outstanding features, Savvy has been able to receive two known Car of the Year  awards from two ASEAN countries, including the Cars, Bikes &amp; Trucks New Straits Times/Am Bank Group 2006 Car of the Year Award in the Supermini category, and the Best City Car award at the 6th Indonesian Car of the Year 2007 awards. Proton Savvy also has been voted among Thailand's top 10 cars in 2008 by The Nation daily's car writers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The Savvy is also recognized in the Malaysian Book of Records as the most fuel-efficient car in Malaysia during an on-road test by Proton with an average fuel consumption of about 24 km/l. Here in Nepal, the car gives a mileage of 16 to 18 km/l in the city and 20 to 22 on the highways, the company claims.</div>',
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			'created' => '2011-10-11',
			'modified' => '2013-05-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Do better things always cost more? Not always. With Proton Savvy, safety, style, performance and convenience can be yours at an unbeatable price. Brought in......',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '506',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Industries Rob NEA Of Rs 70 Million',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">It has been revealed that 81 industrial customers of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have stolen electricity worth Rs 70 million. The revelation came after a team from NEA’s Electricity Leakage Control Division inspected the Time of the Day (ToD) electricity meters of the industrial and business customers in Dhading, Gorkha, Kawasoti, Bharatpur, Tandi, Simara and Birgunj last month. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">“The inspection of the ToD meters of these clients also showed that 15 million units of electricity was not billed due to under-billing or leakage and pilferage,” said NEA Executive Directive Dipendra Nath Sharma, “Based on the prevailing tariff rates and the demand concession, the amount that the NEA needs to recover from these clients for stolen electricity totals around Rs 70 million.” <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The industries which have stolen electricity by tampering ToD meters include KP Cement, Nirapus Plastic Industry, Safari Adventure Lodge, Shree Simran Crusher Industry, Koshi Gas Industry, Ghimire Furniture and Popular Rice Mill. These industries were found to have tampered with their ToD meters to steal electricity. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There are 4,000 ToD meters in use by industries and business houses across the country. Sharma informed that NEA was planning to install GPRS equipment at all these ToD meters so that the NEA headquarters would be able to calculate the exact units of electricity used by these customers. “We will have installed this equipment at all ToD meters within the next one year. We have now intensified the campaign to control electricity leakage in the industrial corridor,” said Sharma.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'It has been revealed that 81 industrial customers of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have stolen electricity worth Rs 70 million.',
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			'id' => '505',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'DDC Raising Capacity',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) is planning to expand the capacity of milk processing centre at Balaju. Siyaram Prasad Singh, Deputy General Manager of DDC said that the capacity is being expanded to meet the growing demand of dairy products. According to Singh, Rs 140 million is being invested for the expansion which will increase the capacity from the current 110,000 litres per day (LPD) to 250,000 LPD. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The works under the expansion project will commence within this fiscal year, he added. Similarly, DDC is planning to set up a new plant at Khumaltar for producing dairy products other than milk, such as 30,000 litres of yoghurt, 3,000 litres of ice-cream, 1,000 kilograms of cottage cheese per day.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) is planning to expand the capacity of milk processing centre at Balaju. Siyaram Prasad Singh,',
			'sortorder' => '411',
			'image' => null,
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			'id' => '504',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'ICRG Warns Nepal, Again',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Nepal received yet another warning from the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) over its slow progress in putting effective anti-money laundering (AML) measures in place. A meeting of ICRG held in Malaysia in the third week of September warned Nepal to fulfil all AML-related commitments in time and it categorically said that Nepal’s deadline to do so will not be extended again. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">“The ICRG meeting decided not to give any extra time to Nepal to meet its AML commitments which should have been fulfilled by December 2010,” said Nepal Rastra Bank Deputy Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari who participated in the meeting. Though Nepal endorsed an AML law recently, it has yet to implement Anti-Organised Crime Act, Mutual Legal Assistance Act and Extradition Act, which, according to the ICRG are effective measures against money laundering. While the draft of the Act against Organised Crime is under discussion at the Cabinet, the other two laws are awaiting Parliament’s approval. The meeting, according to Adhikari, also expressed dissatisfaction over certain provisions of the AML Act endorsed by Nepal’s Legislature-Parliament some four months ago. “The meeting concluded that the language of Nepal’s AML law is vague at many places while many of its provisions are inadequate, and thus, do not meet international standards. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">So it has asked Nepal to amend certain provisions and also include some new provisions in the Act,” said Adhikari. ICRG’s pressure to draft a more stringent AML law comes at a time when Nepal’s private sector has been protesting the existing law calling it “too stringent”. Adhikari informed that ICRG has directed Nepal to include provisions for seizing the properties of the people suspected of money laundering and confiscating them at the end if such people are found guilty. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">“The ICRG meeting has directed Nepal to amend the existing AML law by June 2013 to include such provisions,” said Adhikari. Asking Nepal to consider organised crimes as equivalent to terrorist activities, the meeting has stressed on the formulation and implementation of strong legal measures to counter terrorist financing.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal received yet another warning from the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) under the Financial Action Task Force',
			'sortorder' => '410',
			'image' => null,
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			'id' => '503',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'NS Quality Award 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="left" alt="" height="115" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ns quality.jpg" vspace="5" width="150" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology has presented Nepal Standard (NS) Quality Award 2011 to five industries on the occassion of 42nd World Standards Day. Gorkha Brewery received this award for its beer and beverages. Similarly, Probiotic Industries Pvt Ltd, a poultry feed industry, received the award in medium industries category. Cristal Product Pvt Ltd received NS award under small industries group. This industry in Hetauda produces HDPE pipes. Likewise, Hulas Wire Industries, a GI wire producer, and Swastik Oil Industries, a refined soybean oil producer each were given letter of appreciation.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology has presented Nepal Standard (NS) Quality Award 2011 to five industries on the occassion of 42nd World Standards Day.',
			'sortorder' => '409',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '502',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal’s Population Reaches 26.6 Million',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">First time in four decades, the average annual population growth rate of Nepal has slipped below two percent. The preliminary result of 11th national population census has revealed that the annual population growth rate in the last decade was 1.4 per cent only from 2.25 in the 2001 census. Making public the preliminary findings of the census, the Central Bureau of Statistics, announced that the total population of Nepal is now 26,620,809. When the absentee population (those who were away from the country during the census) is included in this, the number goes up to 28.6 million. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The census was conducted during the June 17-27, 2011. According to the initial report of census, decline in birth rate is the main reason in decrease of population growth rate. Large chunk of youth population being out of the country for various reasons is presumed to be the major cause for this decline. The initial result of 11th census shows that the population has increased by 15 per cent in a decade. Similarly, the average household size has declined to 4.7 from 5.44 in 2001. The female population is 765,000 more than male population. Thus the female population comprises of 51.44 per cent of total population. According to the report, the population of male and female in Nepal is 12,927,431 and 13,693,378 respectively. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Likewise, the population density has increased to 181 per square kilometres. Population density of Kathmandu is the highest with 4408 while Manang has the lowest with just three persons in a square kilometre. The urban population constitutes about 17 percent of the total population. More than half of the total population lives in Terai followed by Hill and Mountain region. According to CBS, most populated district is Kathmandu followed by Morang, Rupandehi, Jhapa and Kailali. Similarly, the least populated district is Manang followed by Mustang, Dolpa, Rasuwa and Humla.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'First time in four decades, the average annual population growth rate of Nepal has slipped below two percent',
			'sortorder' => '408',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
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	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '501',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal Improves On Doing Business  Indicators',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Contrary to general perceptions, the overall business environment in Nepal has improved, according to the IFC-World Bank joint report Doing Business 2012 made public recently. Based on data collected during the period from June 2010 through May 2011, the report shows that though Nepal's situation has deteriorated in five indicators compared to the previous year, it has improved in other four indicators and remained unchanged in one indicator thus lifting the overall ranking by three places to 107 from 110 of the previous report. This is a good news to the present government which has announced plan to observe the year 2012-13 as Investment Year. Nepal's overall ranking was going down for the last few years continuously. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Globally, Singapore has ranked as number one in Doing Business followed by Hong Kong, New Zealand and United States. Among the South Asian region's economies, Bangladesh's rank fell from 118 to 122 while Maldives deteriorated from 78 to 79. However, the ranks of Bhutan (146 to 142), India (139 to 132) and Sri Lanka (98 to 89) improved. South Asian economies have an opportunity to increase access to information for entrepreneurs, said Sylvia Solf, lead author of the report. One route is new technology, which is increasingly used by governments to provide electronic services for filing taxes or registering businesses. This not only enhances efficiency but opens opportunities to increase transparency. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The most striking improvement in Nepal was in dealing with construction permits, according to the report, which shows that while Nepal was ranked 161 last year in this count, it has moved to 140 this year. Other areas of improvement are getting electricity, payng taxes and resolving insolvency while there was deterioration in the areas of starting a business, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors and trading across borders.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '2012-10-31',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Contrary to general perceptions, the overall business environment in Nepal has improved, according to the IFC-World Bank joint report Doing Business 2012 made public recently.',
			'sortorder' => '407',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '500',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Self Declaration Of Property In Limbo',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The scheme proposed by by this year’s budget to allow the self declaration of property is in limbo as the programme is deemed to be detrimental to country’s international commitment on anti money laundering. Declaring the property without investigating the source of it is against such international commitment. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">A source at the Ministry of Finance said that there is least chance of ‘self declaration of property’ to be announced this year. The source claimed that the attempt of the government to be flexible on property declaration has almost failed as the criteria set by the Financial Task Force cannot be violated. Krishna Hari Baskota, Finance Secretary also accepted the fact that it would be difficult to implement the voluntary declaration of property as proposed in the budget. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The government stepped back from its previous promise of announcing such sheme in fear that international organisations working against money laundering might blacklist Nepal. Bangladesh had withdrawn similar programme after the warning of Asia Pacific Group, a network of countries working on anti money laundering.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The scheme proposed by by this year’s budget to allow the self declaration of property is in limbo',
			'sortorder' => '406',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '499',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'World Bank Releases Interim Strategy For Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched a two years Interim Strategy for assistance in Nepal’s transitional phase and peace building. Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun released the strategy named, Interim Strategy Note for Nepal, for fiscal year 2012 and 2013 on October 18 in Kathmandu. The strategy promises to continue WBG efforts to achieve durable peace with investments in development and poverty reduction. “Given the transitional nature of Nepal’s current situation, with a new constitution being drafted and elections to follow, the World Bank Group has prepared a new Interim Strategy Note for Nepal,” reads the press statement issued by WBG. The strategy is formulated considering the Government of Nepal’s Three Year Plan. WBG says, “The interim strategy sets out some basic parameters of the WBG programme but still retains the flexibility to deal with the birth of a new republic. The strategy reflects considerable continuity, building on programs with successful track records that are adapted to local conditions.” The strategy emphasises greater selectivity, focusing on areas considered vital to Nepal’s development and complementing programs supported by other development partners. According to WBG, agriculture, infrastructure and social development are in top priority. The World Bank has decided to allocate US $ 400 million for two fiscal years. The aid will be provided through bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the concessionary financing arm. However, the size of the assistance will depend on Nepal’s good performance and successful economic management, according to WBG. These funds would be invested in four to five new operations per year. Similarly, World Bank has projected Nepal’s Gross Domestic Production growth to remain at three per cent for the fiscal year 2011/12.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched a two years Interim Strategy for assistance in Nepal’s transitional phase',
			'sortorder' => '405',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '498',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal Energy Investors Forum',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai opened the Nepal Energy Investors Forum on 13 October organised jointly by the Government of Nepal and Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Forum was organised for promoting private sector investment in hydropower development in Nepal. Senior officials from the Government of Nepal, along with business leaders, bankers, financiers, power developers and traders, development partners and civil society members attended the two-days-long forum to discuss investment in the hydropower sector in Nepal. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Addressing the Forum, Dr Bhattarai stressed the importance of private sector investment for the development of Nepal’s hydropower sector and said, “I would like to assure all investing and financing communities, domestic and foreign, that our policies are naturally geared towards being as investment friendly as possible.” The Prime Minister invited every potential developer to invest freely in hydropower projects in Nepal without any fear of expropriation. Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun, Energy Minister Posta Bahadur Bogati and Vice President of ADB Xiaoyu Zhao also addressed the Forum. The two-day event facilitated discussions on risks associated with undertaking hydropower projects in Nepal and to explore innovative financing mechanisms.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai opened the Nepal Energy Investors Forum on 13 October organised',
			'sortorder' => '404',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '497',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Beetle’s Nepal-India Friendship Drive',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><img align="left" alt="" height="215" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/beetles.jpg" vspace="5" width="312" />“Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011” organised by the Association of Nepal Beetle Users Group (ANBUG) concluded successfully on September 13. The closing ceremony was held on 27 September in which the visual show of the trip was highlighted. Gopal Sunder Lal Kakshapati, Founder President of ANBUG said, “We created history as a motor rally that originated in Nepal crossed Nepal’s international border for the first time.” ‘Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011’ was flagged off at Kathmandu by Jayanta Prasad, Indian Ambassador to Nepal on 6 September and reached Gangtok, the capital of Indian state of Sikkim via Kakarvitta border point in Jhapa district.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Lamichhane New NRNA Prez</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The fifth global convention of Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) unanimously elected Jiba Lamicchane to its apex post. The erstwhile Vice President was elected unopposed to the post of President after contender Dev Man Hirachan withdrew his candidacy at the elevent hour. For 20 posts, 34 had filed candidacy while six of them were elected unanimously. Capt Hitman Gurung and Rameshwar Shah were elected to the post of Vice President. Similarly, Tenzi Sherpa, Tek Bahadur Karki, Bhaban Bhatta and Hem Raj Sharma were elected to the posts of General Secretary, Secretary, Treasurer and Spokesperson respectively.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">SAARC Business Leaders’ Conclave</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" height="103" hspace="3" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/saarc.jpg" vspace="3" width="216" />The 4th SAARC Business Leaders Conclave (SBLC) held in Kathmandu during 20-22 September with the theme of “Peace and Prosperity through Regional Connectivity” concluded by adopting a 9-point Kathmandu Declaration. President Dr Ram Baran Yadav inaugurated the three-day conclave jointly organised by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). The conclave was attended by over 500 participants including business and political leaders, academia and experts from eight SAARC nations. The participants of the conclave stressed on the need for enhanced regional connectivity to achieve peace and prosperity in the region as envisioned in the doctrine of Regional Connectivity 2010-2020. Private sectors, experts and business leaders agreed to urge the governments in the region to harmonise customs procedures. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">They also stressed on the mutual recognition of standards and certifications, implementation of Regional Motor Vehicle Transport Agreement and Open Sky Policy linking major cities in the region and implementation of a common SAARC Energy Policy. The Kathmandu Declaration proposed the implementation of SAARC Transit Agreement, Shipment Agreement, Logistics Agreements, and ICT Agreement to make SAFTA a workable mechanism which will lead to Customs Union. Anisul Haq, President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce, recognised water, energy, climate change, food security, tourism, and investment as common priority concerns. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">He urged for more connectivity in the region by resolving conflicts among member states. Pradip Kumar Shrestha, Vice-President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce, underscored that the future of the entire South-Asian region is in the hands of young entrepreneurs. “Young entrepreneurs are growing in South Asia, the business leaders should support them to take the lead,” said Shrestha. The conclave vowed urgent implementation of Regional Environment Treaty, activation of SAARC Food Bank and proposed to set up a SAARC Disaster Management Institute to mitigate the impacts of natural calamities and climate change. The business community of the region also recommended signing of a Regional Investment Treaty.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Ambuja, Dugar Invest in Dang Cement</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">India’s Ambuja Cement Ltd and Nepal’s HC Dugar Group have bought Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd (DCIPL). Ambuja is now the majority shareholder of DCIPL with 80 per cent ownership. Dugar Group makes up for the remaining 20 per cent. DCIPL obtained the license for producing one million tons of cement per annum in 2003 but could not begin production for various reasons. “The construction of the physical infrastructures of the company will begin soon after the Tihar to become the largest cement factory of Nepal in terms of production capacity,” said DCIPL Chairman Bijay Dugar. According to sources, Ambuja and Dugar jointly bought DCIPL for Rs 300 million in April this year. It is learnt that Ambuja is planning to invest billions of rupees in the company that has an authorised capital of Rs six billion at present. “Currently, the cement companies with half the production capacity of DCIPL have an investment of three to four billion rupees. So, there is no doubt that DCIPL will have an investment of much more,” added Dugar. Ambuja Cement’s 50 per cent shares are owned by Swiss company HOLCIM, a global leader in cement production and supply. DCIPL was incorporated on May 27, 2003 by lawmaker and industrialist Surya Bahadur KC and others with the objective to produce Portland and other types of cement. As that group could not set up the plant, it was taken over by the new investors. Dugar said that DCIPL will mine limestone on its own to produce clinker. He also informed that technicians and top officials from HOLCIM and Ambuja will visit the industry site before Tihar. “The construction will begin soon after their inspection visit,” informed Dugar.</span></p>',
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			'description' => '“Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011” organised by the Association of Nepal Beetle Users Group (ANBUG) concluded successfully on September 13.',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '494',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Manufacruting Prospect Unharnessed',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img alt="" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/Manufacturing.jpg" style="width: 524px; height: 585px;" /></p>
<p>
	A long-term vision for the Nepali Manufacturing Sector, known as vision 2020, prepared jointly by Nepal government, UNDP and UNIDO in 2002 had proposed to pursue a two-pronged industrialization strategy aimed at rural, agro-based industrialization, and formal urban-based industrial development. But a decade down the lane, nothing seems to be moving to the vision encapsulated then. The strategy proposed then as prioritising export-oriented labour-intensive manufacturing industries and tourism-related exotic products, where Nepal already enjoys considerable comparative advantage, still sounds equally relevant (see box for 2020 goals). But its proposal of raising the contribution of the sector to GDP from 10 to 20 per cent by 2020 appears highly unrealistic given its contribution of just about 7 per cent of GDP in FY 2010/11. From national economic standpoint, manufacturing has universally accepted double-edged goals -- consumption and/or exports. As Nepal is way below in meeting her consumers demand on virtually all sorts of items, and has equally good potential for export of various products, Nepalâ's manufacturing prospects, at least in theory, are truly bright.</p>
<p>
	It is because Nepali productions can replace the import in the domestic market and also have scope of export to rapidly growing neighbouring markets of India and, also China. Although the import to export trade ratio of Nepal in terms of value stands at 7:1, some of the Nepali produce like iron and steel products, acrylic yarn, hand-made woolen carpets, readymade garments and tea and coffee are faring well in international markets.</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/goals for 2020.jpg" style="width: 468px; height: 400px;" /></p>
<p>
	The history of manufacturing in Nepal is not very long. The Nepal Companies Act, 1936 provided basis for incorporation of industrial enterprises which in fact had provisions for joint-ventures and public sector industries. The most tangible outcome of this Act was establishment of Biratnagar Jute Mills, a collaborative venture of Indian and Nepalese entrepreneurs. The Mill is considered first manufacturing unit of industrial scale in Nepal. But the said Act had no provision for private limited companies until it was reformed in 1951.</p>
<p>
	This new act encouraged the establishment of ninety-two new private joint stock companies between 1952 and 1964. The Industrial Enterprises Act of 1974 enacted in the heydays of panchayat polity also recognized role of the private sector in the industrial growth. But the panchayat regime continued the policy of protecting the public sector production over the private one, which in fact constricted the desired growth of the sector. Establishment of about a dozen industrial estates including at Patan, Balaju, Hetauda, Pokhara, Dharan, Butawal, and Nepalganj in the 1980s certainly contributed to create an organized industrial atmosphere. Several modern industries with large manufacturing plants to produce jute, sugar, cigarettes, beer, matches, shoes, chemicals, cement, and bricks were installed. The garment and carpet production units in much diffused fashion spread in the Kathmandu valley and surrounding areas, targeted at export production. By the end of last fiscal year, number of manufacturing units registered under the Department of Industries has crossed well above 2,000. This not only shows that investment and industrialization has expanded but also that the internal market of Nepali products has grown substantially. Of late, private sector investment in manufacturing of cement, sugar and items of daily use has increased significantly. Western district of Dang is developing as the ‘cement city’ as at least a half-dozen large cement companies are all set to begin production pretty soon. Many would like to categorize the hydropower units also as manufacturing. In that case, it can be claimed that Nepal’s manufacturing sector has been able to attract quite large amount of investment, mainly from the private sector. Still, very weak positioning of Nepali exports --due to lack of diversification, market research and identification</p>
<p>
	and, choice of low-value high-volume products -- has not been helpful for both manufacturing and trade balance. The share of main Nepali export in the global market has been limited in quantity and value, and thus been unable to create their own sectoral economies of scale. The policy conundrum is still a major bottleneck. In many sectors, public enterprises continue to play dominant role which is very often than not inviting unfair market play by government intervention. Price distortion is the major resultant effect that in turn is discouraging the private sector investment, at least in the sectors where the government is directly involved. Recent successive governments with mainly socialist tilts have made the situation even more confusing, as their policies lacked clarity in private property, entrepreneurship and profit making.</p>
<p>
	Even beyond political spectrum, challenges of facilitating the growth of manufacturing sector are many. On the supply side, Nepal’s physical infrastructure, especially electricity supply, roads and use of up-to-date technology are inadequate to support a modern manufacturing sector so that it becomes capable of quickly responding to trends in world market demands for manufactured products. As the newest problem, lack of manpower is another bottleneck due to labour migration to foreign countries. Departing from a conventional thinking, identifying afresh new niche and competitive products is also a striking need of the day. Strategies for trade, policies and investment can follow.</p>',
			'published' => true,
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			'modified' => '2012-08-23',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'A long-term vision for the Nepali Manufacturing Sector, known as vision 2020, prepared jointly by Nepal government, UNDP and UNIDO in 2002 had proposed to pursue a two-pronged industrialization strategy aimed at rural, agro-based industrialization, and formal urban-based industrial development. But a decade down the lane, nothing seems to be moving to the vision encapsulated then.',
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	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '496',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Manufacturers Are Treated As Criminals In This Country',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong>BIPPA should have been signed with India a couple of years ago because it is our nearest neighbour and the largest foreign investor in the country. BIPPA will be a milestone agreement as it promises added security to the Indian investors.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><img align="left" alt="coverstory" border="1" height="225" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/diwakar golchha.jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="200" /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How will the recent BIPPA agreement help in promoting the manufacturing sector? </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	BIPPA should have been signed with India a couple of years ago because it is our nearest neighbour and the largest foreign investor in the country. BIPPA will be a milestone agreement as it promises added security to the Indian investors. Manufacturing sector today has the biggest setback because of electricity problem. In this context, Indian investors have committed around 3,500 MW power generation in this country. In the second round of power summit going to be held in Kathmandu, we expect another 4-5,000 MW of electricity production commitment. Today, India is one of the largest international investors in the region and last year, Indian investors invested US $ 43 billion outside India. So, there is every reason for them to invest in Nepal as we are their nearest country where they will produce electricity and take to India. BIPPA, along with other agreements, shows a long term commitment of India towards Nepal.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How do you analyse the Nepali manufacturing sector and its growth trend?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	In recent years, the manufacturing sector has been neglected because of various reasons. It was neither in the priority of the government nor was there a concern to protect the domestic investments. So, many industries have shut down in the past seven to eight years. Our industries that had significant annual achievements are registering negative growth for a couple of years now. That is because of the wrong attitude of the bureaucracy and of course, none of the politicians are concerned. For the first time in the last 15 years, Nepali Industrialists have revived the hope they had lost after Dr Baburam Bhattarai became the Prime Minister. Manufacturers are treated as criminals in this country, which is why the entire investment climate is in dire straits. Even the facilities committed by the act of 1990 were denied and later withdrawn which is a betrayal to this sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Which is the most appropriate sector for manufacturing for Nepal? Why do you think this specific sector is not much developed as expected?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	There are so many products necessary to be manufactured in Nepal. Unless the climate for manufacturing and attitude of bureaucrats do not change and unless there is a strong body that can understand the multiplier effects of investment and language of economy, one cannot think of industrialisation. We have discussed the issues and problems we faced after 2000, with Dr Bhattarai. We are hopeful that the industrial revolution will take off after 2012-2013. Many sectors may revive provided there is lowered cost of production and cheaper cost of doing business transactions. There are numerous harassments like high finance cost, no electricity, and so many other reasons due to which industries do not come up. Unless there is power, nobody is going to put money into industry. I will not recommend anybody, at least in my family, to go for manufacturing at this point in time.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Everybody is complaining that Nepal does not have a suitable industrial environment. Golchha Organisation is one of the most successful corporate houses focused on manufacturing. How are you managing it?</strong> <img align="right" alt="" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/golchha2.jpg" style="text-align: justify; width: 153px; height: 239px;" vspace="5" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Successes and failures are always part of one’s life. If we are suffering because of the wrong attitude of the government, we might want to close down some industries so that it can give a message. We had to close down Sri Bhrikuti Pulp and Paper Nepal Limited because of the wrong attitude of the government. We are going to close down another important industry, Sri Nepal Boards Ltd due to the same reason. The successive governments thought that importing goods gets them more revenue which they can spend on regular expenses. However, that will leave the country’s development in lurch. There is no desire in the government for development of this country, the only desire is to garner more revenue and enjoy it. At this moment, Golchha Organisation is doing very well with its trading businesses. Trading involves more than 50 per cent of our total turnover while the service sector has around five per cent share and the remaining makes up for our manufacturing concerns.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How long do you think such a situation will persist in the country?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	It requires visionary leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia to build successful economies. We have our hopes pinned on Dr Bhattarai and we do see similar capabilities in him. If he could remain the Prime Minister of Nepal for the next 10 years, we believe that he can transform this country. But first and foremost, he should begin with a total transformation of the bureaucracy in Nepal.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Large corporate houses are shifting to the service sector. What is the reason behind it ? <br />
	</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	The Nepali people have enhanced their buying power today by virtue of remittance. They want better services and can spend money for that. Service is a sector where you have the possibility of a quick return without making a heavy investment like in an industry. Though are small hurdles like power shortage, strikes and blockades that are affecting this sector as well, it can still manage on its own. That is why the service sector is bound to develop and people are flocking for this sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Can a country sustain based on imported goods only as corporate houses and industries are shifting to service sector from manufacturing?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	There is always a phase like this and ultimately, the nation will have no alternative. Unless you have a manufacturing sector, how much service can you possibly sell? Everything has a limitation so the service sector too will reach a saturation point. Ultimately, when there is a possibility of easy investment and return, competition to make a mark in the manufacturing sector will intensify. There has to be balance in everything because nothing can grow imbalanced. You cannot say that one sector will grow and another sector is not required.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Why are there very little measures to promote goods that have comparative and competitive advantages?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	At the moment, Nepal has no comparative advantage whatsoever. Once we have sufficient power, labourers more inclined towards working rather than politics, banking sector more favourable for investment, a favourable government and its economy-friendly policies, we will have comparative advantages. Unless these logistics are there, one cannot compete. Today, in India, there are industries that are 20 times bigger than what we have in our country. Given India’s automation and advancement, it is difficult for us to compete with our older and manual technology. So, it is almost impossible to achieve higher cost advantage and efficiency in Nepal. If the policies are correct and the sizes of operation are reasonable, we will definitely compete.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>There are duplications even with the limited size of the Nepali manufacturing sector. How sustainable is it and what are your suggestions to control such duplications?</strong> Duplication has been the phenomenon of the entire world. Nepal is not the only country which faces this problem. There are some industries who lead with original ideas and some others who follow. Only time can tell whether such practices will succeed or not. The capable ones will sustain and the incapable ones will take their own path. Investors have to think which sector they have to go, you can’t push your product. Once there is a pull factor, you will produce more because if you try to push things, you will never get the desired results. The market is the best judge to accept or not to accept such practices.&nbsp;</p>',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '495',
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			'title' => 'Industrial Development Is Impossible Without Basic Infrastructure',
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			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What is the present status of the manufacturing sector in Nepal?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The market for both consumable goods and durables has been growing and expanding in the international arena. Growth of manufacturing sector ensures overall economic growth. As a result, demand for both consumable goods and capital goods increases. Demand of consumable and capital goods has been growing globally. That is why we can say that the manufacturing sector has been growing the world over. But the problem is that though the demand for these goods is rising globally, production of these goods has centred around booming economies like China and India. As far as Nepal is concerned, we are in a very sorry state in manufacturing sector. Leave alone the possibility of expansion; even the goods that we used to manufacture in our own country have been displaced. For example, we used to produce fabrics in our country but Chinese readymade clothing available at cheaper prices has now replaced them. There were about 35 factories owned by the government but most of these public sector industries have shut down. We were the third largest jute producers in the world at one point of time. The health of our oldest factory, Biratnagar Jute Mill, has been deteriorating with the production and profit of this factory nosediving. The carpet industry used to contribute 20-22 per cent towards our national income but this percentage has been witnessing a downward trend. The contribution of the private sector is not very satisfactory. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="cover story" border="1" height="308" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bholanath pokheral.jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="250" /><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How do you analyse the growth of the manufacturing sector in Nepal? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Had our factories used our own resources or inputs, it would have yielded high value. But our manufacturing industry has been providing more of an assembling facility to intermediary products that we bring from international market rather than producing goods by ourselves. If we analyse the history of the growth of manufacturing sector in Nepal, the industrial development that began from the 1980s started to expand from 1990's revolution with the radical shift in power and the country adopting the path of democracy and liberalism. We had significant growth in the manufacturing sector from 1995 to 2002. The growth was up to 20 per cent. But after 2002, the contribution of manufacturing sector has been even lesser than the contribution of agriculture. Nepal hasn’t been able to exploit its position between the two economic giants. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What are the impediments for investing in the manufacturing sector? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Like water, capital flows to a place where there is favourable investment environment. The movement of capital can neither be controlled nor stopped. We have been witnessing that the factories that were opened in our country have now shifted to places like Himachal Pradesh in India because the environment of Nepal is not investment-friendly. A number of causes are responsible for this local market, international market, labour issues, tax policy, political instability, insecurity, lack of basic infrastructure etc. The private sector claims that labour issues and government bureaucracy are the key hurdles for industrial growth. Nepal's labour productivity is one of the lowest in the world and lack of skilled manpower has been the greatest challenge for industries. The labour situation is so bad that they are hiring Indian nationals to run their industries. Besides, there are labour unions to worsen the situation. Energy crisis is another major problem for us as we have to face 18 to 20 hours power outage a day. This goes to prove that we donâte have consistent policies and the policies change with every new government that takes charge. Cartels and syndicates are some other problems that plague the sector. Lack of basic infrastructures like roads, water, etc is something that we all know about. Industrial development is impossible without these basic infrastructures. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>A lot of corporate houses previously involved in manufacturing have been shifting to the service sector. Can an economy sustain based on the service sector and imported goods?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">According to economic theories, the growth in the size of an economy results in the expansion of its service sector. Investment moves from one sector to another on the basis of two factors: risk and profit. At present, investment in the manufacturing sector involves very high risk as there are number of impediments involved. Most of our industries are located in the three industrial corridors of Nepal first, from Itahari to Rani, the second from Hetauda to Birgunj and the third from Butwal to Sunauli because these places have better arrangement of infrastructures like roads, water and electricity connection. So, even though an economy cannot sustain with a growth in the service sector alone, capital has moved to this sector in Nepal as it involves less risk and high rate of return. Until the impediments are cleared, investment in manufacturing sector will not materialise.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Why can’t agriculture be developed as an important industry in our country? Our agriculture sector has not been able to create demand because it is not vibrant enough. The greatest challenge in the agriculture sector is the labour problem. Youths have left their villages for opportunities in the cities or outside the country and fertile lands have either turned barren or have shifted to permanent cropping. The consumption demand is growing in the villages due to remittance inflow and not because of the contribution of agriculture. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How can we reach the level of sustainability or even export Nepal's manufactured goods to the international market?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">There are a few aspects to consider before we think about expanding the market of our products to the international level. The first is the quality of our products. Can our products stand on the same level compared to similar products available in the international market? Can we sell our products at a competitive price? For this, the cost of production should be low. High labour and management efficiency in addition to cheap capital can decrease the production cost. But, the scenario in our country is just the opposite and hence, there are a very few products with this possibility. Take the example of honey which we used to export to Europe not too long ago. But Europe no longer accepts our honey as they found traces of insecticides in it. We don’t have a facility to test it and certify that our honey is pure. Similarly, Nepalis in general do not show strong trait of entrepreneurship. One of the economics theories states that a refugee has a greater possibility of becoming a good entrepreneur than any other person. Even the history shows that people who have left their countries with a determination to go through hardships have become successful entrepreneurs. Second, the theory claims that certain caste or creed have better entrepreneurial skills than others. Nepali entrepreneurs belonging to Thakali and Newar castes have not been able to groom themselves as international businessmen like the Marwaris have. Most of the countries in the world have China Towns that are famous for Chinese food. In the same manner, Thakalis too can promote their authentic dishes in the international market. The Nepalis in general should also use their natural skills and groom themselves to earn respect in the international arena. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>Despite all these barriers, do you see possibilities that can take Nepal on the way to prosperity?</strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">One sector with tremendous possibility is limestone as we are very rich in this resource. If we can use limestone and subsitute the import of cement, we can save a considerable amount of foreign currency. However, this sector hasn't developed the way it should have. Besides limestone, hydropower, tourism, medicinal herbs etc are other possibilities that we can explore. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>When will we actually have favourable industrial and investment environment?</strong></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Political stability only can ensure favourable industrial and investment environment because it will ensure stable economic policies. But that is not enough. Investment will get attracted only when we have consistent policies and programmes and when the government is clear about private investments. The risk factor is high during political instability so let's hope that we achieve the same through constitution, an election and formation of a stable government. Though the country is following this path, the progress has been very slow. Similarly, labourers should be clear about both their rights and responsibilities. They are presently acting more like the political parties wings rather than institutions that must fight for the rights of labours. Similarly, quality people living abroad must return to build their own country. The government can take an initiative in this regard by guaranteeing employment, security and welfare to them in Nepal. It's certainly going to take some time to sort out these issues but we must not lose hope and remain optimistic. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What is the prospect of Nepalâ's manufacturing sector? What are the remedial measures you would like to recommend? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There is no way out other than utilising our competitive advantage. The greatest competitive advantage of Nepal is its location between the two emerging economic giants. We can certainly facilitate trade between China and India and at the same time, expand our economy by participating in theirs. We donâte have vast natural resources and the only resource we can take pride in is water, however, it is not a secured resource as it is in the grip of climate change. Tourism can be developed as a big industry while specialisation in agriculture can be another possibility. If we can process our medicinal herbs in our own country, it can contribute significantly to our national economy. The trend so far is that we sell our raw-materials at very low prices while buying processed items very expensively. The practice of herding and limping is another hitch because it hurts specialisation. If these aspects could be corrected, we can imagine a prosperous economy in our country in the foreseeable future.</span></p>',
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			'description' => 'The market for both consumable goods and durables has been growing and expanding in the international arena. Growth of manufacturing sector ensures overall economic growth. As a result, demand for both consumable',
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			'id' => '490',
			'article_category_id' => '38',
			'title' => 'Crisis For The Better (October 2011)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<div style="text-align: justify;">
		<strong><span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="right" alt="" border="2" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/saujanya.jpg" style="width: 124px; height: 160px;" vspace="5" />By Saujanya Acharya</span></strong></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">It has been roughly six months after the catastrophe caused by the quake along the coast of northern Japan. It was a terrifying day for the people across the world to see one of the economic giants drowning under the water and getting washed away. Well, it seems the nature spares nobody. Earthquake and tsunami were not the only problems. The nature also hit a devastating creation of man: a nuclear power plant. Hence, within a very short time span, the Japanese society had to face three different crises.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The case of Japan provides a great study for the field of management: to be more precise, the handling of crisis in a large institution. When corner shops face a crisis, such as plummeting sales, decision making is quite simple as the options include whether to shut down the business, or keep operating at a lower cost level. However, at a larger scale, decision makers are asked for much more careful decision: one decision could trigger another problem in a chain effect.&nbsp;As far as crisis management is concerned, the Japanese government has been quite effective despite the public criticism – especially, from the international media.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Japanese government is criticized for its lack of information disclosure regarding the crisis in the nuclear power plants in Fukushima. It was only in the later stage of the crisis that the Japanese government finally admitted the situation to be as worse as that of Chernobyl – even though the level of crisis was apparent to them from the earlier stages. Such strategy seems dishonest on the part of the government. Yet, it has proved to be a wise one.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" border="2" hspace="2" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/oct-management.jpg" style="width: 404px; height: 245px;" vspace="2" />It was wise because the outcome of Japanese government’s honesty would have been quite catastrophic – as it could have invited unwanted havoc. Even with their strategy of concealing the information, there were some disturbances. For example, people started to flee the Japanese cities in the north. This phenomenon was seen also in Tokyo Metropolitan Area which was declared safe by the scientists. This panic was caused by the media which highlighted the impending disaster of nuclear crisis in a very speculative manner. Hence, massive exodus of population from the major surrounding cities would have been inevitable, had the government from the beginning admitted that the disaster level was at 5.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Argument against the government’s action would be on ethical grounds only. The government should be looking after the welfare of the society. People have the right to know what sort of danger they are in. Hence, when the Japanese government held the leverage tight for the flow of information, it was denying its citizens their right to know the truth. Later the then Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his cabinet members were heavily criticized for such decisions. Their reputation was quite tarnished.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Yet, sympathy goes to those decision makers. They were in dilemma. Releasing complete information at once would have caused unwarranted panic. This could have generated another wave of socio-economic tsunami. On the other hand, gradual disclosure of information, with careful observation of the populace would have invited allegations of dishonesty. After all, the government as an institution had to take maximum measures to make sure that the impact on life and property was minimum – even if it had to come at the cost of their honesty. At least they had been able to avert socio-economic turmoil that would have been caused had the people and businesses chose to leave Japan.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Similarly, in the corporate setting, there are times for the management to be better off adopting the “controlled information” policy. As soon as there is a premonition or hype of a crisis in a company, non-managerial workers as well as line managers would try to put themselves in their comfort zones – such as finding different jobs. The problem is that there is no rigorous assessment of the situation – only the mid level or top level managers do so. Hence, even if their neck is not on the line, those workers would try to find a way out – because of lack of understanding. This actually ends up creating a problem in the company – which resembles a nature of self fulfilling prophecy.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" border="2" hspace="2" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/oct-management1.jpg" style="width: 404px; height: 190px;" vspace="2" />Instead, the management should try to avoid such panic among its workers. This does not allow them to exploit the workers through lack of information or misinformation. “Controlled information” strategy must take welfare of the workers as well as stability of the company into consideration.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">In short term, Japanese government somehow managed the crisis. But, what ahead ?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Japanese government would be asked for a lot more than just achieving stability. Being one of the economic giants, they have to be able to not only get out of the mess, but be back on its feet as one of the global economic powerhouses. Just like a star athlete getting back after a terrible injury, people appreciate a good comeback story.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">I believe the strength of a nation is shown by its response to crisis. When the earthquake hit, a friend of mine was in a supermarket in downtown Tokyo. The quake caused panic: goods fell on the ground, wine bottles shattered and racks collapsed on top of each other. Soon, it stopped shaking. And, people picked up their grocery items, stood on the queue, paid at the cashier, and left patiently. The country was in the midst of “the worst crisis since Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” as Kan put. Yet, people still showed up at their city offices the same week to fulfill their tax obligation. Apart from the quake and tsunami, explosion of the nuclear power plant caused a power shortage throughout eastern Japan. Essentially, the Japanese government declared implementation of daily load shedding for four hours. People and businesses immediately reacted – but not in the form of a public demonstration or protests. Most people started saving electricity at home. Businesses, malls and restaurants shut their businesses early to save electricity. By the end of the day, load shedding lasted less than an hour.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">In Japanese, crisis is written as 危機 (kiki). The word consists of two Chinese characters: 危 (ki) meaning “danger”, and 機 (ki) meaning “opportunity”. The word itself indicates the perception of crisis in the Japanese society. Yes, people were shocked, and filled with fear. But they kept their heads up, searching for a light at the end of a dark tunnel. Let history speak for itself. Every time crisis hits the island nation, Japanese golden age follows. The 1932 Great Kanto Earthquake – which destroyed entire Tokyo and killed approximately 140,000 people – was followed by Japanese military glory and its rise as one of the world’s superpowers. Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – which also destroyed both cities killing roughly 200,000 people – was followed by Japanese economic prosperity and its emergence as the world’s largest economy. Every time they fall, they rise up stronger. And I believe such characteristic shows the grandeur of the nation.&nbsp;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Crisis tests our strength. Whether on our management of crisis or standing up on our feet in the midst of it – crisis could be an inevitable challenge at any point in our life. Some break down; others prevail. With wise but unpopular, “controlled information” strategy, Japanese government did not escalate the existing natural crisis by averting socio-economic crisis. Secondly, Japanese philosophy of seeing opportunities in times of crisis needs to be appreciated by the business minds. It is this attitude that brought the country from bottom rock to a leading position. On the whole, one could expect a better tomorrow if a crisis is managed smartly.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><i>[Acharya grew up in Tokyo, Japan and attended St Mary’s International School. He is currently a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) student at Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM). He can be reached via email at saujanya820@gmail.com.]</i></span></div>',
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			'id' => '489',
			'article_category_id' => '57',
			'title' => 'Savvy: Everything In Your Car October 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div>
	<div style="text-align: justify;">
		<strong>By Sujan Tiwari</strong></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Do better things always cost more? Not always. With Proton Savvy, safety, style, performance and convenience can be yours at an unbeatable price. Brought in Nepal by Constant Business Group, the Savvy is a brand new product in the automobile market of Nepal.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	At Rs 2,125,000, it is hard to find a better deal than the Savvy hatchback. Savvy has five doors, 15 inch alloy wheels, extensive safety features, good audio system, body coloured exterior components and the list goes on.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Savvy is made by Malaysian automakers Proton and features a Campro engine. Campro is the first automotive engine developed together by Proton and the auto giant Lotus.&nbsp;The Campro engine is developed to show Proton's ability to make their own engines that produce good power output and meet newer emission standards. The 4-cylinder, in line, SOHC Multi point injection 1149 cc engine produces a maximum power of 74 hp at 5500 rpm and a maximum torque of 105Nm at 4250 rpm. Savvy boasts a top speed of 170km/h and can go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 12.6 seconds, and that too with exceptional handling.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Regarding the design, the engineers at Proton tried to produce a small car that offered practicality, fuel economy, generous space and great all round performance. Now, it can be said they achieved it all. Achieving these goals involved engineering a new, stronger and more rigid platform, resulting in a vehicle that offers superior handling, balance and responsiveness. The Savvy has a lot to offer for its low entry price, strong equipment levels, looks, performance and economy.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<img align="left" alt="car" border="1" height="151" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/car(1).jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="400" /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The design is eye catching and is sure to turn heads as you drive by in the compact stylish and irresistible Proton Savvy. Savvy's stylish exterior projects a look of young, spirited and energetic car with its stylish curves and the attractive hood lid. It has an integrated headlamp unit with turn signals and additional halogen front fog lamps. Savvy has a spacious interior with 50/50 split fold rear seats with fold flat rear seats cushions for increased load capacity and practicality. The interior is as stylish as the curvaceous exterior, which is complemented with aluminum highlights on the steering wheel, gear shifter and dashboard. There are conveniences like a powerful air-conditioning system, power window and custom built Clarion audio system with a built in CD player and FM/AM.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The Proton Savvy is built sturdy and strong to protect you in many ways as it exceeds international safety regulations of the European community. The body of Savvy is built from strong L3 galvanized steel and is designed with crumple zone protection. Savvy offers side impact protection with side reinforcement bar. It got 3 star rating in Euro NCAP testing and has met international crash safety regulations.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The Savvy has enhanced suspension dynamics ensuring a responsive drive. With the Savvy, Proton has developed an incredibly light yet strong small car that delivers a perfect ride and handling. On the front, it has McPherson strut with coil springs, and stabilizer bar and on the rear, it has torsion beam axle.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Savvy takes you where you want to go in comfort and style, whether it's in city or enjoying a winding hilly road. With its outstanding features, Savvy has been able to receive two known Car of the Year  awards from two ASEAN countries, including the Cars, Bikes &amp; Trucks New Straits Times/Am Bank Group 2006 Car of the Year Award in the Supermini category, and the Best City Car award at the 6th Indonesian Car of the Year 2007 awards. Proton Savvy also has been voted among Thailand's top 10 cars in 2008 by The Nation daily's car writers.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<br />
	 </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	The Savvy is also recognized in the Malaysian Book of Records as the most fuel-efficient car in Malaysia during an on-road test by Proton with an average fuel consumption of about 24 km/l. Here in Nepal, the car gives a mileage of 16 to 18 km/l in the city and 20 to 22 on the highways, the company claims.</div>',
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		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '506',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Industries Rob NEA Of Rs 70 Million',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">It has been revealed that 81 industrial customers of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have stolen electricity worth Rs 70 million. The revelation came after a team from NEA’s Electricity Leakage Control Division inspected the Time of the Day (ToD) electricity meters of the industrial and business customers in Dhading, Gorkha, Kawasoti, Bharatpur, Tandi, Simara and Birgunj last month. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">“The inspection of the ToD meters of these clients also showed that 15 million units of electricity was not billed due to under-billing or leakage and pilferage,” said NEA Executive Directive Dipendra Nath Sharma, “Based on the prevailing tariff rates and the demand concession, the amount that the NEA needs to recover from these clients for stolen electricity totals around Rs 70 million.” <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The industries which have stolen electricity by tampering ToD meters include KP Cement, Nirapus Plastic Industry, Safari Adventure Lodge, Shree Simran Crusher Industry, Koshi Gas Industry, Ghimire Furniture and Popular Rice Mill. These industries were found to have tampered with their ToD meters to steal electricity. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There are 4,000 ToD meters in use by industries and business houses across the country. Sharma informed that NEA was planning to install GPRS equipment at all these ToD meters so that the NEA headquarters would be able to calculate the exact units of electricity used by these customers. “We will have installed this equipment at all ToD meters within the next one year. We have now intensified the campaign to control electricity leakage in the industrial corridor,” said Sharma.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
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			'description' => 'It has been revealed that 81 industrial customers of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) have stolen electricity worth Rs 70 million.',
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			'title' => 'DDC Raising Capacity',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) is planning to expand the capacity of milk processing centre at Balaju. Siyaram Prasad Singh, Deputy General Manager of DDC said that the capacity is being expanded to meet the growing demand of dairy products. According to Singh, Rs 140 million is being invested for the expansion which will increase the capacity from the current 110,000 litres per day (LPD) to 250,000 LPD. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The works under the expansion project will commence within this fiscal year, he added. Similarly, DDC is planning to set up a new plant at Khumaltar for producing dairy products other than milk, such as 30,000 litres of yoghurt, 3,000 litres of ice-cream, 1,000 kilograms of cottage cheese per day.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
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			'description' => 'Dairy Development Corporation (DDC) is planning to expand the capacity of milk processing centre at Balaju. Siyaram Prasad Singh,',
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			'id' => '504',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'ICRG Warns Nepal, Again',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Nepal received yet another warning from the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) over its slow progress in putting effective anti-money laundering (AML) measures in place. A meeting of ICRG held in Malaysia in the third week of September warned Nepal to fulfil all AML-related commitments in time and it categorically said that Nepal’s deadline to do so will not be extended again. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">“The ICRG meeting decided not to give any extra time to Nepal to meet its AML commitments which should have been fulfilled by December 2010,” said Nepal Rastra Bank Deputy Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari who participated in the meeting. Though Nepal endorsed an AML law recently, it has yet to implement Anti-Organised Crime Act, Mutual Legal Assistance Act and Extradition Act, which, according to the ICRG are effective measures against money laundering. While the draft of the Act against Organised Crime is under discussion at the Cabinet, the other two laws are awaiting Parliament’s approval. The meeting, according to Adhikari, also expressed dissatisfaction over certain provisions of the AML Act endorsed by Nepal’s Legislature-Parliament some four months ago. “The meeting concluded that the language of Nepal’s AML law is vague at many places while many of its provisions are inadequate, and thus, do not meet international standards. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">So it has asked Nepal to amend certain provisions and also include some new provisions in the Act,” said Adhikari. ICRG’s pressure to draft a more stringent AML law comes at a time when Nepal’s private sector has been protesting the existing law calling it “too stringent”. Adhikari informed that ICRG has directed Nepal to include provisions for seizing the properties of the people suspected of money laundering and confiscating them at the end if such people are found guilty. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">“The ICRG meeting has directed Nepal to amend the existing AML law by June 2013 to include such provisions,” said Adhikari. Asking Nepal to consider organised crimes as equivalent to terrorist activities, the meeting has stressed on the formulation and implementation of strong legal measures to counter terrorist financing.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal received yet another warning from the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) under the Financial Action Task Force',
			'sortorder' => '410',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
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			'in_scroller' => false,
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		)
	),
	(int) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '503',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'NS Quality Award 2011',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img align="left" alt="" height="115" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ns quality.jpg" vspace="5" width="150" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology has presented Nepal Standard (NS) Quality Award 2011 to five industries on the occassion of 42nd World Standards Day. Gorkha Brewery received this award for its beer and beverages. Similarly, Probiotic Industries Pvt Ltd, a poultry feed industry, received the award in medium industries category. Cristal Product Pvt Ltd received NS award under small industries group. This industry in Hetauda produces HDPE pipes. Likewise, Hulas Wire Industries, a GI wire producer, and Swastik Oil Industries, a refined soybean oil producer each were given letter of appreciation.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology has presented Nepal Standard (NS) Quality Award 2011 to five industries on the occassion of 42nd World Standards Day.',
			'sortorder' => '409',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 4 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '502',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal’s Population Reaches 26.6 Million',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">First time in four decades, the average annual population growth rate of Nepal has slipped below two percent. The preliminary result of 11th national population census has revealed that the annual population growth rate in the last decade was 1.4 per cent only from 2.25 in the 2001 census. Making public the preliminary findings of the census, the Central Bureau of Statistics, announced that the total population of Nepal is now 26,620,809. When the absentee population (those who were away from the country during the census) is included in this, the number goes up to 28.6 million. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The census was conducted during the June 17-27, 2011. According to the initial report of census, decline in birth rate is the main reason in decrease of population growth rate. Large chunk of youth population being out of the country for various reasons is presumed to be the major cause for this decline. The initial result of 11th census shows that the population has increased by 15 per cent in a decade. Similarly, the average household size has declined to 4.7 from 5.44 in 2001. The female population is 765,000 more than male population. Thus the female population comprises of 51.44 per cent of total population. According to the report, the population of male and female in Nepal is 12,927,431 and 13,693,378 respectively. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Likewise, the population density has increased to 181 per square kilometres. Population density of Kathmandu is the highest with 4408 while Manang has the lowest with just three persons in a square kilometre. The urban population constitutes about 17 percent of the total population. More than half of the total population lives in Terai followed by Hill and Mountain region. According to CBS, most populated district is Kathmandu followed by Morang, Rupandehi, Jhapa and Kailali. Similarly, the least populated district is Manang followed by Mustang, Dolpa, Rasuwa and Humla.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'First time in four decades, the average annual population growth rate of Nepal has slipped below two percent',
			'sortorder' => '408',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 5 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '501',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal Improves On Doing Business  Indicators',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Contrary to general perceptions, the overall business environment in Nepal has improved, according to the IFC-World Bank joint report Doing Business 2012 made public recently. Based on data collected during the period from June 2010 through May 2011, the report shows that though Nepal's situation has deteriorated in five indicators compared to the previous year, it has improved in other four indicators and remained unchanged in one indicator thus lifting the overall ranking by three places to 107 from 110 of the previous report. This is a good news to the present government which has announced plan to observe the year 2012-13 as Investment Year. Nepal's overall ranking was going down for the last few years continuously. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Globally, Singapore has ranked as number one in Doing Business followed by Hong Kong, New Zealand and United States. Among the South Asian region's economies, Bangladesh's rank fell from 118 to 122 while Maldives deteriorated from 78 to 79. However, the ranks of Bhutan (146 to 142), India (139 to 132) and Sri Lanka (98 to 89) improved. South Asian economies have an opportunity to increase access to information for entrepreneurs, said Sylvia Solf, lead author of the report. One route is new technology, which is increasingly used by governments to provide electronic services for filing taxes or registering businesses. This not only enhances efficiency but opens opportunities to increase transparency. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The most striking improvement in Nepal was in dealing with construction permits, according to the report, which shows that while Nepal was ranked 161 last year in this count, it has moved to 140 this year. Other areas of improvement are getting electricity, payng taxes and resolving insolvency while there was deterioration in the areas of starting a business, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors and trading across borders.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '2012-10-31',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Contrary to general perceptions, the overall business environment in Nepal has improved, according to the IFC-World Bank joint report Doing Business 2012 made public recently.',
			'sortorder' => '407',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 6 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '500',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Self Declaration Of Property In Limbo',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The scheme proposed by by this year’s budget to allow the self declaration of property is in limbo as the programme is deemed to be detrimental to country’s international commitment on anti money laundering. Declaring the property without investigating the source of it is against such international commitment. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">A source at the Ministry of Finance said that there is least chance of ‘self declaration of property’ to be announced this year. The source claimed that the attempt of the government to be flexible on property declaration has almost failed as the criteria set by the Financial Task Force cannot be violated. Krishna Hari Baskota, Finance Secretary also accepted the fact that it would be difficult to implement the voluntary declaration of property as proposed in the budget. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The government stepped back from its previous promise of announcing such sheme in fear that international organisations working against money laundering might blacklist Nepal. Bangladesh had withdrawn similar programme after the warning of Asia Pacific Group, a network of countries working on anti money laundering.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The scheme proposed by by this year’s budget to allow the self declaration of property is in limbo',
			'sortorder' => '406',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 7 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '499',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'World Bank Releases Interim Strategy For Nepal',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched a two years Interim Strategy for assistance in Nepal’s transitional phase and peace building. Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun released the strategy named, Interim Strategy Note for Nepal, for fiscal year 2012 and 2013 on October 18 in Kathmandu. The strategy promises to continue WBG efforts to achieve durable peace with investments in development and poverty reduction. “Given the transitional nature of Nepal’s current situation, with a new constitution being drafted and elections to follow, the World Bank Group has prepared a new Interim Strategy Note for Nepal,” reads the press statement issued by WBG. The strategy is formulated considering the Government of Nepal’s Three Year Plan. WBG says, “The interim strategy sets out some basic parameters of the WBG programme but still retains the flexibility to deal with the birth of a new republic. The strategy reflects considerable continuity, building on programs with successful track records that are adapted to local conditions.” The strategy emphasises greater selectivity, focusing on areas considered vital to Nepal’s development and complementing programs supported by other development partners. According to WBG, agriculture, infrastructure and social development are in top priority. The World Bank has decided to allocate US $ 400 million for two fiscal years. The aid will be provided through bank’s International Development Association (IDA), the concessionary financing arm. However, the size of the assistance will depend on Nepal’s good performance and successful economic management, according to WBG. These funds would be invested in four to five new operations per year. Similarly, World Bank has projected Nepal’s Gross Domestic Production growth to remain at three per cent for the fiscal year 2011/12.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched a two years Interim Strategy for assistance in Nepal’s transitional phase',
			'sortorder' => '405',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 8 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '498',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Nepal Energy Investors Forum',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai opened the Nepal Energy Investors Forum on 13 October organised jointly by the Government of Nepal and Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Forum was organised for promoting private sector investment in hydropower development in Nepal. Senior officials from the Government of Nepal, along with business leaders, bankers, financiers, power developers and traders, development partners and civil society members attended the two-days-long forum to discuss investment in the hydropower sector in Nepal. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">Addressing the Forum, Dr Bhattarai stressed the importance of private sector investment for the development of Nepal’s hydropower sector and said, “I would like to assure all investing and financing communities, domestic and foreign, that our policies are naturally geared towards being as investment friendly as possible.” The Prime Minister invited every potential developer to invest freely in hydropower projects in Nepal without any fear of expropriation. Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun, Energy Minister Posta Bahadur Bogati and Vice President of ADB Xiaoyu Zhao also addressed the Forum. The two-day event facilitated discussions on risks associated with undertaking hydropower projects in Nepal and to explore innovative financing mechanisms.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai opened the Nepal Energy Investors Forum on 13 October organised',
			'sortorder' => '404',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 9 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '497',
			'article_category_id' => '34',
			'title' => 'Beetle’s Nepal-India Friendship Drive',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;"><img align="left" alt="" height="215" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/beetles.jpg" vspace="5" width="312" />“Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011” organised by the Association of Nepal Beetle Users Group (ANBUG) concluded successfully on September 13. The closing ceremony was held on 27 September in which the visual show of the trip was highlighted. Gopal Sunder Lal Kakshapati, Founder President of ANBUG said, “We created history as a motor rally that originated in Nepal crossed Nepal’s international border for the first time.” ‘Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011’ was flagged off at Kathmandu by Jayanta Prasad, Indian Ambassador to Nepal on 6 September and reached Gangtok, the capital of Indian state of Sikkim via Kakarvitta border point in Jhapa district.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Lamichhane New NRNA Prez</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The fifth global convention of Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) unanimously elected Jiba Lamicchane to its apex post. The erstwhile Vice President was elected unopposed to the post of President after contender Dev Man Hirachan withdrew his candidacy at the elevent hour. For 20 posts, 34 had filed candidacy while six of them were elected unanimously. Capt Hitman Gurung and Rameshwar Shah were elected to the post of Vice President. Similarly, Tenzi Sherpa, Tek Bahadur Karki, Bhaban Bhatta and Hem Raj Sharma were elected to the posts of General Secretary, Secretary, Treasurer and Spokesperson respectively.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">SAARC Business Leaders’ Conclave</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" height="103" hspace="3" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/saarc.jpg" vspace="3" width="216" />The 4th SAARC Business Leaders Conclave (SBLC) held in Kathmandu during 20-22 September with the theme of “Peace and Prosperity through Regional Connectivity” concluded by adopting a 9-point Kathmandu Declaration. President Dr Ram Baran Yadav inaugurated the three-day conclave jointly organised by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). The conclave was attended by over 500 participants including business and political leaders, academia and experts from eight SAARC nations. The participants of the conclave stressed on the need for enhanced regional connectivity to achieve peace and prosperity in the region as envisioned in the doctrine of Regional Connectivity 2010-2020. Private sectors, experts and business leaders agreed to urge the governments in the region to harmonise customs procedures. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">They also stressed on the mutual recognition of standards and certifications, implementation of Regional Motor Vehicle Transport Agreement and Open Sky Policy linking major cities in the region and implementation of a common SAARC Energy Policy. The Kathmandu Declaration proposed the implementation of SAARC Transit Agreement, Shipment Agreement, Logistics Agreements, and ICT Agreement to make SAFTA a workable mechanism which will lead to Customs Union. Anisul Haq, President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce, recognised water, energy, climate change, food security, tourism, and investment as common priority concerns. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">He urged for more connectivity in the region by resolving conflicts among member states. Pradip Kumar Shrestha, Vice-President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce, underscored that the future of the entire South-Asian region is in the hands of young entrepreneurs. “Young entrepreneurs are growing in South Asia, the business leaders should support them to take the lead,” said Shrestha. The conclave vowed urgent implementation of Regional Environment Treaty, activation of SAARC Food Bank and proposed to set up a SAARC Disaster Management Institute to mitigate the impacts of natural calamities and climate change. The business community of the region also recommended signing of a Regional Investment Treaty.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="color: rgb(238, 130, 238);"><strong><span style="font-size: 18px;">Ambuja, Dugar Invest in Dang Cement</span></strong></span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size:14px;">India’s Ambuja Cement Ltd and Nepal’s HC Dugar Group have bought Dang Cement Industries Pvt Ltd (DCIPL). Ambuja is now the majority shareholder of DCIPL with 80 per cent ownership. Dugar Group makes up for the remaining 20 per cent. DCIPL obtained the license for producing one million tons of cement per annum in 2003 but could not begin production for various reasons. “The construction of the physical infrastructures of the company will begin soon after the Tihar to become the largest cement factory of Nepal in terms of production capacity,” said DCIPL Chairman Bijay Dugar. According to sources, Ambuja and Dugar jointly bought DCIPL for Rs 300 million in April this year. It is learnt that Ambuja is planning to invest billions of rupees in the company that has an authorised capital of Rs six billion at present. “Currently, the cement companies with half the production capacity of DCIPL have an investment of three to four billion rupees. So, there is no doubt that DCIPL will have an investment of much more,” added Dugar. Ambuja Cement’s 50 per cent shares are owned by Swiss company HOLCIM, a global leader in cement production and supply. DCIPL was incorporated on May 27, 2003 by lawmaker and industrialist Surya Bahadur KC and others with the objective to produce Portland and other types of cement. As that group could not set up the plant, it was taken over by the new investors. Dugar said that DCIPL will mine limestone on its own to produce clinker. He also informed that technicians and top officials from HOLCIM and Ambuja will visit the industry site before Tihar. “The construction will begin soon after their inspection visit,” informed Dugar.</span></p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '0000-00-00',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => '“Nepal-India Friendship Drive 2011” organised by the Association of Nepal Beetle Users Group (ANBUG) concluded successfully on September 13.',
			'sortorder' => '403',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
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		)
	),
	(int) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '494',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Manufacruting Prospect Unharnessed',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<img alt="" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/Manufacturing.jpg" style="width: 524px; height: 585px;" /></p>
<p>
	A long-term vision for the Nepali Manufacturing Sector, known as vision 2020, prepared jointly by Nepal government, UNDP and UNIDO in 2002 had proposed to pursue a two-pronged industrialization strategy aimed at rural, agro-based industrialization, and formal urban-based industrial development. But a decade down the lane, nothing seems to be moving to the vision encapsulated then. The strategy proposed then as prioritising export-oriented labour-intensive manufacturing industries and tourism-related exotic products, where Nepal already enjoys considerable comparative advantage, still sounds equally relevant (see box for 2020 goals). But its proposal of raising the contribution of the sector to GDP from 10 to 20 per cent by 2020 appears highly unrealistic given its contribution of just about 7 per cent of GDP in FY 2010/11. From national economic standpoint, manufacturing has universally accepted double-edged goals -- consumption and/or exports. As Nepal is way below in meeting her consumers demand on virtually all sorts of items, and has equally good potential for export of various products, Nepalâ's manufacturing prospects, at least in theory, are truly bright.</p>
<p>
	It is because Nepali productions can replace the import in the domestic market and also have scope of export to rapidly growing neighbouring markets of India and, also China. Although the import to export trade ratio of Nepal in terms of value stands at 7:1, some of the Nepali produce like iron and steel products, acrylic yarn, hand-made woolen carpets, readymade garments and tea and coffee are faring well in international markets.</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/goals for 2020.jpg" style="width: 468px; height: 400px;" /></p>
<p>
	The history of manufacturing in Nepal is not very long. The Nepal Companies Act, 1936 provided basis for incorporation of industrial enterprises which in fact had provisions for joint-ventures and public sector industries. The most tangible outcome of this Act was establishment of Biratnagar Jute Mills, a collaborative venture of Indian and Nepalese entrepreneurs. The Mill is considered first manufacturing unit of industrial scale in Nepal. But the said Act had no provision for private limited companies until it was reformed in 1951.</p>
<p>
	This new act encouraged the establishment of ninety-two new private joint stock companies between 1952 and 1964. The Industrial Enterprises Act of 1974 enacted in the heydays of panchayat polity also recognized role of the private sector in the industrial growth. But the panchayat regime continued the policy of protecting the public sector production over the private one, which in fact constricted the desired growth of the sector. Establishment of about a dozen industrial estates including at Patan, Balaju, Hetauda, Pokhara, Dharan, Butawal, and Nepalganj in the 1980s certainly contributed to create an organized industrial atmosphere. Several modern industries with large manufacturing plants to produce jute, sugar, cigarettes, beer, matches, shoes, chemicals, cement, and bricks were installed. The garment and carpet production units in much diffused fashion spread in the Kathmandu valley and surrounding areas, targeted at export production. By the end of last fiscal year, number of manufacturing units registered under the Department of Industries has crossed well above 2,000. This not only shows that investment and industrialization has expanded but also that the internal market of Nepali products has grown substantially. Of late, private sector investment in manufacturing of cement, sugar and items of daily use has increased significantly. Western district of Dang is developing as the ‘cement city’ as at least a half-dozen large cement companies are all set to begin production pretty soon. Many would like to categorize the hydropower units also as manufacturing. In that case, it can be claimed that Nepal’s manufacturing sector has been able to attract quite large amount of investment, mainly from the private sector. Still, very weak positioning of Nepali exports --due to lack of diversification, market research and identification</p>
<p>
	and, choice of low-value high-volume products -- has not been helpful for both manufacturing and trade balance. The share of main Nepali export in the global market has been limited in quantity and value, and thus been unable to create their own sectoral economies of scale. The policy conundrum is still a major bottleneck. In many sectors, public enterprises continue to play dominant role which is very often than not inviting unfair market play by government intervention. Price distortion is the major resultant effect that in turn is discouraging the private sector investment, at least in the sectors where the government is directly involved. Recent successive governments with mainly socialist tilts have made the situation even more confusing, as their policies lacked clarity in private property, entrepreneurship and profit making.</p>
<p>
	Even beyond political spectrum, challenges of facilitating the growth of manufacturing sector are many. On the supply side, Nepal’s physical infrastructure, especially electricity supply, roads and use of up-to-date technology are inadequate to support a modern manufacturing sector so that it becomes capable of quickly responding to trends in world market demands for manufactured products. As the newest problem, lack of manpower is another bottleneck due to labour migration to foreign countries. Departing from a conventional thinking, identifying afresh new niche and competitive products is also a striking need of the day. Strategies for trade, policies and investment can follow.</p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2011-11-15',
			'modified' => '2012-08-23',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'A long-term vision for the Nepali Manufacturing Sector, known as vision 2020, prepared jointly by Nepal government, UNDP and UNIDO in 2002 had proposed to pursue a two-pronged industrialization strategy aimed at rural, agro-based industrialization, and formal urban-based industrial development. But a decade down the lane, nothing seems to be moving to the vision encapsulated then.',
			'sortorder' => '402',
			'image' => null,
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			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	),
	(int) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '496',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Manufacturers Are Treated As Criminals In This Country',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<p>
	<strong>BIPPA should have been signed with India a couple of years ago because it is our nearest neighbour and the largest foreign investor in the country. BIPPA will be a milestone agreement as it promises added security to the Indian investors.<br />
	<br />
	<br />
	</strong></p>
<p>
	<strong><img align="left" alt="coverstory" border="1" height="225" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/diwakar golchha.jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="200" /></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How will the recent BIPPA agreement help in promoting the manufacturing sector? </strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	BIPPA should have been signed with India a couple of years ago because it is our nearest neighbour and the largest foreign investor in the country. BIPPA will be a milestone agreement as it promises added security to the Indian investors. Manufacturing sector today has the biggest setback because of electricity problem. In this context, Indian investors have committed around 3,500 MW power generation in this country. In the second round of power summit going to be held in Kathmandu, we expect another 4-5,000 MW of electricity production commitment. Today, India is one of the largest international investors in the region and last year, Indian investors invested US $ 43 billion outside India. So, there is every reason for them to invest in Nepal as we are their nearest country where they will produce electricity and take to India. BIPPA, along with other agreements, shows a long term commitment of India towards Nepal.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How do you analyse the Nepali manufacturing sector and its growth trend?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	In recent years, the manufacturing sector has been neglected because of various reasons. It was neither in the priority of the government nor was there a concern to protect the domestic investments. So, many industries have shut down in the past seven to eight years. Our industries that had significant annual achievements are registering negative growth for a couple of years now. That is because of the wrong attitude of the bureaucracy and of course, none of the politicians are concerned. For the first time in the last 15 years, Nepali Industrialists have revived the hope they had lost after Dr Baburam Bhattarai became the Prime Minister. Manufacturers are treated as criminals in this country, which is why the entire investment climate is in dire straits. Even the facilities committed by the act of 1990 were denied and later withdrawn which is a betrayal to this sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Which is the most appropriate sector for manufacturing for Nepal? Why do you think this specific sector is not much developed as expected?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	There are so many products necessary to be manufactured in Nepal. Unless the climate for manufacturing and attitude of bureaucrats do not change and unless there is a strong body that can understand the multiplier effects of investment and language of economy, one cannot think of industrialisation. We have discussed the issues and problems we faced after 2000, with Dr Bhattarai. We are hopeful that the industrial revolution will take off after 2012-2013. Many sectors may revive provided there is lowered cost of production and cheaper cost of doing business transactions. There are numerous harassments like high finance cost, no electricity, and so many other reasons due to which industries do not come up. Unless there is power, nobody is going to put money into industry. I will not recommend anybody, at least in my family, to go for manufacturing at this point in time.&nbsp;</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	 </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Everybody is complaining that Nepal does not have a suitable industrial environment. Golchha Organisation is one of the most successful corporate houses focused on manufacturing. How are you managing it?</strong> <img align="right" alt="" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/golchha2.jpg" style="text-align: justify; width: 153px; height: 239px;" vspace="5" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	Successes and failures are always part of one’s life. If we are suffering because of the wrong attitude of the government, we might want to close down some industries so that it can give a message. We had to close down Sri Bhrikuti Pulp and Paper Nepal Limited because of the wrong attitude of the government. We are going to close down another important industry, Sri Nepal Boards Ltd due to the same reason. The successive governments thought that importing goods gets them more revenue which they can spend on regular expenses. However, that will leave the country’s development in lurch. There is no desire in the government for development of this country, the only desire is to garner more revenue and enjoy it. At this moment, Golchha Organisation is doing very well with its trading businesses. Trading involves more than 50 per cent of our total turnover while the service sector has around five per cent share and the remaining makes up for our manufacturing concerns.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>How long do you think such a situation will persist in the country?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	It requires visionary leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore and Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia to build successful economies. We have our hopes pinned on Dr Bhattarai and we do see similar capabilities in him. If he could remain the Prime Minister of Nepal for the next 10 years, we believe that he can transform this country. But first and foremost, he should begin with a total transformation of the bureaucracy in Nepal.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Large corporate houses are shifting to the service sector. What is the reason behind it ? <br />
	</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	The Nepali people have enhanced their buying power today by virtue of remittance. They want better services and can spend money for that. Service is a sector where you have the possibility of a quick return without making a heavy investment like in an industry. Though are small hurdles like power shortage, strikes and blockades that are affecting this sector as well, it can still manage on its own. That is why the service sector is bound to develop and people are flocking for this sector.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Can a country sustain based on imported goods only as corporate houses and industries are shifting to service sector from manufacturing?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	There is always a phase like this and ultimately, the nation will have no alternative. Unless you have a manufacturing sector, how much service can you possibly sell? Everything has a limitation so the service sector too will reach a saturation point. Ultimately, when there is a possibility of easy investment and return, competition to make a mark in the manufacturing sector will intensify. There has to be balance in everything because nothing can grow imbalanced. You cannot say that one sector will grow and another sector is not required.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>Why are there very little measures to promote goods that have comparative and competitive advantages?</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	At the moment, Nepal has no comparative advantage whatsoever. Once we have sufficient power, labourers more inclined towards working rather than politics, banking sector more favourable for investment, a favourable government and its economy-friendly policies, we will have comparative advantages. Unless these logistics are there, one cannot compete. Today, in India, there are industries that are 20 times bigger than what we have in our country. Given India’s automation and advancement, it is difficult for us to compete with our older and manual technology. So, it is almost impossible to achieve higher cost advantage and efficiency in Nepal. If the policies are correct and the sizes of operation are reasonable, we will definitely compete.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<strong>There are duplications even with the limited size of the Nepali manufacturing sector. How sustainable is it and what are your suggestions to control such duplications?</strong> Duplication has been the phenomenon of the entire world. Nepal is not the only country which faces this problem. There are some industries who lead with original ideas and some others who follow. Only time can tell whether such practices will succeed or not. The capable ones will sustain and the incapable ones will take their own path. Investors have to think which sector they have to go, you can’t push your product. Once there is a pull factor, you will produce more because if you try to push things, you will never get the desired results. The market is the best judge to accept or not to accept such practices.&nbsp;</p>',
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			'title' => 'Industrial Development Is Impossible Without Basic Infrastructure',
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			'content' => '<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What is the present status of the manufacturing sector in Nepal?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The market for both consumable goods and durables has been growing and expanding in the international arena. Growth of manufacturing sector ensures overall economic growth. As a result, demand for both consumable goods and capital goods increases. Demand of consumable and capital goods has been growing globally. That is why we can say that the manufacturing sector has been growing the world over. But the problem is that though the demand for these goods is rising globally, production of these goods has centred around booming economies like China and India. As far as Nepal is concerned, we are in a very sorry state in manufacturing sector. Leave alone the possibility of expansion; even the goods that we used to manufacture in our own country have been displaced. For example, we used to produce fabrics in our country but Chinese readymade clothing available at cheaper prices has now replaced them. There were about 35 factories owned by the government but most of these public sector industries have shut down. We were the third largest jute producers in the world at one point of time. The health of our oldest factory, Biratnagar Jute Mill, has been deteriorating with the production and profit of this factory nosediving. The carpet industry used to contribute 20-22 per cent towards our national income but this percentage has been witnessing a downward trend. The contribution of the private sector is not very satisfactory. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="cover story" border="1" height="308" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bholanath pokheral.jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="250" /><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How do you analyse the growth of the manufacturing sector in Nepal? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Had our factories used our own resources or inputs, it would have yielded high value. But our manufacturing industry has been providing more of an assembling facility to intermediary products that we bring from international market rather than producing goods by ourselves. If we analyse the history of the growth of manufacturing sector in Nepal, the industrial development that began from the 1980s started to expand from 1990's revolution with the radical shift in power and the country adopting the path of democracy and liberalism. We had significant growth in the manufacturing sector from 1995 to 2002. The growth was up to 20 per cent. But after 2002, the contribution of manufacturing sector has been even lesser than the contribution of agriculture. Nepal hasn’t been able to exploit its position between the two economic giants. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What are the impediments for investing in the manufacturing sector? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Like water, capital flows to a place where there is favourable investment environment. The movement of capital can neither be controlled nor stopped. We have been witnessing that the factories that were opened in our country have now shifted to places like Himachal Pradesh in India because the environment of Nepal is not investment-friendly. A number of causes are responsible for this local market, international market, labour issues, tax policy, political instability, insecurity, lack of basic infrastructure etc. The private sector claims that labour issues and government bureaucracy are the key hurdles for industrial growth. Nepal's labour productivity is one of the lowest in the world and lack of skilled manpower has been the greatest challenge for industries. The labour situation is so bad that they are hiring Indian nationals to run their industries. Besides, there are labour unions to worsen the situation. Energy crisis is another major problem for us as we have to face 18 to 20 hours power outage a day. This goes to prove that we donâte have consistent policies and the policies change with every new government that takes charge. Cartels and syndicates are some other problems that plague the sector. Lack of basic infrastructures like roads, water, etc is something that we all know about. Industrial development is impossible without these basic infrastructures. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>A lot of corporate houses previously involved in manufacturing have been shifting to the service sector. Can an economy sustain based on the service sector and imported goods?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">According to economic theories, the growth in the size of an economy results in the expansion of its service sector. Investment moves from one sector to another on the basis of two factors: risk and profit. At present, investment in the manufacturing sector involves very high risk as there are number of impediments involved. Most of our industries are located in the three industrial corridors of Nepal first, from Itahari to Rani, the second from Hetauda to Birgunj and the third from Butwal to Sunauli because these places have better arrangement of infrastructures like roads, water and electricity connection. So, even though an economy cannot sustain with a growth in the service sector alone, capital has moved to this sector in Nepal as it involves less risk and high rate of return. Until the impediments are cleared, investment in manufacturing sector will not materialise.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Why can’t agriculture be developed as an important industry in our country? Our agriculture sector has not been able to create demand because it is not vibrant enough. The greatest challenge in the agriculture sector is the labour problem. Youths have left their villages for opportunities in the cities or outside the country and fertile lands have either turned barren or have shifted to permanent cropping. The consumption demand is growing in the villages due to remittance inflow and not because of the contribution of agriculture. <br />
	</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>How can we reach the level of sustainability or even export Nepal's manufactured goods to the international market?</strong> <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">There are a few aspects to consider before we think about expanding the market of our products to the international level. The first is the quality of our products. Can our products stand on the same level compared to similar products available in the international market? Can we sell our products at a competitive price? For this, the cost of production should be low. High labour and management efficiency in addition to cheap capital can decrease the production cost. But, the scenario in our country is just the opposite and hence, there are a very few products with this possibility. Take the example of honey which we used to export to Europe not too long ago. But Europe no longer accepts our honey as they found traces of insecticides in it. We don’t have a facility to test it and certify that our honey is pure. Similarly, Nepalis in general do not show strong trait of entrepreneurship. One of the economics theories states that a refugee has a greater possibility of becoming a good entrepreneur than any other person. Even the history shows that people who have left their countries with a determination to go through hardships have become successful entrepreneurs. Second, the theory claims that certain caste or creed have better entrepreneurial skills than others. Nepali entrepreneurs belonging to Thakali and Newar castes have not been able to groom themselves as international businessmen like the Marwaris have. Most of the countries in the world have China Towns that are famous for Chinese food. In the same manner, Thakalis too can promote their authentic dishes in the international market. The Nepalis in general should also use their natural skills and groom themselves to earn respect in the international arena. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>Despite all these barriers, do you see possibilities that can take Nepal on the way to prosperity?</strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">One sector with tremendous possibility is limestone as we are very rich in this resource. If we can use limestone and subsitute the import of cement, we can save a considerable amount of foreign currency. However, this sector hasn't developed the way it should have. Besides limestone, hydropower, tourism, medicinal herbs etc are other possibilities that we can explore. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>When will we actually have favourable industrial and investment environment?</strong></span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Political stability only can ensure favourable industrial and investment environment because it will ensure stable economic policies. But that is not enough. Investment will get attracted only when we have consistent policies and programmes and when the government is clear about private investments. The risk factor is high during political instability so let's hope that we achieve the same through constitution, an election and formation of a stable government. Though the country is following this path, the progress has been very slow. Similarly, labourers should be clear about both their rights and responsibilities. They are presently acting more like the political parties wings rather than institutions that must fight for the rights of labours. Similarly, quality people living abroad must return to build their own country. The government can take an initiative in this regard by guaranteeing employment, security and welfare to them in Nepal. It's certainly going to take some time to sort out these issues but we must not lose hope and remain optimistic. <br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><strong>What is the prospect of Nepalâ's manufacturing sector? What are the remedial measures you would like to recommend? </strong><br />
	</span></p>
<p>
	<span style="font-size:14px;">There is no way out other than utilising our competitive advantage. The greatest competitive advantage of Nepal is its location between the two emerging economic giants. We can certainly facilitate trade between China and India and at the same time, expand our economy by participating in theirs. We donâte have vast natural resources and the only resource we can take pride in is water, however, it is not a secured resource as it is in the grip of climate change. Tourism can be developed as a big industry while specialisation in agriculture can be another possibility. If we can process our medicinal herbs in our own country, it can contribute significantly to our national economy. The trend so far is that we sell our raw-materials at very low prices while buying processed items very expensively. The practice of herding and limping is another hitch because it hurts specialisation. If these aspects could be corrected, we can imagine a prosperous economy in our country in the foreseeable future.</span></p>',
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			'title' => 'Crisis For The Better (October 2011)',
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	<div style="text-align: justify;">
		<strong><span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="right" alt="" border="2" hspace="5" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/saujanya.jpg" style="width: 124px; height: 160px;" vspace="5" />By Saujanya Acharya</span></strong></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">It has been roughly six months after the catastrophe caused by the quake along the coast of northern Japan. It was a terrifying day for the people across the world to see one of the economic giants drowning under the water and getting washed away. Well, it seems the nature spares nobody. Earthquake and tsunami were not the only problems. The nature also hit a devastating creation of man: a nuclear power plant. Hence, within a very short time span, the Japanese society had to face three different crises.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">The case of Japan provides a great study for the field of management: to be more precise, the handling of crisis in a large institution. When corner shops face a crisis, such as plummeting sales, decision making is quite simple as the options include whether to shut down the business, or keep operating at a lower cost level. However, at a larger scale, decision makers are asked for much more careful decision: one decision could trigger another problem in a chain effect.&nbsp;As far as crisis management is concerned, the Japanese government has been quite effective despite the public criticism – especially, from the international media.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Japanese government is criticized for its lack of information disclosure regarding the crisis in the nuclear power plants in Fukushima. It was only in the later stage of the crisis that the Japanese government finally admitted the situation to be as worse as that of Chernobyl – even though the level of crisis was apparent to them from the earlier stages. Such strategy seems dishonest on the part of the government. Yet, it has proved to be a wise one.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" border="2" hspace="2" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/oct-management.jpg" style="width: 404px; height: 245px;" vspace="2" />It was wise because the outcome of Japanese government’s honesty would have been quite catastrophic – as it could have invited unwanted havoc. Even with their strategy of concealing the information, there were some disturbances. For example, people started to flee the Japanese cities in the north. This phenomenon was seen also in Tokyo Metropolitan Area which was declared safe by the scientists. This panic was caused by the media which highlighted the impending disaster of nuclear crisis in a very speculative manner. Hence, massive exodus of population from the major surrounding cities would have been inevitable, had the government from the beginning admitted that the disaster level was at 5.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Argument against the government’s action would be on ethical grounds only. The government should be looking after the welfare of the society. People have the right to know what sort of danger they are in. Hence, when the Japanese government held the leverage tight for the flow of information, it was denying its citizens their right to know the truth. Later the then Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his cabinet members were heavily criticized for such decisions. Their reputation was quite tarnished.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Yet, sympathy goes to those decision makers. They were in dilemma. Releasing complete information at once would have caused unwarranted panic. This could have generated another wave of socio-economic tsunami. On the other hand, gradual disclosure of information, with careful observation of the populace would have invited allegations of dishonesty. After all, the government as an institution had to take maximum measures to make sure that the impact on life and property was minimum – even if it had to come at the cost of their honesty. At least they had been able to avert socio-economic turmoil that would have been caused had the people and businesses chose to leave Japan.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Similarly, in the corporate setting, there are times for the management to be better off adopting the “controlled information” policy. As soon as there is a premonition or hype of a crisis in a company, non-managerial workers as well as line managers would try to put themselves in their comfort zones – such as finding different jobs. The problem is that there is no rigorous assessment of the situation – only the mid level or top level managers do so. Hence, even if their neck is not on the line, those workers would try to find a way out – because of lack of understanding. This actually ends up creating a problem in the company – which resembles a nature of self fulfilling prophecy.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><img align="left" alt="" border="2" hspace="2" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/oct-management1.jpg" style="width: 404px; height: 190px;" vspace="2" />Instead, the management should try to avoid such panic among its workers. This does not allow them to exploit the workers through lack of information or misinformation. “Controlled information” strategy must take welfare of the workers as well as stability of the company into consideration.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">In short term, Japanese government somehow managed the crisis. But, what ahead ?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Japanese government would be asked for a lot more than just achieving stability. Being one of the economic giants, they have to be able to not only get out of the mess, but be back on its feet as one of the global economic powerhouses. Just like a star athlete getting back after a terrible injury, people appreciate a good comeback story.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">I believe the strength of a nation is shown by its response to crisis. When the earthquake hit, a friend of mine was in a supermarket in downtown Tokyo. The quake caused panic: goods fell on the ground, wine bottles shattered and racks collapsed on top of each other. Soon, it stopped shaking. And, people picked up their grocery items, stood on the queue, paid at the cashier, and left patiently. The country was in the midst of “the worst crisis since Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” as Kan put. Yet, people still showed up at their city offices the same week to fulfill their tax obligation. Apart from the quake and tsunami, explosion of the nuclear power plant caused a power shortage throughout eastern Japan. Essentially, the Japanese government declared implementation of daily load shedding for four hours. People and businesses immediately reacted – but not in the form of a public demonstration or protests. Most people started saving electricity at home. Businesses, malls and restaurants shut their businesses early to save electricity. By the end of the day, load shedding lasted less than an hour.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">In Japanese, crisis is written as 危機 (kiki). The word consists of two Chinese characters: 危 (ki) meaning “danger”, and 機 (ki) meaning “opportunity”. The word itself indicates the perception of crisis in the Japanese society. Yes, people were shocked, and filled with fear. But they kept their heads up, searching for a light at the end of a dark tunnel. Let history speak for itself. Every time crisis hits the island nation, Japanese golden age follows. The 1932 Great Kanto Earthquake – which destroyed entire Tokyo and killed approximately 140,000 people – was followed by Japanese military glory and its rise as one of the world’s superpowers. Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – which also destroyed both cities killing roughly 200,000 people – was followed by Japanese economic prosperity and its emergence as the world’s largest economy. Every time they fall, they rise up stronger. And I believe such characteristic shows the grandeur of the nation.&nbsp;</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;">Crisis tests our strength. Whether on our management of crisis or standing up on our feet in the midst of it – crisis could be an inevitable challenge at any point in our life. Some break down; others prevail. With wise but unpopular, “controlled information” strategy, Japanese government did not escalate the existing natural crisis by averting socio-economic crisis. Secondly, Japanese philosophy of seeing opportunities in times of crisis needs to be appreciated by the business minds. It is this attitude that brought the country from bottom rock to a leading position. On the whole, one could expect a better tomorrow if a crisis is managed smartly.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><br />
	</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	<span style="font-size: 14px;"><i>[Acharya grew up in Tokyo, Japan and attended St Mary’s International School. He is currently a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) student at Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM). He can be reached via email at saujanya820@gmail.com.]</i></span></div>',
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	<div style="text-align: justify;">
		<strong>By Sujan Tiwari</strong></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
	Do better things always cost more? Not always. With Proton Savvy, safety, style, performance and convenience can be yours at an unbeatable price. Brought in Nepal by Constant Business Group, the Savvy is a brand new product in the automobile market of Nepal.</div>
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	At Rs 2,125,000, it is hard to find a better deal than the Savvy hatchback. Savvy has five doors, 15 inch alloy wheels, extensive safety features, good audio system, body coloured exterior components and the list goes on.</div>
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	Savvy is made by Malaysian automakers Proton and features a Campro engine. Campro is the first automotive engine developed together by Proton and the auto giant Lotus.&nbsp;The Campro engine is developed to show Proton's ability to make their own engines that produce good power output and meet newer emission standards. The 4-cylinder, in line, SOHC Multi point injection 1149 cc engine produces a maximum power of 74 hp at 5500 rpm and a maximum torque of 105Nm at 4250 rpm. Savvy boasts a top speed of 170km/h and can go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 12.6 seconds, and that too with exceptional handling.</div>
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	Regarding the design, the engineers at Proton tried to produce a small car that offered practicality, fuel economy, generous space and great all round performance. Now, it can be said they achieved it all. Achieving these goals involved engineering a new, stronger and more rigid platform, resulting in a vehicle that offers superior handling, balance and responsiveness. The Savvy has a lot to offer for its low entry price, strong equipment levels, looks, performance and economy.</div>
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	<img align="left" alt="car" border="1" height="151" hspace="10" src="http://newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/car(1).jpg" style="margin:10px; padding:10px;" vspace="10" width="400" /></div>
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	The design is eye catching and is sure to turn heads as you drive by in the compact stylish and irresistible Proton Savvy. Savvy's stylish exterior projects a look of young, spirited and energetic car with its stylish curves and the attractive hood lid. It has an integrated headlamp unit with turn signals and additional halogen front fog lamps. Savvy has a spacious interior with 50/50 split fold rear seats with fold flat rear seats cushions for increased load capacity and practicality. The interior is as stylish as the curvaceous exterior, which is complemented with aluminum highlights on the steering wheel, gear shifter and dashboard. There are conveniences like a powerful air-conditioning system, power window and custom built Clarion audio system with a built in CD player and FM/AM.</div>
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	The Proton Savvy is built sturdy and strong to protect you in many ways as it exceeds international safety regulations of the European community. The body of Savvy is built from strong L3 galvanized steel and is designed with crumple zone protection. Savvy offers side impact protection with side reinforcement bar. It got 3 star rating in Euro NCAP testing and has met international crash safety regulations.</div>
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	The Savvy has enhanced suspension dynamics ensuring a responsive drive. With the Savvy, Proton has developed an incredibly light yet strong small car that delivers a perfect ride and handling. On the front, it has McPherson strut with coil springs, and stabilizer bar and on the rear, it has torsion beam axle.</div>
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	Savvy takes you where you want to go in comfort and style, whether it's in city or enjoying a winding hilly road. With its outstanding features, Savvy has been able to receive two known Car of the Year  awards from two ASEAN countries, including the Cars, Bikes &amp; Trucks New Straits Times/Am Bank Group 2006 Car of the Year Award in the Supermini category, and the Best City Car award at the 6th Indonesian Car of the Year 2007 awards. Proton Savvy also has been voted among Thailand's top 10 cars in 2008 by The Nation daily's car writers.</div>
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	The Savvy is also recognized in the Malaysian Book of Records as the most fuel-efficient car in Malaysia during an on-road test by Proton with an average fuel consumption of about 24 km/l. Here in Nepal, the car gives a mileage of 16 to 18 km/l in the city and 20 to 22 on the highways, the company claims.</div>',
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