Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]
Code Context
//    $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';



    if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){
$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp'
$dataForView = array(
	'articles' => array(
		(int) 0 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 1 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 2 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 3 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 4 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 5 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 6 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 7 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 8 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 9 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 10 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 11 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 12 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 13 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 14 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		)
	),
	'current_user' => null,
	'logged_in' => false
)
$articles = array(
	(int) 0 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '115',
			'article_category_id' => '50',
			'title' => 'Media's Arm-Twisting Ways',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>If a media report questioning the quality of its product is printed or aired, the business house, instead of immediately issuing a refuting press release, should launch an investigation into the matter first. If the media reports are true, it must have the courage to withdraw the products from the market, and then issue an apology and compensate the consumers.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>When the media reports negatively against a business venture with a vicious intent, it is bound to leave a bad taste in the mouth. The media and the business sector must strongly support each other as both need to depend on each other for continued existence.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div>
			As if the political instability in Nepal was not causing enough harm to the business environment already, a section of the media, recently, further aggravated the situation by frustrating business ventures through negative reporting. Dish Nepal, a DTH (direct-to-home) service provider; Real Juice, a Dabur Nepal brand; and Blackberry Services from Ncell, a cellular phone giant are among the businesses that were the targets of negative reporting by certain media outlets.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ad.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /><br />
			<br />
			Some of these companies faced the media wrath because they allegedly did not yield to intimidating tactics toâ gift advertisement contracts, while others were reported against because their market rivals sponsored spiteful information in an attempt to kill the competition. In at least one of these cases, the issue even managed political overtone. <br />
			The relationship between a section of the corporate houses and some media outlets has hit an abysmal low. Businesses need the media to launch and promote their brands and products in the marketplace. In turn, the media depends on advertisement contracts which are the major source of revenue for them. Thus, businesses and media establishments complement each other and it is absolutely essential for them to learn to co-exist. <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			The media seems to be losing its focus of late, believe some media observers. They say that this could have a huge impact on the corporatepress relationship in the long run. Advertisers are indeed circumspect while giving business to the media of their choice lest they invite the attention of media establishments that they are not interested to advertise in, says an official from the Advertising Association of Nepal (AAN).<br />
			<br />
			There has been a paradigm shift in the functioning of the media during the last few years due to various reasons, including corporatisation. The media, an important and vibrant partner in the economic growth of Nepal, must be eternally vigilant to the wrongdoings, if any. The press is, of course, a watchdog of society but that does not allow it to launch smear campaigns against businesses and poison the consumers minds. This, in no way, means that the business sector can make any kind of compromise with its obligation to produce and distribute quality products. If a media report questioning the quality of its product is printed or aired, the business house, instead of immediately issuing a refuting press release, should launch an investigation into the matter first. If the media reports are true, it must have the courage to withdraw the products from the market, and then issue an apology and compensate the consumers. It is a kind of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and is practiced everywhere in a civilised&nbsp; society.<br />
			Nowadays, news is no more just news; it has become&nbsp; a management issue&nbsp; as well. Increasingly, the managers seem to be more important than the editors themselves. They dictate which news should go and which should not. A reporter with a daily confessed on the condition of anonymity, There are times when we are instructed to report on certain issues which we neither understand, nor do we necessarily agree with. If a journalist continuously refuses to adhere, then his/her job is at stake.<br />
			<br />
			Manoj Neupane, Brand Officer of Dish Nepal admits to having received calls from a section of the media asking for advertisements or else get prepared to face adversity. It is an extortion of sorts.Sanju</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div>
			Koirala, Corporate Communications Manager of Spice Nepal Pvt Ltd that is now changed to Ncell Pvt Ltd., says, It is not possible for us to give advertisements to all and sundry. We choose media outlets depending on their reach and the target audience they cater to. Neupane reasons, My choice of media depends on its impact analysis and I am the one who approaches the media with advertisement contracts. It's not the other way round.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			The media has become more interested in earning profit at the cost of its role as the fourth estate. Market forces have dictated its role at the cost of the valued principles and wellaccepted ethics of journalism. The over aggressive marketing strategies have done more harm to the media sector than it comprehends. This is the age of conscious consumers. It is a consumer's prerogative to choose and rate a product or service in the market. Brainwashing the consumers and misleading them is the least that the media or market rivals can do. If a brand/product fails to live up to the expectations and promises it made, the consumers themselves will raise a hue and cry.<br />
			The smear campaigns in the media, coupled with political instability, will have an adverse impact on prospective investments. The unjustified adverse publicity against the products and services of such important ventures will not only hit the Nepali economy and exports hard but will also deter new foreign direct investments into Nepal. These issues could always be resolved amicably in a business-like manner.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			Having said that, one must understand that establishing a media enterprise does not guarantee that advertisements will come automatically. There are several factors such as subscription figures, a strong readership/ viewership base and popularity of a television channel/newspaper etc that determine the inflow of advertisements to a particular media. After all, a Rs 3.5 billion advertising industry does not have enough in its kitty to help survive all the existing newspapers and magazines, radio stations and scores of television channels in Nepal. Bullying does not ensure advertisement contracts, the popularity of the media does. An advertiser is free to choose his preferred media tools for the promotion of his products. A media house, on the other hand, is free, too, to publish a news report, irrespective of the instructions from the corporate houses providing the advertisements. So it's a two-way story.<br />
			<br />
			Businesses thrive in competition and not in isolation. To try and end competition in an unethical manner by sponsoring misleading news is bound to backfire. Once the market determines the truth, what will happen to the credibility of the people who engineer such controversies? questions Neupane. At the same time, negative reporting will take its toll, sooner or later, on the media's credibility, too. <br />
			<br />
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/media.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /><br />
			<br />
			Lastly, if it is proven that a business has cheated or confused the consumers, it is the media's responsibility to present the truth to the audience. However, when the media reports negatively against a business venture with a vicious intent, it is bound to leave a bad taste in the mouth. The media and the business sector must strongly support each other as both need to depend on each other for continued existence. Let there be journalism of hope and let the consumers decide for themselves what is right for them. Sanity must prevail.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="padding: 5px;">
				 </div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-29',
			'modified' => '2013-05-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Businesses and media establishments complement each other. It is absolutely essential for them to learn to co-exist.',
			'sortorder' => '63',
			'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) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '114',
			'article_category_id' => '41',
			'title' => 'Business And State: Nepali Capitalist Classes And Their Interests',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes. We won't be doing any justice to two traditional capitalist classes&nbsp; the Newars and the Marwaris&nbsp; if we say that these communities favored the former king during his direct rule.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>After the declaration of the Republic Nepal, the state is represented by the political parties. So it is natural that the capitalist class siding with the political parties has better ground to grow, again with the blessings of the state. For the time being, we have to accept that the capitalist class close to the former king doesn't enjoy such blessings at par. But they have the experience of doing business with all other capitalist classes.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				Traditional Newar capitalist class means a group of certain castes in the Newari community that are engaged in transit trade between India and Tibet (the autonomous region of the People's Republic of China) since the ancient time. This capitalist class is often referred to as the Caravan Traders because of their admirable mobility for business. The economic history of Newars is as old as Medieval Nepal. Marwaris are the traditional capitalist class of India who later migrated to Nepal in course of business. It has often been argued that the business history of Marwaris is as old as the economic history of India.</div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<br />
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div>
			<strong>By Mohan Das Manandhar &amp; Rojan Bajracharya</strong><br />
			It is undisputed that a number of important developments that occurred in the political sphere of Nepal in the past few years have affected the national economy and businesses alike. Particularly, after the declaration of Republic Nepal, it has become necessary to understand the customs, ethos and ways of doing business in the new political setup. It is natural that the business communities are and should be dynamic to readjust themselves with regime change otherwise an economy like Nepal would stall for once and for all.<br />
			<br />
			It will take some time for this dynamism to take pace and develop new commercial culture and statebusiness relationship. However, it is important to recognize at the outset how the business communities pledge their common interest to the state in view of their common interest guiding the future commercial culture and state-business relationship. One of the important components of market dynamism and competitiveness is the business communities ability to bring forward their collective interest and the state's readiness to address these interests.<br />
			<br />
			Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes. We won't be doing any justice to two traditional capitalist classes&nbsp; the Newars and the Marwaris&nbsp; if we say that these communities favoured the former king during his direct rule. However, we can't deny the fact that the rulers and their kin who represented the state during the former king's direct rule are another traditional capitalist class of the country; and that these three capitalist classes needed to join hands for their common interest. <br />
			<br />
			This article doesn't intend to explore what issues held them together and what separated them. We presume that all these three capitalist classes did share a common business interest, but the Newars and the Marwaris were always aware that it would be useless to have a conflicting interest as the third capitalist class (the royals) had the blessings of the state. So, the Newars and the Marwaris felt the need to build strategic ties with the political parties to defend their interests that were different from the common interest. The political parties, in turn, needed these traditional capitalists to support their movement for republicanism. <br />
			<br />
			However, the problem was that some skeptics inside the political parties thought the Newars and the Marwaris had stronger ties with the royals, and were therefore on the king's side. The king and the royalties on the other hand conceived that they could not operate the entire business and commercial activities of the country by themselves. The two traditional capitalists enjoyed an established commercial network which was the important pillar of the country's economy at that point of time. The triangular relationship between these three actors during the King's direct rule was intricate. The king and the political parties provided patronage to the traditional capitalists for their own political interests and harmonized relationship with the other two actors.<br />
			<br />
			Going further back in history, after the 1990 political transformation, the country entered into an era of democratic electoral practice. The absolute monarch was brought under the constitution and the political parties were handed the executive powers of the state. Now the state was represented by two distinct political forces the king and the political parties. Soon, these two forces were confronting with each other. An opposition political force, the Maoists, even launched an armed uprising against the constitutional monarchical dispensation.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div>
			Later, former king Gyanendra seized the executive powers on February 1, 2005. It showed that though the political parties were assigned the executive role, the king could still afford to become authoritarian. Interestingly, it was also the period of a change in the economic regime from a closed, import-substitution economy to a liberal economy.<br />
			<br />
			In this article, what we have presumed is that the state during the former king's direct rule had conceived the need of economic liberalization in the country. It got continued with time. With economic liberalization, new business opportunities emerged in the country and so did the new capitalist classes. Gradually, a new breed of aspiring capitalists also started to get engaged in trade and commercial activities giving birth to new capitalist classes in the country. It is certain that, with the latest political change, business ventures of the former king's relatives became more transparent. They have the benefit of being tagged as general public in theory but are enjoying the blessings of the state in practice. The capitalist classes also started to tag political affiliations for their mutual benefit which is but natural.<br />
			<br />
			However, the relationships of the capitalist classes with the former king and the political parties still remain harmonized in nature. Further, few new capitalists also emerged due to nurturing by political parties or by virtue of being the relatives of the leaders of these political parties. It was but natural in any new democratic country, at least in South Asia. It is not unusual that the relationship of this capitalist class with the political parties is similar to that of the king and his relatives' capitalist class. So the capitalist class close to the political parties and the one close to the king became competitors in the market and both had had the state's blessings to further their business.<br />
			<br />
			The common interests of both the traditional and the new capitalist classes are the same. This has resulted into business associations in various capacities and the strengthening of the institutional capacity of old associations : This developed formal channels to liaison the common interests of the business communities with the state. On the other hand, the traditional Newar and Marwari capitalist classes are blessed with its own strong, wellestablished conventional network. It is important to note here that this traditional network still guides the commercial culture and the way of doing business informally. So we must presume that there must have been a timely adjustment in the conventional network of the Newars and the Marwaris. <br />
			<br />
			After the declaration of the Republic Nepal, the state is represented by the political parties. So it is natural that the capitalist class siding with the political parties has better ground to grow, again with the blessings of the state. For the time being, we have to accept that the capitalist class close to the former king doesn't enjoy such blessings at par. But they have the experience of doing business with all other capitalist classes. There are traditional Newar and Marwari capitalist classes blessed with well established conventional network and commercial culture. And the fourth capitalist class is the one which has evolved in the last one decade due to new market opportunities. <br />
			<br />
			Obviously, all these capitalist classes would stand together for their common business interests but each of them has its own self-interest and are, therefore, skeptic about each other at times. It is certain that business associations are working together as building blocks to get united for their common interests and distinct identity. However, the challenge is to build unity with diversity.<br />
			<br />
			<em>(Manandharm and Bajracharya are freelance researchers.) <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			</em></div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="padding: 5px;">
				 </div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-29',
			'modified' => '2012-09-17',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes.',
			'sortorder' => '62',
			'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) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '113',
			'article_category_id' => '42',
			'title' => 'Stocks End Sour, Despite Late Budget (Review For 24 Oct- 23 Nov, 2010)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The budget has opened door for Non-Resident Nepalis and provided some ropes for merger between different financial institutions and insurance companies. However, it has not addressed cut and dry approach for uplifting the stampeded stock market of Nepal.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The operation of Central Depository System (CDS) will replace the current scrip-based manual system of trading. It will be introducing computerized book entry system cutting the transaction time and facilitating prompt trade.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			The secondary market of Nepal, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), plummeted in the review period erasing its early gains. The four-month-late budget was expected to boost up the faded stock market. But that could not happen. The Nepse index went down 6.70 points or 1.60 per cent to settle at the review period's low of 419.63 while the highest point of the period was 426.33 on 24 Oct.<br />
			<br />
			During the review period, most of the companies declared their dividend and book closing date and published first quarter financial reports and company analysis. Hence, it can be expected that a great momentum is not going take place very soon as the investors will take time to analyse and interpret the health of institutions and their future prospects.<br />
			<br />
			The outflow of fund during the time of Dashain and Tihar has also hampered the capital market of Nepal, as banking sector is facing liquidity crisis while the lending rate between the banks has also picked high. Hence, spending and withdrawals made at the festival time have affected the investing capacity of the investors. On the other hand, different banks have already declared their revised interest rate on the deposits attracting the investors to hold the capital and deposit it at the bank rather than investing in the market.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			The budget for the fiscal year 2010/11 delayed due to political wrangling among Nepal is and provided some ropes for merger between different financial institutions and insurance companies. However, it has not addressed cut and dry approach for uplifting the stampeded stock market of Nepal.<br />
			<br />
			The much awaited Nepal Central Depository and Clearing Ltd was registered. Nepal Stock Exchange, Citizen Investment Trust and 17 commercial banks have signed the Memorandum of Association of the company as the founder shareholders. Nepse has 51 per cent, CIT has 15 per cent, six commercial banks have 2.88 per cent each while the rest stake in this company is held by 11 commercial banks. The operation of Central Depository System (CDS) will replace the current scrip-based manual system of trading. It will be introducing computerized book entry system cutting the transaction time and facilitating prompt trade. <br />
			<br />
			The trial operation of the CDS system will be made in January 2011 as the software will be handed over by Tata Group by December 15, 2010. The taste of new improved system will surely cure some of the ills of the market; however, political and economic conditions till that period will also determine the sentiment of the market.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		<br />
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="padding: 5px;">
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bar.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 369px; height: 274px;" /><br />
				<br />
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/pie-chart.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 360px; height: 253px;" /></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Performance by Sector </strong><br />
			<br />
			Banking sector, accumulating the heavy volume of trade in Nepse, experienced a double digit dip of 10.77 points or 2.76 per cent to close at 389.68. Similarly, hotel sector plunged 8.66 points followed by 7.64 points down in development banks to settle at 402.48 and 400.11, respectively. The ‘others sector’ skidded 2.35 points while hydropower sector lost 1.89 points. Trading sector descended 1.72 points or 0.65 per cent to close at 265.15. However, insurance accelerated by a fast 34.51 points or 7.02 per cent to settle at 491.75. Finance sector spread the modest of 0.02 points or 0.01 per cent to rest at 357.07.<br />
			<br />
			The sensitive index that measures the performance of 94 blue chips scrip at the secondary market, drifted down 2.33 points or 2.27 per cent to 102.58 while the float index calculated on the basis of real transaction, receded 1 . 2 4 points to 36.5. Total of Rs. 471,129,498 was</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			realized during the review period from 1,656,453 units of share traded via 26,545 transactions.<br />
			<br />
			The figure on the previous page depicts the sectorwise distribution based on the total amount of trade. The commercial banks accounted 50.45 per cent while finance sector covered 14.53 per cent. Similarly, development banks held 13.97 per cent, insurance occupied 9.25 per cent and hydropower sector retained 8.32 per cent while the remaining sectors made up the rest.<br />
			<br />
			Technically, both the 200 days Simple Moving Average (SMA) and 30 days SMA are above the Nepse index, as the market has retreated from its previous surge. Nepse index is overlapped with 30 days SMA showing the shabby nature of stock in the short term while in the long term it is weak. Hence, the chance of acceleration in the market is not visible; however, a few fluctuations can be expected in the short term. (The writer is a stock analyst)</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		<br />
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="padding: 5px;">
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/stock.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 307px; height: 216px;" /></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2012-09-16',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The secondary market of Nepal, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), plummeted in the review period erasing its early gains.',
			'sortorder' => '61',
			'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) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '112',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''The Government Has Not Recognised Advertising As A Real Industry'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural Nepali audience, too.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>In other countries, there is a rebate of 5 to 10 per cent out of the profit that can be spent on advertising that encourages the advertisers to spend more. We need a similar policy in our country.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Being a key player in Nepal’s ad industry for almost two decades, what is your evaluation of its evolution? </strong><br />
			Our market has seen tremendous change and ended with a 360 degree turn of success. We only had the state-owned Gorkhapatra and The Rising Nepal in the print media and Nepal Television and Radio Nepal in broadcast media to begin with. Most of the advertising two decades ago constituted government ads and notices. Over the years, Nepali advertising has taken a long leap because consumption patterns have changed and the market has changed, too, because of democracy and several other factors. Multinational companies (MNCs) were not there. FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) products were very few. Today, we have MNCs, new big companies and many FMCGs. All these changes have brought in new players in the market. The advertising situation has been changing every five years. Today, we are almost on a par with advertising industry in the neighbouring countries. But our online advertising has not grown as expected.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There seems to be unhealthy competition among the major players on holding onto the clients. How can this be controlled?</strong><br />
			Unhealthy competition does exist, but it is not as it was a decade ago. The clients have become more professional and demanding. Leading advertising agencies are under pressure to produce quality ads ever since the clients have started demanding effective campaigns. If you can deliver good work and service to the client, the client is bound to stay on. The smaller advertising agencies, however, continue to compete with each other by offering lower tariff and increased percentage sharing to the clients. I am sure this scenario will change with time once they come to terms with the professional demands of the market. Media exposure has led to clients demanding more professional service as they now know what’s happening in other countries. Compared to a decade ago, there are more advertising agencies producing quality work which has helped bring down unhealthy competition.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Now the ad market of Nepal stands at around Rs 3.5 billion. Are the ad agencies having a good time? </strong><br />
			Yes, it is a good time for the ad agencies which are serious and professional. They are prospering and they will be prospering.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Prisma has top profi le clients like Bottler’s Nepal, Samsung, Western Union, Ncell and Bajaj, to name a few. How tough is the competition among the agencies? </strong><br />
			The competition among the top notch agencies is very healthy and professional. We have a good portfolio of clients but in today’s age of competition, we have to be better than others and perform well to get an edge. So, the competition among the top notch advertising agencies is more in terms of quality and creative work.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The number of advertisers has grown but the number of ads and the market value have grown more. What is contributing to this growth? </strong><br />
			Several factors have contributed to this growth. For one, our urban population is growing consistently and so is the demand for products and brands. MNCs like Unilever and Dabur are pumping in more investments. Another reason for this growth is the change in our consumption habits. Almost 60 per cent of our population is below 32 years of age. This population is literate and possesses decision making capacity which enables them to dictate the market, which in turn, demands the products to be competitive and good. This is where the advertising agencies come in the picture. The entry of new players into the market fuels increased advertising spending from the existing competitors. An example is, when today’s Ncell came in as Mero Mobile, Nepal Telecom was forced to turn aggressive. During its old days of monopoly, it never felt the need for advertising as it does today. Similarly, there are certain sectors that have grown tremendously in recent times. Today, the largest spender in advertising is the education sector. Real Estate sector is another major contributor to Nepal’s advertising industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is the lack of creative talent the only reason our advertisements are not at par with foreign advertisements? </strong><br />
			I, for one, do not agree with this. When you look at any other country’s advertisements, for example India, there is sectoral advertising. Each advertisement there targets a special section of the society. Nepal is a market with all sorts of consumers mixed up. I cannot make a very creative ad for a mobile phone company like Ncell as it should cater also to the consumers living in remote Nepal where literacy level is very low. I do not expect such audience to comprehend the message that I will be conveying through a highly creative ad. For example, I cannot compare the comprehension levels of the youth in Kathmandu and Solukhumbu. It’s a major reason why Nepali ads are created in the simplest manner possible. What use is creativity if it cannot sell a product? It would be unfair to judge the creative talents of Nepali advertising professionals given the constraints that they have to face. It would be equally unfair to compare us with international advertising which caters to people with high literacy levels and different mindsets from ours. You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural<br />
			Nepali audience, too.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Aren’t the agencies pressurising the government to introduce a regulatory framework? </strong><br />
			We have been pressurising the government for a long time. Despite us being an Rs 3.5 billion industry today, the government has not recognised us and given us due treatment. During election time, politicians seek our assistance to create campaigns which means they do know the importance of advertising even for electoral purposes. However, once the government is formed, they forget that advertising should be treated like an industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Today’s youth look at careers other than advertising. How does that impact the ad industry? </strong><br />
			One of the biggest challenges for our ad industry is the lack of quality human resource. We have not been able to create enough interest among the youth. They would rather aspire for a banking career, for example, which is secure as well as a rewarding career. Advertising is merely a small topic for them while in college and not part of their core curriculum as such. It’s ignorance that’s keeping them from a career in advertising. They probably don’t realise that advertising, too, can be a lifelong and rewarding career. Once they realise this, the problem of quality human resource will have found a solution.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Almost all MNC ads are dubbed from foreign languages, mostly from Hindi. Can’t we come out with our own ads for these products? </strong><br />
			One reason for dubbed ads is the trickle-down effect of international media in Nepal. For example, multinationals like Unilever want to create synergy among the communication they are doing in this region as most people have already seen the same advertisements on Indian TV channels. Nepal and India have similar culture and consumption patterns. In India, too, they use the same ad in different languages in different states. This way, the advertiser saves the production cost of new advertisements and invests only in releasing them over a number of channels in different languages. Another reason is the celebrity endorsement. Indian celebrities are equally popular in Nepal. A possible solution could be ‘clean feed’ which will block the advertisements on foreign channels aired to Nepal, thus forcing the advertisers to create advertisements in Nepali. However, there is no such policy at this point of time.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Our ad market is only of Rs 3.5 billion. Isn’t it quite small in size when you consider that a single company allocates more than this for advertisements in other countries? </strong><br />
			You have to understand that our market size is rather small. You cannot compare the advertising budget of Indian corporates with that of ours. A company’s turnover usually determines the amount it wants to allocate for advertising spending. Another thing that we need to look into is the potential of the market in terms of growth which also induces the budget of the industry. Thirdly, the government policy doesn’t provide for tax exemption on advertising spending after a certain limit after which the money spent on advertising is not considered as an expense. This discourages advertisers from making sustained investment in advertising. In other countries, there is a rebate of 5 to 10 per cent out of the profit that can be spent on advertising that encourages the advertisers to spend more. We need a similar policy in our country.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The reported annual growth of 12 to 15 per cent of the ad industry is said to be mainly because of media infl ation. Do you agree?</strong><br />
			Inflation is created by the media but there is always a debate in the advertising sector for several reasons. You see electronic media suffering a lot during load shedding. On the other hand, there are advertising categories which have been shrinking because the whole industry has shrunk. Lately, noodles industries’ advertising spending has gone down heavily. But we are still growing. New breed of advertisers such as the real estate, education sector, and lately, DTH have come up. We are growing not just because of media inflation; there is a genuine growth, too. We expect to grow at 20 to 25 per cent looking at the pace of media growth but it is not happening because of the political situation and power cuts.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the market share of Prisma?</strong><br />
			We are proud to be in the market for 20 years. There are good clients attached with us for more than a decade. Our clients have succeeded in becoming market leaders over the years. We consider good work, recognition and revenue as the most important. It’s important to enjoy a good profit even if the turnover is less. I cannot quote a market share for you but we are holding a good position in the market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which Nepali ad do you think is the best, either by your agency or some other agency and why? </strong><br />
			The biggest and the best campaign that ever happened is the Ncell rebranding from Mero Mobile that we did. The campaign was very successful and we are very proud to have done this campaign. Also, it was the only rebranding ever happened in Nepal.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2010-12-27',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural Nepali audience, too.',
			'sortorder' => '60',
			'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' => '111',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''An Advertisement Must Sell The Product'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>We defi nitely lack the right people in the advertising industry. There is no academic institution to train people in advertising, besides the regular brief training packages provided by the Advertising Association of Nepal.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you evaluate the Nepali ad industry? </strong><br />
			The industry has grown a lot in the last decade and it is still growing. It’s a Rs 3.5 billion industry now. But there’s still the lack of trained, educated professionals in this field. It makes a huge difference in the output, especially in a creative field. The new generation, it seems, is more comfortable to work in the banks, the way the old generation preferred government jobs to private ones. In advertising, as is the case with any other creative sector, people who don’t want a nine-to-five job are more interested. And those who want to explore their talent join this industry.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There is no categorisation of ad agencies. Every agency has the same basic tag of ‘Advertising Agency’. Is that alright? </strong><br />
			It is high time that we differentiate. When we help sell the products of the clients, we position them. Every product has its own positioning. Similarly ad agencies must be differentiated or, let’s say, positioned. We in Water Communication would like to call ourselves a strategy and design company. Others see us as a creative agency. I think creativity is essential but strategy must be stronger.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>A common criticism against the Nepali ads is that they lack creativity. Ad agency people say that highly creative ads tend to go a bit over the top and that the general public fails to catch them. Can’t we create ads that are simple, yet highly creative?</strong><br />
			Creativity must be saleable. If you can’t sell creativity, I don’t call it creative. The main purpose of advertising is to promote the sales of products. Creativity must be promoting the sales. We don’t make ads for the sake of creativity. In the case of Nepal, the boundary for creativity in advertising is limited. I have to sell the products of my clients anyhow. Clients have different needs. And we need to be flexible.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Many ads are made in such a way that the focus is more on something other than the product or its value. Such ads, rather than promoting the products, end up confusing the consumers. What is the main reason behind it? </strong><br />
			The person or agency responsible for making the promotion strategy must be aware what they want to sell. If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Mobile phones and the Internet are growing as big media. How is your agency trying to cash in on this opportunity?</strong> <br />
			The new media is coming up rapidly and has a huge scope. In Nepal, the mobile phone has a greater scope than the Internet as there are more mobile users. Around 30 per cent Nepalis have access to mobile phones. Despite knowing about this opportunity, many ad agencies are unable to tap it. Mobile phone is a medium which provides a direct contact with the customers. But we don’t have an up-to-date database for that. Marketing through mobiles is a recent phenomenon in Nepal. We are far behind countries like India, China or even Bangladesh. Our customers are semiliterate. Still print is the best media for us for the time being. The television has definitely gained in popularity lately. So, it will certainly take some time before advertising could be done through the new media.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>As you said, the industry has a big problem of skilled human resource. How are you managing this crunch? </strong><br />
			We definitely lack the right people in the advertising industry. There is no academic institution to train people in advertising, besides the regular brief training packages provided by the Advertising Association of Nepal. So, there are very few trained professionals in the creative department. In the marketing department, we manage with the products of private colleges.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Celebrity endorsement is not used much in the Nepali ads, while we see that quite a lot in foreign ads. Why are our ad makers not interested in using the celebrities to make ads? </strong><br />
			A celebrity is already a brand. But the celebrity-brand is perhaps yet to find a wider acceptance in Nepal. A product is also a brand. Rajesh Hamal is definitely a brand. It’s the media that creates a celebrity who then naturally becomes a brand. But sadly, the Nepali media has not gone beyond Rajesh Hamal and a few other names. Stars are not made by advertising agencies but by the media. We have limited celebrities and almost all the advertisers are using them to endorse their brands.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In creating an advertisement, who plays the important role - the advertiser or the ad agency?</strong><br />
			Both play very important roles. And both have a common purpose – to reach the consumers. Clients give their needs and requirements and agencies help them with the means to reach the consumers. At the end, that must sell the product. Some might say that advertisers influence the creation of ads while others might argue that such an influence is possible because the ad agencies are not competitive.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems and challenges you are facing in this industry? </strong><br />
			The major problem we are facing is the lack of human resource. Another problem is the industry’s growth is not healthy and professional. There is unhealthy competition going on. There are many people who talk more and work less. There is no design policy. Such a policy would not only help to promote the products but also determine the country’s image. When we talk about Nepal tourism year, Nepal is not to be promoted only by the Nepal Tourism Board. Nepal has to be sold as a product. I don’t know if anybody has even thought about this policy.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What future do you see for the advertising industry? </strong><br />
			It’s going to be more competitive. It will be run by more professional people. Our market is very small compared to the Indian market. To survive here, agencies must have more professional people. Strategically, only strong agencies can come up with such human resource and compete. The small agencies that can’t compete won’t be able to survive in the market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2010-12-27',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.',
			'sortorder' => '59',
			'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' => '110',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘The Number Of Women In Advertising Is Increasing’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you set apart your ad agency among several others in the market?</strong><br />
			Advertising agencies are basically the same. Our ultimate target is to produce an advertisement that satisfies the clients and stays in the minds of the consumers for long. But definitely, we are able to set ourselves apart because of our philosophy. This philosophy defines me and my team. I and my whole team believe that we work hard, talk straight and are damn good at what we do. This confidence in the profession has established our team in this industry.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>With the number of ad agencies increasing every year, how tough has the competition become?</strong><br />
			I am happy that gradually people are realizing that the advertisement industry is a field with lots of opportunities. I don’t see it as a competition. I don’t think I am competing with anyone. Rather, I compete with myself. I have set some goals for myself and I am constantly working to meet these goals. I take each day as a challenge. I want to do better than what I did yesterday.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems of the Nepali ad industry? </strong><br />
			A major problem is the lack of skilled human resource. First, our youths are unaware of the opportunities in advertising. They either want to work in banks or in the multinational companies. So we are not getting smart and creative Nepali people even if we pay salary and other benefits on a par with these institutions. Second, we don’t have schools or institutions where we can enhance our creativity. An advertising agency has to hire a freshman. It takes at least a year for that person to learn everything. But when he is ready, another agency takes away that person. Third, even though we hire the best person in our company, our clients do not have confidence in them. They insist on hiring a foreigner for creative concepts. Thus the money that we could have spent in our country goes outside. Mostly, this money goes to India.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There are many ads that use the female body just as a means to get public attention. How do you see this trend?</strong> <br />
			Different people have different perceptions of the same thing. In my case, I believe showing females in an advertisement is not bad but how they are shown makes the difference. We live in a country like Nepal where we follow certain norms and values. No advertisement should cross the social limits such that it becomes unacceptable to society at the end. Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Do you implement your such ideas when you make ads? </strong><br />
			Being a woman, I think a lot before doing anything. I am very careful not to tarnish the image of females through my advertisement because with every woman I associate myself. Similarly, when I think logically as an ad maker, I know there are several things in the nature that can be depicted in an advertisement in the place of women to convey the message. If anything is shown unnecessarily, consumers</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How is the participation of women in this fi eld so far? </strong><br />
			As of now, there are many women working in this field. And I think their number is increasing. But there are very few women who are investing in this field or holding top positions. I have been able to establish myself because of my confidence. I never feel weak just because I am a woman. I think I can compete with men in every aspect. Every woman should feel this way.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is it a fi eld suitable for women?</strong><br />
			I don’t want to categorise professions on the basis of gender. With confidence and creativity, everyone can do better in this profession. Women can compete with men in every profession. However, women still lag behind because of low self-esteem. Women should take a step forward and explore the opportunities in this sector. I strongly believe that an advertising professional can fit in any other sector because he/she gains a bit of many different experiences in this field -- marketing, designing, writing etc. This field has so much to offer to creative people.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What should be done to attract more women to this creative fi eld?<br />
			</strong>People become successful when they work in the field of their interest. If someone has an inner desire to be a part of the advertising industry, I would welcome them. However, they have to be able to face the challenges. I urge women not to feel weak or discouraged because this is a field where creativity counts, not the physical strength.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Who are your top clients? </strong><br />
			Chaudhary Group, Triveni Group, Sujal Foods, MariGold Foods, Khajurico Nepal are our top clients. There are several others, too. And we have some snacks and confectionaries in the list.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which Nepali ad do you consider the best, made either by your agency or other agencies? </strong><br />
			I consider the advertisement of U-n-Me tea to be the best advertisement of our team. I love this advertisement because it is very tender. It has a quality to touch the hearts of the consumers and remain in their minds for a long time. Among the ads made by other companies, I think the advertisement of Wai Wai Gyan Uday is the best for the beautiful amalgamation of caste and creeds of Nepal.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.',
			'sortorder' => '58',
			'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' => '109',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''Advertising Is Growing At Breakneck Speed'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The unhealthy competition is created by agencies that cannot offer quality services. In an effort to retain their own clients or even get the clients of others, some agencies lower the fees for their services to such an extent that it is not possible to compete with them.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>v-chitra won awards under fi ve categories, including the “Best Creative Agency” Award, in the latest Crity Awards. What puts this company on the top?</strong><br />
			Our motto is: Everyday is a new beginning. So for us at v-chitra, winning an award is a thing of the past. But awards do put more pressure on us, as our clients expect more from us. At v-chitra, we believe that everyday customers have new choices. Everyday our clients have to renew their relationship with their customers so as to remain the first choice. So, we strive to make that happen, everyday.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which do you think is the best advertisement campaign and why?</strong><br />
			My next campaign will be my best one. Every campaign I develop becomes a part of my learning curve. It helps me experiment with new ideas and presentation styles. So, after making a campaign, I analyse it in detail to see if it could have been better. I make sure that I implement what I find in my analysis in my next campaign.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the market share of v-chitra? Who are its major clients? </strong><br />
			It is very difficult to calculate our market share in percentage. But what I can tell you is we are one of the fastest growing agencies. Our Major Clients now are the Chaudhary Group – Wai Wai and Rio; Syakar Group – Honda two- and fourwheelers, Honda generators and Philips; Pashupati Paints; Teletalk – Colors Mobiles, Yeti Travels, Rosebud School, and Balterio floorings, among many others.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Different sources have different estimates about the size of Nepal’s advertising industry. What is your estimate about the size of the ad industry? </strong><br />
			Genuine figures about the size of the advertisement industry are not available. These days, different sources are making different estimates. But we cannot comment on any of the estimates or verify any of them.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you see the evolution of the advertising industry in Nepal? </strong><br />
			It is growing at break-neck speed. Nothing can stop it. But there are some constraints. The biggest constraint is the shortage of professional human resource. As far as infrastructure is concerned, there is a great chasm between man and machine. The industry has invested in physical infrastructure but not in the professionalisation of human resource. Currently, a majority of talented youth is going overseas to study. The industry has failed to develop interest in the young talents towards advertising. At the recent Crity Awards, I was happy to see a category for the “Best Creative Youth.”But that’s not enough. We have to make an advertising career just as lucrative as a banking career.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Most of the advertising agencies play the role of a mediator between the advertisers and the media. Is that all an Ad agency is supposed to do? </strong><br />
			The most important function in advertising is to create. Creating new concepts and ideas, to effectively sell the products and services is the primary objective of any agency. Everything else in an agency is support service. At v-chitra, we concentrate on providing creative solutions that are based on sound marketing strategies. Without a sound strategy, all creative concepts will fail.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>With the demand for advertisements growing, there seems to be a mushrooming of ad agencies. What makes v-chitra stand out? </strong><br />
			We try to create effective communication platforms for the products and services we represent. Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There seems to be unhealthy competition among the major players of the advertising industry in terms of retaining the clients. What do you have to say about this? </strong><br />
			The unhealthy competition is created by agencies that cannot offer quality services. In an effort to retain their own clients or even get the clients of others, some agencies lower the fees for their services to such an extent that it is not possible to compete with them. But the clients need to understand that they are causing a long-term, irreparable damage to their brands by associating themselves with such agencies.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In Europe and America, online advertising has come up really strong over the past few years. Why do the ad agencies in Nepal continue to ignore online advertising? </strong><br />
			Online advertising will increase only when the base of computer and Internet users is wide enough. Clients like to spend on the kind of media that has a wide readership, audience or viewers. Having said that, I think online advertising, too, is picking up in Nepal. The growth is slow, but it’s definitely picking up.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the situation of the availability of professional human resource in advertising?</strong><br />
			The youth have to be shown the rewards, financial or otherwise, for them to enter this industry. An agency can offer such rewards, only if it is itself rewarded. As of now, the clients expect many of our services free of cost; they think that 15 per cent media commission is enough. Even that is shared and stretched to the limits by corporate houses that see only their profit. But they need to understand that squeezing an agency beyond the limits affects them and their brands directly because it also affects, directly, the quality of service and creativity.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the challenges and problems of the advertising industry?</strong> <br />
			The lack of professional human resource is the biggest challenge. The industry needs more smart, young and energetic professionals. Alongside, we should generate new talents who will enhance the quality and scope of advertising in Nepal.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What do you expect from the government for this industry?<br />
			</strong> Advertising is self sustaining. It is purely an economic activity that survives on entrepreneurial initiatives. Businesses today have realised the importance of advertising. All that I expect from the government is to create an ideal business environment for the industries and services to flourish. Then the advertising industry will automatically sustain itself.</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-26',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.',
			'sortorder' => '57',
			'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' => '108',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘The Advertisers Need To Realise That A Single Slogan Can Work Wonders For Them.’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you view the Nepali advertising industry in the present context?</strong><br />
			The Nepali advertising industry is finally established as a full-fledged industry with big investments and big opportunities. A few years back, the industry was looked down upon by many as a fringe business that required little finance and human resource. Today, one needs to enter this business with complete planning, a sound investment and loads of creativity. The operational cost for even a small scale advertising agency would be more than a million rupees per month. Any company that wants to establish itself as an advertising agency must have the creativity, capacity and the infrastructure to sell that creativity.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you look at the current size of Nepal’s advertising industry which is said to be around Rs 3.5 billion?</strong><br />
			I think the market value of the industry is more than Rs 3.5 billion. There are a lot of unseen expenses that are not taken into account. I estimate the value of the industry to be around Rs 5 billion. While the growth of the market and its corresponding value pleases us no end, an Rs 5 billion market cannot accommodate so many new entrants into the industry. There are around 150 or more ad agencies registered with AAN. If this trend continues, the market will not be in a position to sustain them all.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What has prompted the growth in the industry’s market value? </strong><br />
			This growth is simply because of the increased number of advertisers. For example, a couple of decades ago, you could count the number of banks on your fingertips. Today, we have 27 commercial banks operating in the country. The number of service providers such as the insurance companies, financial institutions etc. have grown too. The manufacturing companies have also seen a tremendous growth in numbers. As the market has grown more competitive over the years, the corporate sector has begun to understand the importance of advertising like never before. They now believe in the mileage and benefits that advertising brings to their products and services. It has become imperative to resort to brand building measures and stand out in the crowd as products and services are being launched on almost a daily basis. Besides this, the media sector has grown too which provides advertisers added platforms for advertising.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What rate is the Nepali advertising industry growing at, on an annual basis? </strong><br />
			Frankly speaking, I don’t have the exact data for that. But we have seen that the media sector owes its survival to their respective advertising revenues. However, I can tell from my 20 years of experience and observation that we are growing at around 40 per cent as an industry. <br />
			<br />
			<strong>What is the advertising spending of MNCs here vis-à-vis the domestic companies? </strong><br />
			The MNCs clearly have more budget for advertising than the domestic companies. The domestic companies are neither big in size nor do they have a great range of products to advertise. Financially speaking, they allocate limited budget for advertising.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Could you take us through your journey of 20 years with the advertising industry?</strong><br />
			In the last 20 years or so, the market has grown by leaps and bounds. The number of advertisers and the advertising agencies has grown immensely resulting in where the industry stands today. And the growth is not only quantitative but qualitative as well. The positivity of it all is that the industry is headed in the right direction. Over the last decade or so, the focus of advertising has shifted from merely advertising product manufacturers, to creating lasting brand names.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems and challenges that the industry faces today? </strong><br />
			We don’t have any technical problems or issues related to the resources. The major problem of this industry is the shortage of educated and creative manpower. It is definitely something that plagues the industry the most. There is definitely a requirement for specifically trained human resource. Perhaps, we could start with courses and trainings related to the advertising industry included in various academic curriculums.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Even though Nepali advertisements have come a long way, we are still not in the same league when compared to global advertisements. Why so? </strong><br />
			I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag. The advertisers need to realise that a single slogan can work wonders for them. I believe that if the advertisers do value creativity and compensate it monetarily, the situation will definitely get better.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Does the industry follow a particular line on ethical issues? </strong><br />
			Do they ever refrain from working for a particular product? I can’t speak for the industry but I follow certain ethics in advertising. For example, I won’t produce any advertisements for the casinos. As the casinos are forbidden by the law, I don’t think it is the right thing to advertise about them. Also, I won’t put up a hoarding board for alcohol and tobacco related products in the vicinity of schools and colleges. I am aware of the social responsibility that we carry, as part of the industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the accounts you are currently working with? </strong><br />
			We have a mix bag of domestic clients as well as MNCs. To name a few, we have accounts like Salt Trading Corporation, Bank of Asia, NIC Bank, Janata Bank, Rahul Dairy Products, NLIC, Vishal Group, Panchakanya Group, P&amp;G and UTL etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which advertisement campaign are you particularly proud of, during your entire career? </strong><br />
			It has to be the one that we made for Tokla tea that we made around eight years ago. It was the re-launching of Tokla tea and it became a huge success. At that time, 80 per cent of the market share was with a different brand of tea. Today, Tokla tea commands 70 per cent of the market. I would like to mention here that advertisements made by other advertising agencies such as those of Unilever, IME etc. are definitely of high quality.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 583px;">
	 </div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag.',
			'sortorder' => '56',
			'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' => '107',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘We Need An Advertisement Censor Board’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 583px; text-align: center;">
	<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/crity-award.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why was AAN formed and what are its activities? </strong><br />
			AAN (Advertising Association of Nepal) was formed as the umbrella association of the advertising industry. It was set up for the protection of the rights and welfare of the industry, and to formulate the policies. It plays a vital role as a bridge between the advertisers and the media enterprises.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Being an old hand in Nepal’s advertising industry, what is your take on its evolution?</strong><br />
			The advertising industry has now transformed from being a small business sector to a full-fledged industry. Having grown consistently over the years, it has gradually asserted its role in the corporate world. It’s unimaginable today that a product/brand can establish itself in the market without the help of advertising campaigns.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The advertising market of Nepal stands at about Rs 3.5 billion. Is the growth in tandem with the expansion in other sectors? </strong><br />
			This augurs well for the advertising agencies, for sure. In fact, the industry value should have been around Rs 4.5 billion owing to the inflation. However, political instability has inhibited its progress to a great extent. Looking at the positive changes, even the rice brands have started advertising which never happened before. Even though the advertising market has been growing at the rate of 15 to 20 per cent annually, the time has not come for us to get particularly happy about it.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you view the unhealthy competition among the advertising agencies? </strong><br />
			It is no secret that there is unhealthy competition to get ad accounts. However, the Nepali media is the main reason behind this unhealthy competition. The number of media houses has been increasing at an alarming rate despite the market remaining comparatively small. The lack of uniformity in the market value, non-existent market planning and direct marketing, among others, are the key reasons for the unhealthy competition.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How can the unhealthy competition for holding the clients come to an end? </strong><br />
			There must be uniformity in the market rate. Next, it has become absolutely necessary that the ad agencies be categorised. Similarly, the media should be categorised, too. The government must issue licenses taking into consideration the respective categories. AAN has been working on this in association with various media groups. For example, we have worked with the Television Broadcasting Association to fix ad tariffs. Fixing a standard ad tariff will definitely create a favourable environment for the investors and help the market sustain.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is the industry in dire need of a regulatory framework? </strong><br />
			To regulate the advertising market, an advertisement policy is mandatory, to start with. We have certain policies but they need to be updated with the changing time. The government must have a different advertising authority set-up to regulate the advertising agencies.<br />
			<strong><br />
			According to you, which Nepali ad is the best, in recent memory? </strong><br />
			Personally, I like Jagdamba Steel’s “Nepali Mann Mann ma” which incidentally, was produced by Welcome Advertising. It was voted as the most popular ad. Quality wise, I think Pepsodent ad is the best one.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In general, the youth is looking at several career options but not advertising. What could be the reasons behind this? </strong><br />
			There is no doubt that we have not been able to attract young talent. However, the youth is showing interest in being a part of the industry, off late. Colleges have included advertising as a subject in their syllabi and advertising training centres such as Infinity Advertising Training Institute, too, are being established. Therefore, we are looking at better times ahead and hope that more young people will look at advertising as a rewarding career. There is the lack of skilled manpower due to braindrain and also because the trained ones are enticed by the banks. If the advertising industry will be managed properly, most of the youngsters would be in this sector.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why do our advertisements lack quality as well as creativity compared to the advertising standards abroad? </strong><br />
			My personal opinion is that Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity. The Nepali advertising agencies have been awarded with a number of international awards and certificates of merit since 2003. I will go as far as to say that our creative talents are second to none in South Asia. The annual Crity Awards have also encouraged the advertising agencies to produce better creative work. As the market gets more established with time, we should definitely be in a position to compete in the international market with a renewed vigour.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why were the recently held Crity Awards criticised and labelled as biased? </strong><br />
			Crity Awards is not confined to honouring advertising excellence. It is a celebration for the entire media industry. Any talk of branding the event as controversial is a baseless rumour. Recently, we organised a post-event programme for the ‘6th Crity Awards 2067’ where we had an interaction among the advertising agencies, media executives and journalists. We reached a conclusion that the awards ceremony did not have any reasons whatsoever to invite the wrath of the so-called critics.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The corporate big-wigs are circumspect about investing in the advertising industry. How do you view this hesitation?</strong><br />
			Well, there is sufficient investment in the advertising industry and that is why it has transformed into an industry from a small business. The annual turnover of the industry is Rs 3.5 billion now. AAN has close to 140 ad agencies registered with it. Politically, once there is a peaceful environment in the country and we have a stable government in place, the investment will definitely increase. There is a good number of multinational as well as local brands looking forward to an investor friendly environment to start/resume investments. It is only a matter of time, hopefully.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Besides being an advertising administrator, you are also an entrepreneur in the industry. How are you doing on that account?</strong><br />
			Welcome Advertising is an independent agency, in operation for 21 years now. It is an authorised member of the International Network in Nepal as well as a production house. Welcome Advertising works with some of the biggest names in the market such as the Jagdamba Group, Unilever, G Phone, MS Group etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There has been an issue about exaggerating product features through advertisements. How do you plan to address this? </strong><br />
			The question you have asked is very relevant in the present context. These are the advertisements which are produced by the clients themselves that are courting controversies. For such problems, censorship of advertisements is the best solution that one can think of. Therefore we do need a censor board which will monitor and approve advertisements before they go to print or get aired. The government must take an initiative to this end by setting up a separate advertisement authority. Alternately, the government could give this responsibility to AAN.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity.',
			'sortorder' => '55',
			'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' => '106',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Body And Mind',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Body and Mind</strong><br />
			Even a single cell organism such as a bacterium acts as if it has a mind. It moves away from toxins and towards nutrients. For bacteria, such behavioural response is the key to survival. Humans have minds, in addition to bodies, although both serve the same purpose -- a purpose shared by every species on earth, i.e. survival and well- being. Products and services, in essence, serve the purpose of mind/body by enhancing the survival (physical, psychological and social) and the quality of survival. No wonder advertising is more and more focused on the quality of life that products bring to consumers’ lives rather than their functional attributes.<br />
			The question of mind-body has intrigued many great philosophers and scientists. While the eastern civilization had long understood the connection between mind and body, it took a long time for the West to grasp this knowledge. An increasing body of scientific evidence suggests that mind (the immaterial) and body (the material) have a symbiotic relationship. What happens in the mind has outcomes on the body, and the body has a significant role in the shaping of the mind. But for many centuries, the West embraced the concept of disembodied mind (mind separate from the body; spirit separate from matter) and this had a profound impact on many disciplines including medicine, as exemplified in the way it treated diseases (by simply focusing on the body and not the mind). It would not be wrong to assume that this mind/ body problem had a great impact on the way marketers approached advertising. As a result, for a long time, marketers practiced a rationalist-materialistic approach in advertising (e.g. nice shampoo=nice hair=nice job).In the absence of proper understanding of bodily emotions and their influence on the mind, emotions were generally overlooked as an effective approach in advertising. <br />
			Emotions help us survive and survive better. If we did not have the emotion of fear, we would walk </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/car.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 280px; height: 313px;" /><br />
			<br />
			freely in the middle of the highway, though not for very long.If we did not feel good or happy, we would not get into any kind of exploration; whether it was seeking a mate or having sex when we lived in the jungle or seeking scientific discoveries while we live in a civilized world. It is very difficult for an eternally sad and depressed person to engage in such explorations. Some argue that emotions are dysfunctional, but this is true only when an emotion or its intensity is inappropriate to the situation. <br />
			With the re-emergence of the integrated theory of mind/body, and the role of body (where emotions occur) and its making of the mind (where the emotions are felt and classified as painful or pleasurable etc.), emotions have received their due importance in management and, by extension, in advertising. It is worthwhile to note that beliefs are tied with emotions. And emotions can lead to new beliefs and strengthen existing beliefs. It is our emotional connect with the brands that strengthens our belief in them.Only recently has science agreed upon a broad definition of emotions and their purpose in our lives.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Mind and Brands</strong><br />
			Products exist in the outer world. Mind exists inside us. We engage our body to interact with objects (including products) and events in the outer world.<strong> </strong> However, it is our mind, in conjunction with our body, which gives meaning to those products.<br />
			In other words, mind and products come together to make a brand. Products, or for that matter, any external objects or events, do not have much intrinsic qualities of their own. Products are generally neither good, nor bad; neither black nor white; neither beautiful nor ugly. And when they are made under the statutory quality standards, they are neither superior nor inferior. It is our mind that gives (or doesn’t give) products such qualities. <br />
			This is where advertising comes in. Advertising helps the mind embrace the</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			intended qualities of products through association or conditioning. When those intended qualities, through a repetitive exposure of messages (provided they are delivered in the proper way, here delivery of the message is the key) become hardwired in the brain, they become a belief. Beauty care products don’t make us more beautiful as much as they make us feel more beautiful, and so do the designer clothes and many other products. Does one nutritional drink make kids smarter or taller than others or does it make any smarter at all? No one can say for sure. Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation. But if the consumers strongly believe (with strong emotions) that it does, then no reasoning can change their mind.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Brands and God</strong><br />
			Brands are much more than simply matter, much more than what they are made of. Belief is what lies underneath both God and brands; the only difference is the degree. And mind is the space where both God and brands are experienced. This is in no way meant to reduce God to mental states or to draw any parallel between God and brands, because God is much more powerful than any brand mankind has ever made.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			Only God can create the kind of belief that He does. However, I believe that any brand that can create a godlike belief will be the truly ultimate brand. Whether it is ever possible to do so is another question altogether. But that should not stop brands from trying. This effort is what will drive brands to continually evolve forever. (Panday is a Creative Consultant and winner of six Crity Advertising Awards)<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation.',
			'sortorder' => '54',
			'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) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '105',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'God, Belief And Brands',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 595px;">
	<strong>In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			Have you seen God? This is a question I have faced many times in life. As a theist, I find it difficult to answer this because I haven’t seen God. But not seeing God or rather not being able to see Him hasn’t changed my belief in Him. My inability to see God can be attributed to many reasons. Perhaps God hasn’t endowed me with senses (vision, in particular) strong enough to see Him. Perhaps God doesn’t exist in the form and shape that my senses are attuned to. Humans have the instinct to anthropomorphise objects. Everything has to be human like. We look for faces in the clouds and in cars. In marketing, we attribute human-like characteristics to products. But, God doesn’t necessarily have to be a carbon based organism governed by the laws of the cosmos.<br />
			As for science, it has a concrete theory neither about the origins of mankind and the universe, nor about the brain which builds such theories. So, for science to come to a conclusion about God would be a bit too premature. Science, especially narrow science, rejects what it doesn’t know and ignores what it doesn’t understand. For centuries, science chose to ignore the issue of emotions. And science continues to ignore the phenomenon of consciousness (i.e. awareness in the most basic sense ) because neither can it fully understand this phenomenon , nor can it explain how it works inside the brain. For the time being, let science be science and God be God. At the very core, both science and God function as one, because both seek the same purpose - survival and well-being of mankind.<br />
			For a layman like me, the questions such as the evidence of God’s existence and whether God created this universe and the species or they evolved are not worth pursuing. Even if the issue of Creation vs. Evolution is ultimately resolved, it will not be the end of God or Science. Both will continue playing significant roles in our lives as long as we continue being an existence made of mind and matter. So, instead of the big questions, what I prefer to be asked is whether I believe in God or not? To that, my answer will always be a resounding YES. I do believe that God does exist.<br />
			Belief, in itself, is nothing less than a miracle. Belief is healing, not only psychologically but also physically. Belief in God gives us the strength to follow a moral path. Belief is empowering. Belief is comforting. In times of crisis, belief in God has helped many, including me, maintain sanity in life.And my belief is not only limited to God; it extends to scientists and even brands, whose cause I champion. If I did not believe in scientists who said that Earth will not collide with other planets soon, at least not during my lifetime,<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<img alt="" height="454" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/pic-ss.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" width="280" /> <br />
			&nbsp;then I would have ceased to exist long ago as a result of anxiety disorder. In fact, most of the scientific truths are simply beliefs for the vast majority of people.<br />
			For most of us, the existence of atoms, quarks or strings are beliefs and not scientific truths because by definition we ought to have observed them empirically in order to account them as scientific truths. But common sense dictates that it is best to leave science to scientists, even if they come up with a new theory every now and then.<br />
			Let me clarify that this discussion is neither about God nor about science, and it is certainly not against the non-believers. They are as much right in their (dis-) belief as I am in my belief. This article is mainly about belief because this is what makes a brand out of a product. In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.Medical science presents a classic example of the power of belief -- the placebo effect, where patients get better by ingesting a sugar pill, while they believe (falsely) that they are getting medicine. This is what some scientists call the belief effect. In one study, a psychology professor at the University of Connecticut found that ‘eighty percent of the effect of antidepressants, as measured in clinical trials, could be attributed to the placebo effect.’ This is the power of belief.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	 </div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.',
			'sortorder' => '53',
			'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) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '104',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Brand Mantra For Now - STAY YOUNG!',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			The umbrella-idea of ‘Grow Young’ could be the key for many brands in Nepal today. Let’s take the time to explore if it is just another jargon in an industry already full of branded synonyms or is there more to it? <br />
			According to the statistics, Nepal is a youth dominant country with 72 per cent of its population below the age of 35 years. That makes Nepal a market for the youth, so to speak. In order to stay relevant in this youthdominant market, brands have to remain youthful and contemporary all the time. With the passage of time, even the most successful brands become outdated or old-fashioned if they cannot keep up with the changing mindsets of the consumers. <br />
			Look around yourself and you will find many brands getting trapped in a time warp – Bata shoes or Bombay Dyeing could be the examples from the sub-continent and Brighter toothpaste, Rara noodles, Gogo detergent from Nepal. This clearly leaves the marketers and the advertising agencies with a challenging job at their hands – to make the brands look, feel and sense young at all times so that they don’t get lost into the oblivion. This means regenerating the Product Life Cycle graph with the changing demographic status of the country. <br />
			The importance and challenge for a brand to stay young and fresh is further compounded by the unique demographics of this country. Since marketers from sectors as diverse as automobiles to apparels to mobile phones have young audience at the heart of their campaigns, the importance of staying contemporary is the need of the hour.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			What do young people mean to the business world today? They are always open to new ideas, have the spending power, and are the key influencers even for decisions where they aren’t the ultimate buyers. They are willing to experiment and proving to be trendsetters in the process. To connect with the youth and their minds, it is important for brands to stay young and desirable. Therefore the only way forward for brands today is to constantly remain young in order to have a lasting effect. <br />
			Catch-them-young is turning out to be a ‘big idea’ the world over. And Nepal is no exception where organised categories are first tried by the youth. To comply with this trend, and implement the ‘big idea’ to create a platform for brands to stay fresh and young, there is a new process called ‘unboxing’. This approach could prove to be quite handy where the creative and client servicing units of an advertising agency join hands to use five Knowledge Blocks (5KBs) to generate ideas. These 5KBs originate from field study and research conducted by the client servicing team along with the client’s marketing or brand team. The 5KBs consist of a) consumer understanding b) category opportunities c) competitive gaps d) brand advantage and e) brand personality. Each 5KB gives clues to ideas that brands can own. <br />
			The strategic and the creative units collaborate to explore the findings, which leads to brand ideas. The ideas are then filtered to retain only the ones that keep the brand ‘fresh and young’. <br />
			(Shakya is associated with Outreach Nepal Pvt Ltd. This article has been acquired from AAN website and edited by Nubiz for clarity. - Ed.)<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="width: 595px;">
	<img alt="" height="197" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/big-idea.jpg" style="float: left;" width="363" /> <img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/stay-young.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 131px; height: 200px; float: right;" />
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The umbrella-idea of ‘Grow Young’ could be the key for many brands in Nepal today. Let’s take the time to explore if it is just another jargon in an industry already full of branded synonyms or is there more to it?',
			'sortorder' => '52',
			'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) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '103',
			'article_category_id' => '37',
			'title' => 'Lessons From The Global Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<div align="left">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">The key lessons from the recent global financial crisis could be divided under three heads:<br />
					<br />
					Economic lessons<br />
					<br />
					Financial lessons<br />
					<br />
					Policy lessons<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>
	<p>
		<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
		</span></p>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
			<div>
				<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
					<div align="left">
						<span style="font-size:12px;">Overall, we need to learn that the key economic lesson of this crisis is to avoid too much debt.</span></div>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>
		<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
		</span>
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
				<div>
					<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
						<div align="left">
							<span style="font-size:12px;">The banks that came out of the crisis unscathed were well capitalized, had ample liquidity and had strategies that were customer focused. In many respects, they could be termed conservatively run.</span></div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</div>
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
			</span>
			<div style="width: 595px;">
				<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
					<div align="justify">
						<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>ECONOMIC LESSONS </strong><br />
						In order to derive a proper understanding, it is important to look at this crisis in context. It is evident that a shift in the balance of power is underway i.e. from the West to the East. Though it will take time, the beneficiaries in this shift are countries with good financial resources, natural resources or the ability to adapt/ change. Thus the winners will have cash, commodities or creativity. The West, having seen an era of excess now encounters an era of austerity. In contrast, emerging economies have enjoyed an era of boom and are now in need of investment. These macro-trends will have a significant bearing on the postcrisis debate. In the UK, for instance, the debate over the banking and financial sector still has some way to go. A few years ago there was at least a general agreement that the financial sector was good for the economy. Now there are questions if the banking/ financial sector is good or bad. The danger in that debate is that commercial banks that facilitate much business and trade will be squeezed. In the US, Paul Volcker has not only produced his own plan for the financial sector but last year he also said the only socially useful innovation from banks had been the ATM machine. This links into the wider debate over innovation vs. regulation and getting the balance right. For Asia, the debate is different. Relative to the challenges in the banking sector in the west, this is an opportunity. But, relative to the macro-economic environment and outlook in Asia, there are challenges. For instance, the cost of future public sector investment is huge, estimated at over eight trillion dollars. Then there is the issue of capital flows and how to manage this, which links into the</span></div>
				</div>
				<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
					<div align="justify">
						<span style="font-size:12px;">need for Asia to deepen and broaden its capital markets. The outlook for the banking and financial sector cannot be viewed in isolation from the macro-economic climate. <br />
						There is a genuine risk of a double-dip, slipping back into recession, although a weak recovery is more likely. A double dip could occur if there was a policy mistake, an external shock or a loss of confidence. But the world economy is experiencing a shift, with more of global growth driven by emerging economies. Whilst, it is important not to underestimate the downside risks from debt and deleveraging in the West, looking at levels gives a different perspective. A decade ago, the size of the world economy was $ 31 trillion. On the eve of the crisis, it had risen to $ 61 trillion collapsing during the crisis to $ 58 trillion. Now it is back to pre-crisis levels. Global trade peaked in 2008, collapsing 21 per cent by May 2009. Since then trade has almost recovered to pre-recession levels reaching 98 per cent of that level by June 2010. The world economy is not decoupled. The collapsing trade had highlighted the inter-connectedness of the world economy. Although it was a crisis made in the West, it has had global implications. But the key lesson from this crisis is debt, too much debt. Although there were many characteristics of this crisis that were different from the previous ones, the fundamental cause was the same: too much debt. In fact, there are a number of factors linked to this. The crisis witnessed a lethal combination of debt, leverage and gearing combined with easy money and with one way.<br />
						<br />
						<br />
						</span></div>
				</div>
				<div style="clear: both;">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
	</span>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>FINANCIAL LESSONS <br />
					</strong><br />
					The main financial lesson of the crisis is liquidity. The crisis was triggered by a combination of factors: an imbalanced global economy, a failure to heed to warning signs and a systemic failure of the financial system. A strong rebound seen in banks over the last year has occurred in an environment where the global policy stimulus has been huge. Now, a more difficult time lies ahead as it becomes clear that the recovery in the West is weak, adding to the pressure on banks to lend. To heed the lessons for the financial sector, it is important to learn lessons from those that failed and also recognize that not all broke, even in the city of London, and there are lessons to learn from where things worked well. The banks that came out of the crisis unscathed were well capitalized, had ample liquidity and had strategies that were customer focused. In many respects, they could be termed “conservatively run”. There were also lessons to learn from countries that had a good crisis e.g. Australia and Canada benefitted from effective supervision. There are also important lessons to learn from Asia, including China, particularly in the case of macroprudential measures. <br />
					<br />
					These are specific and targeted measures that</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">worked well. They included reserve requirements for banks and specific measures that could, for instance, be aimed at real estate such as Loan to Value ratios. The potential effectiveness of macroprudential measures needs to be fully appreciated. They can be effective especially if used alongside appropriate monetary policies. There are also important lessons to learn from those institutions that failed. It came out loud and clear that there was a failure of corporate governance. In particular, senior managements and Boards did not guard against excessive risk-taking. This was particularly relevant with respect to liquidity. Some banks thought they didn't need much liquidity possibly because they thought risks were low or that Central Bank could help. The scale of the unregulated financial sector was also a distinctive result as the crisis unfolded. Hence, the needs for regulators to widen the scope of their regulatory remit. There was a lack of risk management, lack of liquidity management and procyclical behavior that added fuel to the fire. Capital reserves were built on artificially low default risks. And, when the crisis broke, mark to market triggered both asset write-downs and panic selling. So there are many financial lessons from the crisis but the key is liquidity.</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="clear: both;">
				<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
				<br />
				</span></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>POLICY LESSONS <br />
					<br />
					</strong>The first lesson is, avoid cheap money. This encourages the buildup of debt especially where debt is subsidized by favorable tax treatment as was the case in the US. Avoiding cheap money doesn't mean that there will not be occasions when interest rates should be low as in the West now. <br />
					<br />
					<br />
					The second lesson: learn the lessons from Asia and make effective use of macro-prudential measures. The third lesson is applicable to China and much of Asia now. With interest rates low in the west and likely to stay that way for some time, money is likely to flow east. This is likely to feed the asset-price inflation, perhaps on some government bond markets, and also in equities and real estate. Asia needs to heed such warning signs and not only take on board avoiding cheap money but also do more in terms of accepting greater currency flexibility and moving towards deepening and broadening its capital markets.<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					State capitalization and the role of the state are likely to be a future dominant issue. The crisis also<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">&nbsp;saw a desire by some financial firms to secure anchor shareholders. There is a need for long term players. Perhaps the most important policy issue is the need for an international approach to regulatory issues. The trade-off between an international approach and domestic agenda is an important one. One can understand on domestic economic grounds why now there are differences in macro policy. While deflation is a risk in the West, the East is characterized by inflation. Yet on financial issues, given the contagion that was witnessed during the crisis, an international approach is the key. Thus we have seen the move to G20 and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and this was reflected in the Basel III announcement.<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					In conclusion, the three key words are- debt, and the need to minimize it; liquidity, and the need for financial institutions to have sufficient amount; and the importance of policy makers to send the right incentives. (The writer is Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd.)<br />
					<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="clear: both;">
				<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
				</span></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2012-09-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'In order to derive a proper understanding, it is important to look at this crisis in context. It is evident that a shift in the balance of power is underway i.e. from the West to the East.',
			'sortorder' => '51',
			'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) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '102',
			'article_category_id' => '37',
			'title' => 'Four Months Wait For BUDGET Is Over',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<span style="width: 100%;">Nepal's caretaker government has finally managed to bring out the annual budget by issuing an Ordinance after a delay of four months from the date the fiscal year strated. Giving continuity to most of the ongoing programs, Finance Minister Surendra Pandey, announced the budget of Rs 337.9 billion for the fiscal year 2010/11. It is an increment of 18 per cent compared to last year's budget of Rs 285.9 billion. <br />
			<br />
			The government has allocated 56.3 per cent of the total budget for recurrent expenditure, 38.3 per cent for capital expenditure and 5.4 per cent for principal repayment. The estimated spending is 30.4 per cent more than the revised estimate of expenditure of the previous year. In terms of the structure of the expenditure, recurrent expenditure has increased by 25.8 per cent and capital expenditure by 44.8 per cent.<br />
			<br />
			To meet the expenditures, the government aims to mobilize Rs 216.64 billion from revenue and Rs 65.35 billion from foreign grants. Deficit of Rs 55.91 billion is expected to be covered from foreign loans of Rs 22.23 billion and domestic borrowings of Rs. 33.68 billion. The amount of proposed foreign loans is 2.6 per cent of the estimated GDP.<br />
			<br />
			A review of the first quarter's revenue collection of the current fiscal year makes it challenging to meet the revenue target of the budget. It, therefore, seems an uphill task to meet the target of 4.5 per cent economic growth. Last year's budget had targeted 5.5 per cent economic growth but the actual achievement was 3.5 per cent. The new budget expects inflation to be around 8 per cent. It is higher than this year's monetary policy's target of 7.5 per cent. <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			</span></div>
	</div>
	<div align="justify" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<strong>Major Highlights of the Budget</strong><br />
		<br />
		<div style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 5px;">
			01. More allocations for the infrastructure projects <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; like Kathmandu-Terai fast track road, Mid-hills <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; highway, Sikta and Ranijamara irrigation, <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Syafrubesi-Rasuwagadi road track, Upper <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tamakoshi hydropower, etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			02. Rs 500 thousand cash for the organizers of <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; seminar or workshop involving more than 100 <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; foreign passport holders entering Nepal <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; through air-route once at a time<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			03. Provision of sub health post and police post <br />
			&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; for the productive industry that offers <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; employment to more than 500 Nepali workers.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			04. Black-topped roads reaching the premises of <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; manufacturing companies employing more <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; than 100 Nepali people.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			05. Lands to be classified into six categories: <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; agricultural, industrial, forestry, commercial, <br />
			&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; residential and public community. Ownership <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; certificates to be issued accordingly.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			06. Construction of large and medium sized <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; reservoirs based hydropower projects at least <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; one in every Development Region.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			07. Two per cent incentive on equivalent Nepali <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; currency to exporters on submission of bank <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; documents showing that they have received <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; convertible currencies earned from the <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; exports. Incentive will be three percent and <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; higher if the value addition of exported <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; commodities exceeds 50 per cent or higher. <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They will also get 25 per cent income tax <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; exemption.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			08. Door opens for Non-resident Nepalis to invest <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; in the capital market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			09. E-tendering made mandatory from 14 April <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2011 onwards for all the contracts and tenders <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; of more than Rs 20 million.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			10. Merger of banks, finances and insurance <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; companies encouraged. Changes in the <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; provision of taxing assets and liabilities as <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; deposal after merger will be introduced to <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; make it non-taxable, and special <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; arrangements have been made for share <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; holders, managers and employees.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/table-of-i-nc(1).jpg" /></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2012-09-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal’s caretaker government has finally managed to bring out the annual budget by issuing an Ordinance after a delay of four months from the date the fiscal year started.',
			'sortorder' => '50',
			'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) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '100',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '“We Have An Edge Over Other Laboratories”',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				Super Religare Laboratories Ltd (SRL) and Life Care Services Pvt Ltd have started a jointventure recently to offer the Nepali public a world-class pathology lab. At a programme to mark this occasion, <strong>Dr Sanjeev K Chaudhry</strong>, the Chief Executive Officer of SRL, spoke to Nubiz about the venture and its future in Nepal. Excerpts from the interview:</div>
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Could you brief us on SRL? </strong><br />
				Super Religare Laboratories (SRL) is India’s largest and one of the world’s fastest growing health care diagnostics company. SRL was the first pathology lab system in India to get quality accreditations from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), Government of India and the College of American Pathologists (CAP), USA. SRL is today approached by leading hospitals of the UK, the Middle East, the SAARC region and South East Asia for their testing needs. A large part of the decision that a doctor makes in terms of what treatment to do or how to heal a patient is based on the output of an accurate diagnosis. We are the market leaders not just in terms of geographic capability or the size of an operation but also in terms of scientific and medical capability. SRL is the only Pathology Lab Network from India to have five reference labs and over 170 labs, with a footprint spanning over 1500 collection centres. Since its inception in 1996, it has conducted over 50 million tests and today its operations have scaled up to a level where 10 million people every year repose their trust in the testing facilities of SRL.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What kind of research did you carry out before approving this particular venture?</strong><br />
				Well, the laboratory of this nature is commercially viable if it is processing about 100 samples a day. We realised that we can price the services at this laboratory very high and make a lot of profit due to our monopoly position. However, it is not part of the “We have an edge over other laboratories” New Business Age | October 2010 25 Visiting Business People Nubiz SRL philosophy to do so. We believe in doing things correctly and at a fair price. So we have priced it very competitively in line with the market reality in Nepal. Our strategy is to seek profit through volume expansion. Since this lab is located in Kathmandu, we also had to think about the people residing outside the valley. So we have also set up sample collection centres outside the Kathmandu valley. There are already eight collection centres linked to this facility that includes Pokhara, Dharan, Janakpur, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Bharatpur. Over a period of time, we plan to have a 100 collection centres across Nepal.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Tell us about your foray into the Nepali market.</strong> <br />
				Being a neighbour of this country and being very closely associated culturally, socially and economically, we get a lot of people from Nepal who frequent India for treatment. There are many others who only send their samples. We perform tests on nearly about 80,000 samples and a few hundred every day from Nepal itself. So, we were convinced that coming to Nepal with a modern laboratory was always a viable proposition. This will serve not only our existing clientele here but also a large number of people who will have easy access to our laboratory here.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What is the kind of investment that you have put in your operations in Nepal? </strong><br />
				Super Religare Reference Laboratories (Nepal) Pvt Ltd is a joint venture between SLR, India and Life Care services Pvt Ltd, Nepal, which is part of a leading corporate group here led by Mr Ravi Bhakta Shrestha. We have already invested about US$ 1 million in this facility. With time, the facility will expand with more investment in its infrastructure. From the perspective of the health care industry, you need to understand that this facility is the part of a very large network. This network is connected electronically to a large number of reference laboratories across the world. For now, while it may be only a US$ 1 million investment, there is a whole SRL investment of several hundred million dollars in India and elsewhere which will be supporting the local facility here.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>How big are your operations and reach in global terms? </strong><br />
				Besides India and Nepal, we have a presence in Dubai at the Dubai Health Care City, in Mauritius, and in a couple of African countries, too. Very soon, we will be expanding to Europe and the United States as well.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What is the kind of expectation for growth here in Nepal that you have in mind, in the foreseeable future? </strong><br />
				At the moment, the parent company is growing at 30 to 40 per cent annually. We expect to register the same growth rate in Nepal or perhaps, even a higher rate. It would mean performing more tests and opening more collection centres. You can evaluate these things in multiple ways. We’ll look at establishing more laboratories in Kathmandu as well as other parts of Nepal once the need arises.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Tell us about the target consumer base that you keep in mind while focusing at a market like Nepal’s. </strong><br />
				Going by experience, we divide the population of any country into quintiles which consist of 20 per cent each. We find it relevant to directly target the top three quintiles which cover the 60 per cent population. This number definitely has the ability to pay for the treatment and it can afford to go for the best treatment. The bottom 40 per cent usually faces the problem of affordability and therefore they go to the state-run hospitals. To a patient, it may be free-of-cost but to the state it does cost money. The state-run hospitals do the best they can at their end. Anything that goes beyond their capacity is sent to a laboratory like ours which again is a source of revenue for our business.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>You said that you enjoy a virtual monopoly. Does that mean you do not have any competition whatsoever? </strong><br />
				We do have competition. When I say we enjoy a monopoly, it is in terms of the quality of our laboratory. Any test can be performed in a number of ways, including the use of primitive techniques like studying a slide under the microscope. In fact, a lot of laboratories can perform the tests that we do. The difference is in the processes for collection, testing, and reporting because our servers preserve the data on a long term basis. We believe in providing 100 per cent guaranteed service. SRL consistently follows the best of national and international quality protocols, thereby ensuring the accuracy of every test report. The same quality and international standard protocols will also be ensured in our Kathmandu lab. This is where we have an edge and it sets us apart from other laboratories.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>How cheaper is it going to be for the people who have been sending their samples thus far to your laboratory in India? </strong><br />
				For them, it will be at least 20 per cent cheaper as there won’t be a transportation cost. More importantly, it is the same result with the same efficiency and accuracy, only at a faster rate.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-31',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Super Religare Laboratories Ltd (SRL) and Life Care Services Pvt Ltd have started a jointventure recently to offer the Nepali public a world-class pathology lab. At a programme to mark this occasion, Dr Sanjeev K Chaudhry, the Chief Executive Officer of SRL, spoke to Nubiz about the venture and its future in Nepal. Excerpts from the interview:',
			'sortorder' => '49',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	)
)
$current_user = null
$logged_in = false
include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224
View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418
include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473
Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968
Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200
Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167
[main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117

Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity &quot;&quot; [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60]
Code Context
//    $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/indexdata.xml';



    if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){
$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp'
$dataForView = array(
	'articles' => array(
		(int) 0 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 1 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 2 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 3 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 4 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 5 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 6 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 7 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 8 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 9 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 10 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 11 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 12 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 13 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 14 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		)
	),
	'current_user' => null,
	'logged_in' => false
)
$articles = array(
	(int) 0 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '115',
			'article_category_id' => '50',
			'title' => 'Media's Arm-Twisting Ways',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>If a media report questioning the quality of its product is printed or aired, the business house, instead of immediately issuing a refuting press release, should launch an investigation into the matter first. If the media reports are true, it must have the courage to withdraw the products from the market, and then issue an apology and compensate the consumers.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>When the media reports negatively against a business venture with a vicious intent, it is bound to leave a bad taste in the mouth. The media and the business sector must strongly support each other as both need to depend on each other for continued existence.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div>
			As if the political instability in Nepal was not causing enough harm to the business environment already, a section of the media, recently, further aggravated the situation by frustrating business ventures through negative reporting. Dish Nepal, a DTH (direct-to-home) service provider; Real Juice, a Dabur Nepal brand; and Blackberry Services from Ncell, a cellular phone giant are among the businesses that were the targets of negative reporting by certain media outlets.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ad.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /><br />
			<br />
			Some of these companies faced the media wrath because they allegedly did not yield to intimidating tactics toâ gift advertisement contracts, while others were reported against because their market rivals sponsored spiteful information in an attempt to kill the competition. In at least one of these cases, the issue even managed political overtone. <br />
			The relationship between a section of the corporate houses and some media outlets has hit an abysmal low. Businesses need the media to launch and promote their brands and products in the marketplace. In turn, the media depends on advertisement contracts which are the major source of revenue for them. Thus, businesses and media establishments complement each other and it is absolutely essential for them to learn to co-exist. <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			The media seems to be losing its focus of late, believe some media observers. They say that this could have a huge impact on the corporatepress relationship in the long run. Advertisers are indeed circumspect while giving business to the media of their choice lest they invite the attention of media establishments that they are not interested to advertise in, says an official from the Advertising Association of Nepal (AAN).<br />
			<br />
			There has been a paradigm shift in the functioning of the media during the last few years due to various reasons, including corporatisation. The media, an important and vibrant partner in the economic growth of Nepal, must be eternally vigilant to the wrongdoings, if any. The press is, of course, a watchdog of society but that does not allow it to launch smear campaigns against businesses and poison the consumers minds. This, in no way, means that the business sector can make any kind of compromise with its obligation to produce and distribute quality products. If a media report questioning the quality of its product is printed or aired, the business house, instead of immediately issuing a refuting press release, should launch an investigation into the matter first. If the media reports are true, it must have the courage to withdraw the products from the market, and then issue an apology and compensate the consumers. It is a kind of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and is practiced everywhere in a civilised&nbsp; society.<br />
			Nowadays, news is no more just news; it has become&nbsp; a management issue&nbsp; as well. Increasingly, the managers seem to be more important than the editors themselves. They dictate which news should go and which should not. A reporter with a daily confessed on the condition of anonymity, There are times when we are instructed to report on certain issues which we neither understand, nor do we necessarily agree with. If a journalist continuously refuses to adhere, then his/her job is at stake.<br />
			<br />
			Manoj Neupane, Brand Officer of Dish Nepal admits to having received calls from a section of the media asking for advertisements or else get prepared to face adversity. It is an extortion of sorts.Sanju</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div>
			Koirala, Corporate Communications Manager of Spice Nepal Pvt Ltd that is now changed to Ncell Pvt Ltd., says, It is not possible for us to give advertisements to all and sundry. We choose media outlets depending on their reach and the target audience they cater to. Neupane reasons, My choice of media depends on its impact analysis and I am the one who approaches the media with advertisement contracts. It's not the other way round.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			The media has become more interested in earning profit at the cost of its role as the fourth estate. Market forces have dictated its role at the cost of the valued principles and wellaccepted ethics of journalism. The over aggressive marketing strategies have done more harm to the media sector than it comprehends. This is the age of conscious consumers. It is a consumer's prerogative to choose and rate a product or service in the market. Brainwashing the consumers and misleading them is the least that the media or market rivals can do. If a brand/product fails to live up to the expectations and promises it made, the consumers themselves will raise a hue and cry.<br />
			The smear campaigns in the media, coupled with political instability, will have an adverse impact on prospective investments. The unjustified adverse publicity against the products and services of such important ventures will not only hit the Nepali economy and exports hard but will also deter new foreign direct investments into Nepal. These issues could always be resolved amicably in a business-like manner.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			Having said that, one must understand that establishing a media enterprise does not guarantee that advertisements will come automatically. There are several factors such as subscription figures, a strong readership/ viewership base and popularity of a television channel/newspaper etc that determine the inflow of advertisements to a particular media. After all, a Rs 3.5 billion advertising industry does not have enough in its kitty to help survive all the existing newspapers and magazines, radio stations and scores of television channels in Nepal. Bullying does not ensure advertisement contracts, the popularity of the media does. An advertiser is free to choose his preferred media tools for the promotion of his products. A media house, on the other hand, is free, too, to publish a news report, irrespective of the instructions from the corporate houses providing the advertisements. So it's a two-way story.<br />
			<br />
			Businesses thrive in competition and not in isolation. To try and end competition in an unethical manner by sponsoring misleading news is bound to backfire. Once the market determines the truth, what will happen to the credibility of the people who engineer such controversies? questions Neupane. At the same time, negative reporting will take its toll, sooner or later, on the media's credibility, too. <br />
			<br />
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/media.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /><br />
			<br />
			Lastly, if it is proven that a business has cheated or confused the consumers, it is the media's responsibility to present the truth to the audience. However, when the media reports negatively against a business venture with a vicious intent, it is bound to leave a bad taste in the mouth. The media and the business sector must strongly support each other as both need to depend on each other for continued existence. Let there be journalism of hope and let the consumers decide for themselves what is right for them. Sanity must prevail.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="padding: 5px;">
				 </div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-29',
			'modified' => '2013-05-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Businesses and media establishments complement each other. It is absolutely essential for them to learn to co-exist.',
			'sortorder' => '63',
			'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) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '114',
			'article_category_id' => '41',
			'title' => 'Business And State: Nepali Capitalist Classes And Their Interests',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes. We won't be doing any justice to two traditional capitalist classes&nbsp; the Newars and the Marwaris&nbsp; if we say that these communities favored the former king during his direct rule.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>After the declaration of the Republic Nepal, the state is represented by the political parties. So it is natural that the capitalist class siding with the political parties has better ground to grow, again with the blessings of the state. For the time being, we have to accept that the capitalist class close to the former king doesn't enjoy such blessings at par. But they have the experience of doing business with all other capitalist classes.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				Traditional Newar capitalist class means a group of certain castes in the Newari community that are engaged in transit trade between India and Tibet (the autonomous region of the People's Republic of China) since the ancient time. This capitalist class is often referred to as the Caravan Traders because of their admirable mobility for business. The economic history of Newars is as old as Medieval Nepal. Marwaris are the traditional capitalist class of India who later migrated to Nepal in course of business. It has often been argued that the business history of Marwaris is as old as the economic history of India.</div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<br />
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div>
			<strong>By Mohan Das Manandhar &amp; Rojan Bajracharya</strong><br />
			It is undisputed that a number of important developments that occurred in the political sphere of Nepal in the past few years have affected the national economy and businesses alike. Particularly, after the declaration of Republic Nepal, it has become necessary to understand the customs, ethos and ways of doing business in the new political setup. It is natural that the business communities are and should be dynamic to readjust themselves with regime change otherwise an economy like Nepal would stall for once and for all.<br />
			<br />
			It will take some time for this dynamism to take pace and develop new commercial culture and statebusiness relationship. However, it is important to recognize at the outset how the business communities pledge their common interest to the state in view of their common interest guiding the future commercial culture and state-business relationship. One of the important components of market dynamism and competitiveness is the business communities ability to bring forward their collective interest and the state's readiness to address these interests.<br />
			<br />
			Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes. We won't be doing any justice to two traditional capitalist classes&nbsp; the Newars and the Marwaris&nbsp; if we say that these communities favoured the former king during his direct rule. However, we can't deny the fact that the rulers and their kin who represented the state during the former king's direct rule are another traditional capitalist class of the country; and that these three capitalist classes needed to join hands for their common interest. <br />
			<br />
			This article doesn't intend to explore what issues held them together and what separated them. We presume that all these three capitalist classes did share a common business interest, but the Newars and the Marwaris were always aware that it would be useless to have a conflicting interest as the third capitalist class (the royals) had the blessings of the state. So, the Newars and the Marwaris felt the need to build strategic ties with the political parties to defend their interests that were different from the common interest. The political parties, in turn, needed these traditional capitalists to support their movement for republicanism. <br />
			<br />
			However, the problem was that some skeptics inside the political parties thought the Newars and the Marwaris had stronger ties with the royals, and were therefore on the king's side. The king and the royalties on the other hand conceived that they could not operate the entire business and commercial activities of the country by themselves. The two traditional capitalists enjoyed an established commercial network which was the important pillar of the country's economy at that point of time. The triangular relationship between these three actors during the King's direct rule was intricate. The king and the political parties provided patronage to the traditional capitalists for their own political interests and harmonized relationship with the other two actors.<br />
			<br />
			Going further back in history, after the 1990 political transformation, the country entered into an era of democratic electoral practice. The absolute monarch was brought under the constitution and the political parties were handed the executive powers of the state. Now the state was represented by two distinct political forces the king and the political parties. Soon, these two forces were confronting with each other. An opposition political force, the Maoists, even launched an armed uprising against the constitutional monarchical dispensation.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div>
			Later, former king Gyanendra seized the executive powers on February 1, 2005. It showed that though the political parties were assigned the executive role, the king could still afford to become authoritarian. Interestingly, it was also the period of a change in the economic regime from a closed, import-substitution economy to a liberal economy.<br />
			<br />
			In this article, what we have presumed is that the state during the former king's direct rule had conceived the need of economic liberalization in the country. It got continued with time. With economic liberalization, new business opportunities emerged in the country and so did the new capitalist classes. Gradually, a new breed of aspiring capitalists also started to get engaged in trade and commercial activities giving birth to new capitalist classes in the country. It is certain that, with the latest political change, business ventures of the former king's relatives became more transparent. They have the benefit of being tagged as general public in theory but are enjoying the blessings of the state in practice. The capitalist classes also started to tag political affiliations for their mutual benefit which is but natural.<br />
			<br />
			However, the relationships of the capitalist classes with the former king and the political parties still remain harmonized in nature. Further, few new capitalists also emerged due to nurturing by political parties or by virtue of being the relatives of the leaders of these political parties. It was but natural in any new democratic country, at least in South Asia. It is not unusual that the relationship of this capitalist class with the political parties is similar to that of the king and his relatives' capitalist class. So the capitalist class close to the political parties and the one close to the king became competitors in the market and both had had the state's blessings to further their business.<br />
			<br />
			The common interests of both the traditional and the new capitalist classes are the same. This has resulted into business associations in various capacities and the strengthening of the institutional capacity of old associations : This developed formal channels to liaison the common interests of the business communities with the state. On the other hand, the traditional Newar and Marwari capitalist classes are blessed with its own strong, wellestablished conventional network. It is important to note here that this traditional network still guides the commercial culture and the way of doing business informally. So we must presume that there must have been a timely adjustment in the conventional network of the Newars and the Marwaris. <br />
			<br />
			After the declaration of the Republic Nepal, the state is represented by the political parties. So it is natural that the capitalist class siding with the political parties has better ground to grow, again with the blessings of the state. For the time being, we have to accept that the capitalist class close to the former king doesn't enjoy such blessings at par. But they have the experience of doing business with all other capitalist classes. There are traditional Newar and Marwari capitalist classes blessed with well established conventional network and commercial culture. And the fourth capitalist class is the one which has evolved in the last one decade due to new market opportunities. <br />
			<br />
			Obviously, all these capitalist classes would stand together for their common business interests but each of them has its own self-interest and are, therefore, skeptic about each other at times. It is certain that business associations are working together as building blocks to get united for their common interests and distinct identity. However, the challenge is to build unity with diversity.<br />
			<br />
			<em>(Manandharm and Bajracharya are freelance researchers.) <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			</em></div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="padding: 5px;">
				 </div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-29',
			'modified' => '2012-09-17',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes.',
			'sortorder' => '62',
			'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) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '113',
			'article_category_id' => '42',
			'title' => 'Stocks End Sour, Despite Late Budget (Review For 24 Oct- 23 Nov, 2010)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The budget has opened door for Non-Resident Nepalis and provided some ropes for merger between different financial institutions and insurance companies. However, it has not addressed cut and dry approach for uplifting the stampeded stock market of Nepal.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The operation of Central Depository System (CDS) will replace the current scrip-based manual system of trading. It will be introducing computerized book entry system cutting the transaction time and facilitating prompt trade.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			The secondary market of Nepal, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), plummeted in the review period erasing its early gains. The four-month-late budget was expected to boost up the faded stock market. But that could not happen. The Nepse index went down 6.70 points or 1.60 per cent to settle at the review period's low of 419.63 while the highest point of the period was 426.33 on 24 Oct.<br />
			<br />
			During the review period, most of the companies declared their dividend and book closing date and published first quarter financial reports and company analysis. Hence, it can be expected that a great momentum is not going take place very soon as the investors will take time to analyse and interpret the health of institutions and their future prospects.<br />
			<br />
			The outflow of fund during the time of Dashain and Tihar has also hampered the capital market of Nepal, as banking sector is facing liquidity crisis while the lending rate between the banks has also picked high. Hence, spending and withdrawals made at the festival time have affected the investing capacity of the investors. On the other hand, different banks have already declared their revised interest rate on the deposits attracting the investors to hold the capital and deposit it at the bank rather than investing in the market.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			The budget for the fiscal year 2010/11 delayed due to political wrangling among Nepal is and provided some ropes for merger between different financial institutions and insurance companies. However, it has not addressed cut and dry approach for uplifting the stampeded stock market of Nepal.<br />
			<br />
			The much awaited Nepal Central Depository and Clearing Ltd was registered. Nepal Stock Exchange, Citizen Investment Trust and 17 commercial banks have signed the Memorandum of Association of the company as the founder shareholders. Nepse has 51 per cent, CIT has 15 per cent, six commercial banks have 2.88 per cent each while the rest stake in this company is held by 11 commercial banks. The operation of Central Depository System (CDS) will replace the current scrip-based manual system of trading. It will be introducing computerized book entry system cutting the transaction time and facilitating prompt trade. <br />
			<br />
			The trial operation of the CDS system will be made in January 2011 as the software will be handed over by Tata Group by December 15, 2010. The taste of new improved system will surely cure some of the ills of the market; however, political and economic conditions till that period will also determine the sentiment of the market.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		<br />
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="padding: 5px;">
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bar.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 369px; height: 274px;" /><br />
				<br />
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/pie-chart.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 360px; height: 253px;" /></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Performance by Sector </strong><br />
			<br />
			Banking sector, accumulating the heavy volume of trade in Nepse, experienced a double digit dip of 10.77 points or 2.76 per cent to close at 389.68. Similarly, hotel sector plunged 8.66 points followed by 7.64 points down in development banks to settle at 402.48 and 400.11, respectively. The ‘others sector’ skidded 2.35 points while hydropower sector lost 1.89 points. Trading sector descended 1.72 points or 0.65 per cent to close at 265.15. However, insurance accelerated by a fast 34.51 points or 7.02 per cent to settle at 491.75. Finance sector spread the modest of 0.02 points or 0.01 per cent to rest at 357.07.<br />
			<br />
			The sensitive index that measures the performance of 94 blue chips scrip at the secondary market, drifted down 2.33 points or 2.27 per cent to 102.58 while the float index calculated on the basis of real transaction, receded 1 . 2 4 points to 36.5. Total of Rs. 471,129,498 was</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			realized during the review period from 1,656,453 units of share traded via 26,545 transactions.<br />
			<br />
			The figure on the previous page depicts the sectorwise distribution based on the total amount of trade. The commercial banks accounted 50.45 per cent while finance sector covered 14.53 per cent. Similarly, development banks held 13.97 per cent, insurance occupied 9.25 per cent and hydropower sector retained 8.32 per cent while the remaining sectors made up the rest.<br />
			<br />
			Technically, both the 200 days Simple Moving Average (SMA) and 30 days SMA are above the Nepse index, as the market has retreated from its previous surge. Nepse index is overlapped with 30 days SMA showing the shabby nature of stock in the short term while in the long term it is weak. Hence, the chance of acceleration in the market is not visible; however, a few fluctuations can be expected in the short term. (The writer is a stock analyst)</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		<br />
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="padding: 5px;">
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/stock.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 307px; height: 216px;" /></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2012-09-16',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The secondary market of Nepal, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), plummeted in the review period erasing its early gains.',
			'sortorder' => '61',
			'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) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '112',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''The Government Has Not Recognised Advertising As A Real Industry'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural Nepali audience, too.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>In other countries, there is a rebate of 5 to 10 per cent out of the profit that can be spent on advertising that encourages the advertisers to spend more. We need a similar policy in our country.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Being a key player in Nepal’s ad industry for almost two decades, what is your evaluation of its evolution? </strong><br />
			Our market has seen tremendous change and ended with a 360 degree turn of success. We only had the state-owned Gorkhapatra and The Rising Nepal in the print media and Nepal Television and Radio Nepal in broadcast media to begin with. Most of the advertising two decades ago constituted government ads and notices. Over the years, Nepali advertising has taken a long leap because consumption patterns have changed and the market has changed, too, because of democracy and several other factors. Multinational companies (MNCs) were not there. FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) products were very few. Today, we have MNCs, new big companies and many FMCGs. All these changes have brought in new players in the market. The advertising situation has been changing every five years. Today, we are almost on a par with advertising industry in the neighbouring countries. But our online advertising has not grown as expected.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There seems to be unhealthy competition among the major players on holding onto the clients. How can this be controlled?</strong><br />
			Unhealthy competition does exist, but it is not as it was a decade ago. The clients have become more professional and demanding. Leading advertising agencies are under pressure to produce quality ads ever since the clients have started demanding effective campaigns. If you can deliver good work and service to the client, the client is bound to stay on. The smaller advertising agencies, however, continue to compete with each other by offering lower tariff and increased percentage sharing to the clients. I am sure this scenario will change with time once they come to terms with the professional demands of the market. Media exposure has led to clients demanding more professional service as they now know what’s happening in other countries. Compared to a decade ago, there are more advertising agencies producing quality work which has helped bring down unhealthy competition.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Now the ad market of Nepal stands at around Rs 3.5 billion. Are the ad agencies having a good time? </strong><br />
			Yes, it is a good time for the ad agencies which are serious and professional. They are prospering and they will be prospering.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Prisma has top profi le clients like Bottler’s Nepal, Samsung, Western Union, Ncell and Bajaj, to name a few. How tough is the competition among the agencies? </strong><br />
			The competition among the top notch agencies is very healthy and professional. We have a good portfolio of clients but in today’s age of competition, we have to be better than others and perform well to get an edge. So, the competition among the top notch advertising agencies is more in terms of quality and creative work.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The number of advertisers has grown but the number of ads and the market value have grown more. What is contributing to this growth? </strong><br />
			Several factors have contributed to this growth. For one, our urban population is growing consistently and so is the demand for products and brands. MNCs like Unilever and Dabur are pumping in more investments. Another reason for this growth is the change in our consumption habits. Almost 60 per cent of our population is below 32 years of age. This population is literate and possesses decision making capacity which enables them to dictate the market, which in turn, demands the products to be competitive and good. This is where the advertising agencies come in the picture. The entry of new players into the market fuels increased advertising spending from the existing competitors. An example is, when today’s Ncell came in as Mero Mobile, Nepal Telecom was forced to turn aggressive. During its old days of monopoly, it never felt the need for advertising as it does today. Similarly, there are certain sectors that have grown tremendously in recent times. Today, the largest spender in advertising is the education sector. Real Estate sector is another major contributor to Nepal’s advertising industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is the lack of creative talent the only reason our advertisements are not at par with foreign advertisements? </strong><br />
			I, for one, do not agree with this. When you look at any other country’s advertisements, for example India, there is sectoral advertising. Each advertisement there targets a special section of the society. Nepal is a market with all sorts of consumers mixed up. I cannot make a very creative ad for a mobile phone company like Ncell as it should cater also to the consumers living in remote Nepal where literacy level is very low. I do not expect such audience to comprehend the message that I will be conveying through a highly creative ad. For example, I cannot compare the comprehension levels of the youth in Kathmandu and Solukhumbu. It’s a major reason why Nepali ads are created in the simplest manner possible. What use is creativity if it cannot sell a product? It would be unfair to judge the creative talents of Nepali advertising professionals given the constraints that they have to face. It would be equally unfair to compare us with international advertising which caters to people with high literacy levels and different mindsets from ours. You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural<br />
			Nepali audience, too.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Aren’t the agencies pressurising the government to introduce a regulatory framework? </strong><br />
			We have been pressurising the government for a long time. Despite us being an Rs 3.5 billion industry today, the government has not recognised us and given us due treatment. During election time, politicians seek our assistance to create campaigns which means they do know the importance of advertising even for electoral purposes. However, once the government is formed, they forget that advertising should be treated like an industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Today’s youth look at careers other than advertising. How does that impact the ad industry? </strong><br />
			One of the biggest challenges for our ad industry is the lack of quality human resource. We have not been able to create enough interest among the youth. They would rather aspire for a banking career, for example, which is secure as well as a rewarding career. Advertising is merely a small topic for them while in college and not part of their core curriculum as such. It’s ignorance that’s keeping them from a career in advertising. They probably don’t realise that advertising, too, can be a lifelong and rewarding career. Once they realise this, the problem of quality human resource will have found a solution.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Almost all MNC ads are dubbed from foreign languages, mostly from Hindi. Can’t we come out with our own ads for these products? </strong><br />
			One reason for dubbed ads is the trickle-down effect of international media in Nepal. For example, multinationals like Unilever want to create synergy among the communication they are doing in this region as most people have already seen the same advertisements on Indian TV channels. Nepal and India have similar culture and consumption patterns. In India, too, they use the same ad in different languages in different states. This way, the advertiser saves the production cost of new advertisements and invests only in releasing them over a number of channels in different languages. Another reason is the celebrity endorsement. Indian celebrities are equally popular in Nepal. A possible solution could be ‘clean feed’ which will block the advertisements on foreign channels aired to Nepal, thus forcing the advertisers to create advertisements in Nepali. However, there is no such policy at this point of time.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Our ad market is only of Rs 3.5 billion. Isn’t it quite small in size when you consider that a single company allocates more than this for advertisements in other countries? </strong><br />
			You have to understand that our market size is rather small. You cannot compare the advertising budget of Indian corporates with that of ours. A company’s turnover usually determines the amount it wants to allocate for advertising spending. Another thing that we need to look into is the potential of the market in terms of growth which also induces the budget of the industry. Thirdly, the government policy doesn’t provide for tax exemption on advertising spending after a certain limit after which the money spent on advertising is not considered as an expense. This discourages advertisers from making sustained investment in advertising. In other countries, there is a rebate of 5 to 10 per cent out of the profit that can be spent on advertising that encourages the advertisers to spend more. We need a similar policy in our country.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The reported annual growth of 12 to 15 per cent of the ad industry is said to be mainly because of media infl ation. Do you agree?</strong><br />
			Inflation is created by the media but there is always a debate in the advertising sector for several reasons. You see electronic media suffering a lot during load shedding. On the other hand, there are advertising categories which have been shrinking because the whole industry has shrunk. Lately, noodles industries’ advertising spending has gone down heavily. But we are still growing. New breed of advertisers such as the real estate, education sector, and lately, DTH have come up. We are growing not just because of media inflation; there is a genuine growth, too. We expect to grow at 20 to 25 per cent looking at the pace of media growth but it is not happening because of the political situation and power cuts.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the market share of Prisma?</strong><br />
			We are proud to be in the market for 20 years. There are good clients attached with us for more than a decade. Our clients have succeeded in becoming market leaders over the years. We consider good work, recognition and revenue as the most important. It’s important to enjoy a good profit even if the turnover is less. I cannot quote a market share for you but we are holding a good position in the market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which Nepali ad do you think is the best, either by your agency or some other agency and why? </strong><br />
			The biggest and the best campaign that ever happened is the Ncell rebranding from Mero Mobile that we did. The campaign was very successful and we are very proud to have done this campaign. Also, it was the only rebranding ever happened in Nepal.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2010-12-27',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural Nepali audience, too.',
			'sortorder' => '60',
			'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' => '111',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''An Advertisement Must Sell The Product'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>We defi nitely lack the right people in the advertising industry. There is no academic institution to train people in advertising, besides the regular brief training packages provided by the Advertising Association of Nepal.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you evaluate the Nepali ad industry? </strong><br />
			The industry has grown a lot in the last decade and it is still growing. It’s a Rs 3.5 billion industry now. But there’s still the lack of trained, educated professionals in this field. It makes a huge difference in the output, especially in a creative field. The new generation, it seems, is more comfortable to work in the banks, the way the old generation preferred government jobs to private ones. In advertising, as is the case with any other creative sector, people who don’t want a nine-to-five job are more interested. And those who want to explore their talent join this industry.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There is no categorisation of ad agencies. Every agency has the same basic tag of ‘Advertising Agency’. Is that alright? </strong><br />
			It is high time that we differentiate. When we help sell the products of the clients, we position them. Every product has its own positioning. Similarly ad agencies must be differentiated or, let’s say, positioned. We in Water Communication would like to call ourselves a strategy and design company. Others see us as a creative agency. I think creativity is essential but strategy must be stronger.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>A common criticism against the Nepali ads is that they lack creativity. Ad agency people say that highly creative ads tend to go a bit over the top and that the general public fails to catch them. Can’t we create ads that are simple, yet highly creative?</strong><br />
			Creativity must be saleable. If you can’t sell creativity, I don’t call it creative. The main purpose of advertising is to promote the sales of products. Creativity must be promoting the sales. We don’t make ads for the sake of creativity. In the case of Nepal, the boundary for creativity in advertising is limited. I have to sell the products of my clients anyhow. Clients have different needs. And we need to be flexible.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Many ads are made in such a way that the focus is more on something other than the product or its value. Such ads, rather than promoting the products, end up confusing the consumers. What is the main reason behind it? </strong><br />
			The person or agency responsible for making the promotion strategy must be aware what they want to sell. If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Mobile phones and the Internet are growing as big media. How is your agency trying to cash in on this opportunity?</strong> <br />
			The new media is coming up rapidly and has a huge scope. In Nepal, the mobile phone has a greater scope than the Internet as there are more mobile users. Around 30 per cent Nepalis have access to mobile phones. Despite knowing about this opportunity, many ad agencies are unable to tap it. Mobile phone is a medium which provides a direct contact with the customers. But we don’t have an up-to-date database for that. Marketing through mobiles is a recent phenomenon in Nepal. We are far behind countries like India, China or even Bangladesh. Our customers are semiliterate. Still print is the best media for us for the time being. The television has definitely gained in popularity lately. So, it will certainly take some time before advertising could be done through the new media.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>As you said, the industry has a big problem of skilled human resource. How are you managing this crunch? </strong><br />
			We definitely lack the right people in the advertising industry. There is no academic institution to train people in advertising, besides the regular brief training packages provided by the Advertising Association of Nepal. So, there are very few trained professionals in the creative department. In the marketing department, we manage with the products of private colleges.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Celebrity endorsement is not used much in the Nepali ads, while we see that quite a lot in foreign ads. Why are our ad makers not interested in using the celebrities to make ads? </strong><br />
			A celebrity is already a brand. But the celebrity-brand is perhaps yet to find a wider acceptance in Nepal. A product is also a brand. Rajesh Hamal is definitely a brand. It’s the media that creates a celebrity who then naturally becomes a brand. But sadly, the Nepali media has not gone beyond Rajesh Hamal and a few other names. Stars are not made by advertising agencies but by the media. We have limited celebrities and almost all the advertisers are using them to endorse their brands.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In creating an advertisement, who plays the important role - the advertiser or the ad agency?</strong><br />
			Both play very important roles. And both have a common purpose – to reach the consumers. Clients give their needs and requirements and agencies help them with the means to reach the consumers. At the end, that must sell the product. Some might say that advertisers influence the creation of ads while others might argue that such an influence is possible because the ad agencies are not competitive.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems and challenges you are facing in this industry? </strong><br />
			The major problem we are facing is the lack of human resource. Another problem is the industry’s growth is not healthy and professional. There is unhealthy competition going on. There are many people who talk more and work less. There is no design policy. Such a policy would not only help to promote the products but also determine the country’s image. When we talk about Nepal tourism year, Nepal is not to be promoted only by the Nepal Tourism Board. Nepal has to be sold as a product. I don’t know if anybody has even thought about this policy.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What future do you see for the advertising industry? </strong><br />
			It’s going to be more competitive. It will be run by more professional people. Our market is very small compared to the Indian market. To survive here, agencies must have more professional people. Strategically, only strong agencies can come up with such human resource and compete. The small agencies that can’t compete won’t be able to survive in the market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2010-12-27',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.',
			'sortorder' => '59',
			'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' => '110',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘The Number Of Women In Advertising Is Increasing’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you set apart your ad agency among several others in the market?</strong><br />
			Advertising agencies are basically the same. Our ultimate target is to produce an advertisement that satisfies the clients and stays in the minds of the consumers for long. But definitely, we are able to set ourselves apart because of our philosophy. This philosophy defines me and my team. I and my whole team believe that we work hard, talk straight and are damn good at what we do. This confidence in the profession has established our team in this industry.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>With the number of ad agencies increasing every year, how tough has the competition become?</strong><br />
			I am happy that gradually people are realizing that the advertisement industry is a field with lots of opportunities. I don’t see it as a competition. I don’t think I am competing with anyone. Rather, I compete with myself. I have set some goals for myself and I am constantly working to meet these goals. I take each day as a challenge. I want to do better than what I did yesterday.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems of the Nepali ad industry? </strong><br />
			A major problem is the lack of skilled human resource. First, our youths are unaware of the opportunities in advertising. They either want to work in banks or in the multinational companies. So we are not getting smart and creative Nepali people even if we pay salary and other benefits on a par with these institutions. Second, we don’t have schools or institutions where we can enhance our creativity. An advertising agency has to hire a freshman. It takes at least a year for that person to learn everything. But when he is ready, another agency takes away that person. Third, even though we hire the best person in our company, our clients do not have confidence in them. They insist on hiring a foreigner for creative concepts. Thus the money that we could have spent in our country goes outside. Mostly, this money goes to India.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There are many ads that use the female body just as a means to get public attention. How do you see this trend?</strong> <br />
			Different people have different perceptions of the same thing. In my case, I believe showing females in an advertisement is not bad but how they are shown makes the difference. We live in a country like Nepal where we follow certain norms and values. No advertisement should cross the social limits such that it becomes unacceptable to society at the end. Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Do you implement your such ideas when you make ads? </strong><br />
			Being a woman, I think a lot before doing anything. I am very careful not to tarnish the image of females through my advertisement because with every woman I associate myself. Similarly, when I think logically as an ad maker, I know there are several things in the nature that can be depicted in an advertisement in the place of women to convey the message. If anything is shown unnecessarily, consumers</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How is the participation of women in this fi eld so far? </strong><br />
			As of now, there are many women working in this field. And I think their number is increasing. But there are very few women who are investing in this field or holding top positions. I have been able to establish myself because of my confidence. I never feel weak just because I am a woman. I think I can compete with men in every aspect. Every woman should feel this way.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is it a fi eld suitable for women?</strong><br />
			I don’t want to categorise professions on the basis of gender. With confidence and creativity, everyone can do better in this profession. Women can compete with men in every profession. However, women still lag behind because of low self-esteem. Women should take a step forward and explore the opportunities in this sector. I strongly believe that an advertising professional can fit in any other sector because he/she gains a bit of many different experiences in this field -- marketing, designing, writing etc. This field has so much to offer to creative people.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What should be done to attract more women to this creative fi eld?<br />
			</strong>People become successful when they work in the field of their interest. If someone has an inner desire to be a part of the advertising industry, I would welcome them. However, they have to be able to face the challenges. I urge women not to feel weak or discouraged because this is a field where creativity counts, not the physical strength.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Who are your top clients? </strong><br />
			Chaudhary Group, Triveni Group, Sujal Foods, MariGold Foods, Khajurico Nepal are our top clients. There are several others, too. And we have some snacks and confectionaries in the list.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which Nepali ad do you consider the best, made either by your agency or other agencies? </strong><br />
			I consider the advertisement of U-n-Me tea to be the best advertisement of our team. I love this advertisement because it is very tender. It has a quality to touch the hearts of the consumers and remain in their minds for a long time. Among the ads made by other companies, I think the advertisement of Wai Wai Gyan Uday is the best for the beautiful amalgamation of caste and creeds of Nepal.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.',
			'sortorder' => '58',
			'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' => '109',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''Advertising Is Growing At Breakneck Speed'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The unhealthy competition is created by agencies that cannot offer quality services. In an effort to retain their own clients or even get the clients of others, some agencies lower the fees for their services to such an extent that it is not possible to compete with them.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>v-chitra won awards under fi ve categories, including the “Best Creative Agency” Award, in the latest Crity Awards. What puts this company on the top?</strong><br />
			Our motto is: Everyday is a new beginning. So for us at v-chitra, winning an award is a thing of the past. But awards do put more pressure on us, as our clients expect more from us. At v-chitra, we believe that everyday customers have new choices. Everyday our clients have to renew their relationship with their customers so as to remain the first choice. So, we strive to make that happen, everyday.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which do you think is the best advertisement campaign and why?</strong><br />
			My next campaign will be my best one. Every campaign I develop becomes a part of my learning curve. It helps me experiment with new ideas and presentation styles. So, after making a campaign, I analyse it in detail to see if it could have been better. I make sure that I implement what I find in my analysis in my next campaign.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the market share of v-chitra? Who are its major clients? </strong><br />
			It is very difficult to calculate our market share in percentage. But what I can tell you is we are one of the fastest growing agencies. Our Major Clients now are the Chaudhary Group – Wai Wai and Rio; Syakar Group – Honda two- and fourwheelers, Honda generators and Philips; Pashupati Paints; Teletalk – Colors Mobiles, Yeti Travels, Rosebud School, and Balterio floorings, among many others.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Different sources have different estimates about the size of Nepal’s advertising industry. What is your estimate about the size of the ad industry? </strong><br />
			Genuine figures about the size of the advertisement industry are not available. These days, different sources are making different estimates. But we cannot comment on any of the estimates or verify any of them.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you see the evolution of the advertising industry in Nepal? </strong><br />
			It is growing at break-neck speed. Nothing can stop it. But there are some constraints. The biggest constraint is the shortage of professional human resource. As far as infrastructure is concerned, there is a great chasm between man and machine. The industry has invested in physical infrastructure but not in the professionalisation of human resource. Currently, a majority of talented youth is going overseas to study. The industry has failed to develop interest in the young talents towards advertising. At the recent Crity Awards, I was happy to see a category for the “Best Creative Youth.”But that’s not enough. We have to make an advertising career just as lucrative as a banking career.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Most of the advertising agencies play the role of a mediator between the advertisers and the media. Is that all an Ad agency is supposed to do? </strong><br />
			The most important function in advertising is to create. Creating new concepts and ideas, to effectively sell the products and services is the primary objective of any agency. Everything else in an agency is support service. At v-chitra, we concentrate on providing creative solutions that are based on sound marketing strategies. Without a sound strategy, all creative concepts will fail.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>With the demand for advertisements growing, there seems to be a mushrooming of ad agencies. What makes v-chitra stand out? </strong><br />
			We try to create effective communication platforms for the products and services we represent. Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There seems to be unhealthy competition among the major players of the advertising industry in terms of retaining the clients. What do you have to say about this? </strong><br />
			The unhealthy competition is created by agencies that cannot offer quality services. In an effort to retain their own clients or even get the clients of others, some agencies lower the fees for their services to such an extent that it is not possible to compete with them. But the clients need to understand that they are causing a long-term, irreparable damage to their brands by associating themselves with such agencies.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In Europe and America, online advertising has come up really strong over the past few years. Why do the ad agencies in Nepal continue to ignore online advertising? </strong><br />
			Online advertising will increase only when the base of computer and Internet users is wide enough. Clients like to spend on the kind of media that has a wide readership, audience or viewers. Having said that, I think online advertising, too, is picking up in Nepal. The growth is slow, but it’s definitely picking up.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the situation of the availability of professional human resource in advertising?</strong><br />
			The youth have to be shown the rewards, financial or otherwise, for them to enter this industry. An agency can offer such rewards, only if it is itself rewarded. As of now, the clients expect many of our services free of cost; they think that 15 per cent media commission is enough. Even that is shared and stretched to the limits by corporate houses that see only their profit. But they need to understand that squeezing an agency beyond the limits affects them and their brands directly because it also affects, directly, the quality of service and creativity.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the challenges and problems of the advertising industry?</strong> <br />
			The lack of professional human resource is the biggest challenge. The industry needs more smart, young and energetic professionals. Alongside, we should generate new talents who will enhance the quality and scope of advertising in Nepal.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What do you expect from the government for this industry?<br />
			</strong> Advertising is self sustaining. It is purely an economic activity that survives on entrepreneurial initiatives. Businesses today have realised the importance of advertising. All that I expect from the government is to create an ideal business environment for the industries and services to flourish. Then the advertising industry will automatically sustain itself.</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-26',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.',
			'sortorder' => '57',
			'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' => '108',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘The Advertisers Need To Realise That A Single Slogan Can Work Wonders For Them.’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you view the Nepali advertising industry in the present context?</strong><br />
			The Nepali advertising industry is finally established as a full-fledged industry with big investments and big opportunities. A few years back, the industry was looked down upon by many as a fringe business that required little finance and human resource. Today, one needs to enter this business with complete planning, a sound investment and loads of creativity. The operational cost for even a small scale advertising agency would be more than a million rupees per month. Any company that wants to establish itself as an advertising agency must have the creativity, capacity and the infrastructure to sell that creativity.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you look at the current size of Nepal’s advertising industry which is said to be around Rs 3.5 billion?</strong><br />
			I think the market value of the industry is more than Rs 3.5 billion. There are a lot of unseen expenses that are not taken into account. I estimate the value of the industry to be around Rs 5 billion. While the growth of the market and its corresponding value pleases us no end, an Rs 5 billion market cannot accommodate so many new entrants into the industry. There are around 150 or more ad agencies registered with AAN. If this trend continues, the market will not be in a position to sustain them all.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What has prompted the growth in the industry’s market value? </strong><br />
			This growth is simply because of the increased number of advertisers. For example, a couple of decades ago, you could count the number of banks on your fingertips. Today, we have 27 commercial banks operating in the country. The number of service providers such as the insurance companies, financial institutions etc. have grown too. The manufacturing companies have also seen a tremendous growth in numbers. As the market has grown more competitive over the years, the corporate sector has begun to understand the importance of advertising like never before. They now believe in the mileage and benefits that advertising brings to their products and services. It has become imperative to resort to brand building measures and stand out in the crowd as products and services are being launched on almost a daily basis. Besides this, the media sector has grown too which provides advertisers added platforms for advertising.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What rate is the Nepali advertising industry growing at, on an annual basis? </strong><br />
			Frankly speaking, I don’t have the exact data for that. But we have seen that the media sector owes its survival to their respective advertising revenues. However, I can tell from my 20 years of experience and observation that we are growing at around 40 per cent as an industry. <br />
			<br />
			<strong>What is the advertising spending of MNCs here vis-à-vis the domestic companies? </strong><br />
			The MNCs clearly have more budget for advertising than the domestic companies. The domestic companies are neither big in size nor do they have a great range of products to advertise. Financially speaking, they allocate limited budget for advertising.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Could you take us through your journey of 20 years with the advertising industry?</strong><br />
			In the last 20 years or so, the market has grown by leaps and bounds. The number of advertisers and the advertising agencies has grown immensely resulting in where the industry stands today. And the growth is not only quantitative but qualitative as well. The positivity of it all is that the industry is headed in the right direction. Over the last decade or so, the focus of advertising has shifted from merely advertising product manufacturers, to creating lasting brand names.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems and challenges that the industry faces today? </strong><br />
			We don’t have any technical problems or issues related to the resources. The major problem of this industry is the shortage of educated and creative manpower. It is definitely something that plagues the industry the most. There is definitely a requirement for specifically trained human resource. Perhaps, we could start with courses and trainings related to the advertising industry included in various academic curriculums.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Even though Nepali advertisements have come a long way, we are still not in the same league when compared to global advertisements. Why so? </strong><br />
			I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag. The advertisers need to realise that a single slogan can work wonders for them. I believe that if the advertisers do value creativity and compensate it monetarily, the situation will definitely get better.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Does the industry follow a particular line on ethical issues? </strong><br />
			Do they ever refrain from working for a particular product? I can’t speak for the industry but I follow certain ethics in advertising. For example, I won’t produce any advertisements for the casinos. As the casinos are forbidden by the law, I don’t think it is the right thing to advertise about them. Also, I won’t put up a hoarding board for alcohol and tobacco related products in the vicinity of schools and colleges. I am aware of the social responsibility that we carry, as part of the industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the accounts you are currently working with? </strong><br />
			We have a mix bag of domestic clients as well as MNCs. To name a few, we have accounts like Salt Trading Corporation, Bank of Asia, NIC Bank, Janata Bank, Rahul Dairy Products, NLIC, Vishal Group, Panchakanya Group, P&amp;G and UTL etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which advertisement campaign are you particularly proud of, during your entire career? </strong><br />
			It has to be the one that we made for Tokla tea that we made around eight years ago. It was the re-launching of Tokla tea and it became a huge success. At that time, 80 per cent of the market share was with a different brand of tea. Today, Tokla tea commands 70 per cent of the market. I would like to mention here that advertisements made by other advertising agencies such as those of Unilever, IME etc. are definitely of high quality.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 583px;">
	 </div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag.',
			'sortorder' => '56',
			'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' => '107',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘We Need An Advertisement Censor Board’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 583px; text-align: center;">
	<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/crity-award.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why was AAN formed and what are its activities? </strong><br />
			AAN (Advertising Association of Nepal) was formed as the umbrella association of the advertising industry. It was set up for the protection of the rights and welfare of the industry, and to formulate the policies. It plays a vital role as a bridge between the advertisers and the media enterprises.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Being an old hand in Nepal’s advertising industry, what is your take on its evolution?</strong><br />
			The advertising industry has now transformed from being a small business sector to a full-fledged industry. Having grown consistently over the years, it has gradually asserted its role in the corporate world. It’s unimaginable today that a product/brand can establish itself in the market without the help of advertising campaigns.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The advertising market of Nepal stands at about Rs 3.5 billion. Is the growth in tandem with the expansion in other sectors? </strong><br />
			This augurs well for the advertising agencies, for sure. In fact, the industry value should have been around Rs 4.5 billion owing to the inflation. However, political instability has inhibited its progress to a great extent. Looking at the positive changes, even the rice brands have started advertising which never happened before. Even though the advertising market has been growing at the rate of 15 to 20 per cent annually, the time has not come for us to get particularly happy about it.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you view the unhealthy competition among the advertising agencies? </strong><br />
			It is no secret that there is unhealthy competition to get ad accounts. However, the Nepali media is the main reason behind this unhealthy competition. The number of media houses has been increasing at an alarming rate despite the market remaining comparatively small. The lack of uniformity in the market value, non-existent market planning and direct marketing, among others, are the key reasons for the unhealthy competition.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How can the unhealthy competition for holding the clients come to an end? </strong><br />
			There must be uniformity in the market rate. Next, it has become absolutely necessary that the ad agencies be categorised. Similarly, the media should be categorised, too. The government must issue licenses taking into consideration the respective categories. AAN has been working on this in association with various media groups. For example, we have worked with the Television Broadcasting Association to fix ad tariffs. Fixing a standard ad tariff will definitely create a favourable environment for the investors and help the market sustain.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is the industry in dire need of a regulatory framework? </strong><br />
			To regulate the advertising market, an advertisement policy is mandatory, to start with. We have certain policies but they need to be updated with the changing time. The government must have a different advertising authority set-up to regulate the advertising agencies.<br />
			<strong><br />
			According to you, which Nepali ad is the best, in recent memory? </strong><br />
			Personally, I like Jagdamba Steel’s “Nepali Mann Mann ma” which incidentally, was produced by Welcome Advertising. It was voted as the most popular ad. Quality wise, I think Pepsodent ad is the best one.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In general, the youth is looking at several career options but not advertising. What could be the reasons behind this? </strong><br />
			There is no doubt that we have not been able to attract young talent. However, the youth is showing interest in being a part of the industry, off late. Colleges have included advertising as a subject in their syllabi and advertising training centres such as Infinity Advertising Training Institute, too, are being established. Therefore, we are looking at better times ahead and hope that more young people will look at advertising as a rewarding career. There is the lack of skilled manpower due to braindrain and also because the trained ones are enticed by the banks. If the advertising industry will be managed properly, most of the youngsters would be in this sector.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why do our advertisements lack quality as well as creativity compared to the advertising standards abroad? </strong><br />
			My personal opinion is that Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity. The Nepali advertising agencies have been awarded with a number of international awards and certificates of merit since 2003. I will go as far as to say that our creative talents are second to none in South Asia. The annual Crity Awards have also encouraged the advertising agencies to produce better creative work. As the market gets more established with time, we should definitely be in a position to compete in the international market with a renewed vigour.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why were the recently held Crity Awards criticised and labelled as biased? </strong><br />
			Crity Awards is not confined to honouring advertising excellence. It is a celebration for the entire media industry. Any talk of branding the event as controversial is a baseless rumour. Recently, we organised a post-event programme for the ‘6th Crity Awards 2067’ where we had an interaction among the advertising agencies, media executives and journalists. We reached a conclusion that the awards ceremony did not have any reasons whatsoever to invite the wrath of the so-called critics.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The corporate big-wigs are circumspect about investing in the advertising industry. How do you view this hesitation?</strong><br />
			Well, there is sufficient investment in the advertising industry and that is why it has transformed into an industry from a small business. The annual turnover of the industry is Rs 3.5 billion now. AAN has close to 140 ad agencies registered with it. Politically, once there is a peaceful environment in the country and we have a stable government in place, the investment will definitely increase. There is a good number of multinational as well as local brands looking forward to an investor friendly environment to start/resume investments. It is only a matter of time, hopefully.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Besides being an advertising administrator, you are also an entrepreneur in the industry. How are you doing on that account?</strong><br />
			Welcome Advertising is an independent agency, in operation for 21 years now. It is an authorised member of the International Network in Nepal as well as a production house. Welcome Advertising works with some of the biggest names in the market such as the Jagdamba Group, Unilever, G Phone, MS Group etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There has been an issue about exaggerating product features through advertisements. How do you plan to address this? </strong><br />
			The question you have asked is very relevant in the present context. These are the advertisements which are produced by the clients themselves that are courting controversies. For such problems, censorship of advertisements is the best solution that one can think of. Therefore we do need a censor board which will monitor and approve advertisements before they go to print or get aired. The government must take an initiative to this end by setting up a separate advertisement authority. Alternately, the government could give this responsibility to AAN.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity.',
			'sortorder' => '55',
			'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' => '106',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Body And Mind',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Body and Mind</strong><br />
			Even a single cell organism such as a bacterium acts as if it has a mind. It moves away from toxins and towards nutrients. For bacteria, such behavioural response is the key to survival. Humans have minds, in addition to bodies, although both serve the same purpose -- a purpose shared by every species on earth, i.e. survival and well- being. Products and services, in essence, serve the purpose of mind/body by enhancing the survival (physical, psychological and social) and the quality of survival. No wonder advertising is more and more focused on the quality of life that products bring to consumers’ lives rather than their functional attributes.<br />
			The question of mind-body has intrigued many great philosophers and scientists. While the eastern civilization had long understood the connection between mind and body, it took a long time for the West to grasp this knowledge. An increasing body of scientific evidence suggests that mind (the immaterial) and body (the material) have a symbiotic relationship. What happens in the mind has outcomes on the body, and the body has a significant role in the shaping of the mind. But for many centuries, the West embraced the concept of disembodied mind (mind separate from the body; spirit separate from matter) and this had a profound impact on many disciplines including medicine, as exemplified in the way it treated diseases (by simply focusing on the body and not the mind). It would not be wrong to assume that this mind/ body problem had a great impact on the way marketers approached advertising. As a result, for a long time, marketers practiced a rationalist-materialistic approach in advertising (e.g. nice shampoo=nice hair=nice job).In the absence of proper understanding of bodily emotions and their influence on the mind, emotions were generally overlooked as an effective approach in advertising. <br />
			Emotions help us survive and survive better. If we did not have the emotion of fear, we would walk </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/car.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 280px; height: 313px;" /><br />
			<br />
			freely in the middle of the highway, though not for very long.If we did not feel good or happy, we would not get into any kind of exploration; whether it was seeking a mate or having sex when we lived in the jungle or seeking scientific discoveries while we live in a civilized world. It is very difficult for an eternally sad and depressed person to engage in such explorations. Some argue that emotions are dysfunctional, but this is true only when an emotion or its intensity is inappropriate to the situation. <br />
			With the re-emergence of the integrated theory of mind/body, and the role of body (where emotions occur) and its making of the mind (where the emotions are felt and classified as painful or pleasurable etc.), emotions have received their due importance in management and, by extension, in advertising. It is worthwhile to note that beliefs are tied with emotions. And emotions can lead to new beliefs and strengthen existing beliefs. It is our emotional connect with the brands that strengthens our belief in them.Only recently has science agreed upon a broad definition of emotions and their purpose in our lives.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Mind and Brands</strong><br />
			Products exist in the outer world. Mind exists inside us. We engage our body to interact with objects (including products) and events in the outer world.<strong> </strong> However, it is our mind, in conjunction with our body, which gives meaning to those products.<br />
			In other words, mind and products come together to make a brand. Products, or for that matter, any external objects or events, do not have much intrinsic qualities of their own. Products are generally neither good, nor bad; neither black nor white; neither beautiful nor ugly. And when they are made under the statutory quality standards, they are neither superior nor inferior. It is our mind that gives (or doesn’t give) products such qualities. <br />
			This is where advertising comes in. Advertising helps the mind embrace the</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			intended qualities of products through association or conditioning. When those intended qualities, through a repetitive exposure of messages (provided they are delivered in the proper way, here delivery of the message is the key) become hardwired in the brain, they become a belief. Beauty care products don’t make us more beautiful as much as they make us feel more beautiful, and so do the designer clothes and many other products. Does one nutritional drink make kids smarter or taller than others or does it make any smarter at all? No one can say for sure. Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation. But if the consumers strongly believe (with strong emotions) that it does, then no reasoning can change their mind.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Brands and God</strong><br />
			Brands are much more than simply matter, much more than what they are made of. Belief is what lies underneath both God and brands; the only difference is the degree. And mind is the space where both God and brands are experienced. This is in no way meant to reduce God to mental states or to draw any parallel between God and brands, because God is much more powerful than any brand mankind has ever made.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			Only God can create the kind of belief that He does. However, I believe that any brand that can create a godlike belief will be the truly ultimate brand. Whether it is ever possible to do so is another question altogether. But that should not stop brands from trying. This effort is what will drive brands to continually evolve forever. (Panday is a Creative Consultant and winner of six Crity Advertising Awards)<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation.',
			'sortorder' => '54',
			'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) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '105',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'God, Belief And Brands',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 595px;">
	<strong>In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			Have you seen God? This is a question I have faced many times in life. As a theist, I find it difficult to answer this because I haven’t seen God. But not seeing God or rather not being able to see Him hasn’t changed my belief in Him. My inability to see God can be attributed to many reasons. Perhaps God hasn’t endowed me with senses (vision, in particular) strong enough to see Him. Perhaps God doesn’t exist in the form and shape that my senses are attuned to. Humans have the instinct to anthropomorphise objects. Everything has to be human like. We look for faces in the clouds and in cars. In marketing, we attribute human-like characteristics to products. But, God doesn’t necessarily have to be a carbon based organism governed by the laws of the cosmos.<br />
			As for science, it has a concrete theory neither about the origins of mankind and the universe, nor about the brain which builds such theories. So, for science to come to a conclusion about God would be a bit too premature. Science, especially narrow science, rejects what it doesn’t know and ignores what it doesn’t understand. For centuries, science chose to ignore the issue of emotions. And science continues to ignore the phenomenon of consciousness (i.e. awareness in the most basic sense ) because neither can it fully understand this phenomenon , nor can it explain how it works inside the brain. For the time being, let science be science and God be God. At the very core, both science and God function as one, because both seek the same purpose - survival and well-being of mankind.<br />
			For a layman like me, the questions such as the evidence of God’s existence and whether God created this universe and the species or they evolved are not worth pursuing. Even if the issue of Creation vs. Evolution is ultimately resolved, it will not be the end of God or Science. Both will continue playing significant roles in our lives as long as we continue being an existence made of mind and matter. So, instead of the big questions, what I prefer to be asked is whether I believe in God or not? To that, my answer will always be a resounding YES. I do believe that God does exist.<br />
			Belief, in itself, is nothing less than a miracle. Belief is healing, not only psychologically but also physically. Belief in God gives us the strength to follow a moral path. Belief is empowering. Belief is comforting. In times of crisis, belief in God has helped many, including me, maintain sanity in life.And my belief is not only limited to God; it extends to scientists and even brands, whose cause I champion. If I did not believe in scientists who said that Earth will not collide with other planets soon, at least not during my lifetime,<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<img alt="" height="454" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/pic-ss.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" width="280" /> <br />
			&nbsp;then I would have ceased to exist long ago as a result of anxiety disorder. In fact, most of the scientific truths are simply beliefs for the vast majority of people.<br />
			For most of us, the existence of atoms, quarks or strings are beliefs and not scientific truths because by definition we ought to have observed them empirically in order to account them as scientific truths. But common sense dictates that it is best to leave science to scientists, even if they come up with a new theory every now and then.<br />
			Let me clarify that this discussion is neither about God nor about science, and it is certainly not against the non-believers. They are as much right in their (dis-) belief as I am in my belief. This article is mainly about belief because this is what makes a brand out of a product. In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.Medical science presents a classic example of the power of belief -- the placebo effect, where patients get better by ingesting a sugar pill, while they believe (falsely) that they are getting medicine. This is what some scientists call the belief effect. In one study, a psychology professor at the University of Connecticut found that ‘eighty percent of the effect of antidepressants, as measured in clinical trials, could be attributed to the placebo effect.’ This is the power of belief.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	 </div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.',
			'sortorder' => '53',
			'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) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '104',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Brand Mantra For Now - STAY YOUNG!',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			The umbrella-idea of ‘Grow Young’ could be the key for many brands in Nepal today. Let’s take the time to explore if it is just another jargon in an industry already full of branded synonyms or is there more to it? <br />
			According to the statistics, Nepal is a youth dominant country with 72 per cent of its population below the age of 35 years. That makes Nepal a market for the youth, so to speak. In order to stay relevant in this youthdominant market, brands have to remain youthful and contemporary all the time. With the passage of time, even the most successful brands become outdated or old-fashioned if they cannot keep up with the changing mindsets of the consumers. <br />
			Look around yourself and you will find many brands getting trapped in a time warp – Bata shoes or Bombay Dyeing could be the examples from the sub-continent and Brighter toothpaste, Rara noodles, Gogo detergent from Nepal. This clearly leaves the marketers and the advertising agencies with a challenging job at their hands – to make the brands look, feel and sense young at all times so that they don’t get lost into the oblivion. This means regenerating the Product Life Cycle graph with the changing demographic status of the country. <br />
			The importance and challenge for a brand to stay young and fresh is further compounded by the unique demographics of this country. Since marketers from sectors as diverse as automobiles to apparels to mobile phones have young audience at the heart of their campaigns, the importance of staying contemporary is the need of the hour.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			What do young people mean to the business world today? They are always open to new ideas, have the spending power, and are the key influencers even for decisions where they aren’t the ultimate buyers. They are willing to experiment and proving to be trendsetters in the process. To connect with the youth and their minds, it is important for brands to stay young and desirable. Therefore the only way forward for brands today is to constantly remain young in order to have a lasting effect. <br />
			Catch-them-young is turning out to be a ‘big idea’ the world over. And Nepal is no exception where organised categories are first tried by the youth. To comply with this trend, and implement the ‘big idea’ to create a platform for brands to stay fresh and young, there is a new process called ‘unboxing’. This approach could prove to be quite handy where the creative and client servicing units of an advertising agency join hands to use five Knowledge Blocks (5KBs) to generate ideas. These 5KBs originate from field study and research conducted by the client servicing team along with the client’s marketing or brand team. The 5KBs consist of a) consumer understanding b) category opportunities c) competitive gaps d) brand advantage and e) brand personality. Each 5KB gives clues to ideas that brands can own. <br />
			The strategic and the creative units collaborate to explore the findings, which leads to brand ideas. The ideas are then filtered to retain only the ones that keep the brand ‘fresh and young’. <br />
			(Shakya is associated with Outreach Nepal Pvt Ltd. This article has been acquired from AAN website and edited by Nubiz for clarity. - Ed.)<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="width: 595px;">
	<img alt="" height="197" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/big-idea.jpg" style="float: left;" width="363" /> <img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/stay-young.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 131px; height: 200px; float: right;" />
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The umbrella-idea of ‘Grow Young’ could be the key for many brands in Nepal today. Let’s take the time to explore if it is just another jargon in an industry already full of branded synonyms or is there more to it?',
			'sortorder' => '52',
			'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) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '103',
			'article_category_id' => '37',
			'title' => 'Lessons From The Global Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<div align="left">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">The key lessons from the recent global financial crisis could be divided under three heads:<br />
					<br />
					Economic lessons<br />
					<br />
					Financial lessons<br />
					<br />
					Policy lessons<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>
	<p>
		<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
		</span></p>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
			<div>
				<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
					<div align="left">
						<span style="font-size:12px;">Overall, we need to learn that the key economic lesson of this crisis is to avoid too much debt.</span></div>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>
		<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
		</span>
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
				<div>
					<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
						<div align="left">
							<span style="font-size:12px;">The banks that came out of the crisis unscathed were well capitalized, had ample liquidity and had strategies that were customer focused. In many respects, they could be termed conservatively run.</span></div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</div>
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
			</span>
			<div style="width: 595px;">
				<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
					<div align="justify">
						<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>ECONOMIC LESSONS </strong><br />
						In order to derive a proper understanding, it is important to look at this crisis in context. It is evident that a shift in the balance of power is underway i.e. from the West to the East. Though it will take time, the beneficiaries in this shift are countries with good financial resources, natural resources or the ability to adapt/ change. Thus the winners will have cash, commodities or creativity. The West, having seen an era of excess now encounters an era of austerity. In contrast, emerging economies have enjoyed an era of boom and are now in need of investment. These macro-trends will have a significant bearing on the postcrisis debate. In the UK, for instance, the debate over the banking and financial sector still has some way to go. A few years ago there was at least a general agreement that the financial sector was good for the economy. Now there are questions if the banking/ financial sector is good or bad. The danger in that debate is that commercial banks that facilitate much business and trade will be squeezed. In the US, Paul Volcker has not only produced his own plan for the financial sector but last year he also said the only socially useful innovation from banks had been the ATM machine. This links into the wider debate over innovation vs. regulation and getting the balance right. For Asia, the debate is different. Relative to the challenges in the banking sector in the west, this is an opportunity. But, relative to the macro-economic environment and outlook in Asia, there are challenges. For instance, the cost of future public sector investment is huge, estimated at over eight trillion dollars. Then there is the issue of capital flows and how to manage this, which links into the</span></div>
				</div>
				<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
					<div align="justify">
						<span style="font-size:12px;">need for Asia to deepen and broaden its capital markets. The outlook for the banking and financial sector cannot be viewed in isolation from the macro-economic climate. <br />
						There is a genuine risk of a double-dip, slipping back into recession, although a weak recovery is more likely. A double dip could occur if there was a policy mistake, an external shock or a loss of confidence. But the world economy is experiencing a shift, with more of global growth driven by emerging economies. Whilst, it is important not to underestimate the downside risks from debt and deleveraging in the West, looking at levels gives a different perspective. A decade ago, the size of the world economy was $ 31 trillion. On the eve of the crisis, it had risen to $ 61 trillion collapsing during the crisis to $ 58 trillion. Now it is back to pre-crisis levels. Global trade peaked in 2008, collapsing 21 per cent by May 2009. Since then trade has almost recovered to pre-recession levels reaching 98 per cent of that level by June 2010. The world economy is not decoupled. The collapsing trade had highlighted the inter-connectedness of the world economy. Although it was a crisis made in the West, it has had global implications. But the key lesson from this crisis is debt, too much debt. Although there were many characteristics of this crisis that were different from the previous ones, the fundamental cause was the same: too much debt. In fact, there are a number of factors linked to this. The crisis witnessed a lethal combination of debt, leverage and gearing combined with easy money and with one way.<br />
						<br />
						<br />
						</span></div>
				</div>
				<div style="clear: both;">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
	</span>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>FINANCIAL LESSONS <br />
					</strong><br />
					The main financial lesson of the crisis is liquidity. The crisis was triggered by a combination of factors: an imbalanced global economy, a failure to heed to warning signs and a systemic failure of the financial system. A strong rebound seen in banks over the last year has occurred in an environment where the global policy stimulus has been huge. Now, a more difficult time lies ahead as it becomes clear that the recovery in the West is weak, adding to the pressure on banks to lend. To heed the lessons for the financial sector, it is important to learn lessons from those that failed and also recognize that not all broke, even in the city of London, and there are lessons to learn from where things worked well. The banks that came out of the crisis unscathed were well capitalized, had ample liquidity and had strategies that were customer focused. In many respects, they could be termed “conservatively run”. There were also lessons to learn from countries that had a good crisis e.g. Australia and Canada benefitted from effective supervision. There are also important lessons to learn from Asia, including China, particularly in the case of macroprudential measures. <br />
					<br />
					These are specific and targeted measures that</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">worked well. They included reserve requirements for banks and specific measures that could, for instance, be aimed at real estate such as Loan to Value ratios. The potential effectiveness of macroprudential measures needs to be fully appreciated. They can be effective especially if used alongside appropriate monetary policies. There are also important lessons to learn from those institutions that failed. It came out loud and clear that there was a failure of corporate governance. In particular, senior managements and Boards did not guard against excessive risk-taking. This was particularly relevant with respect to liquidity. Some banks thought they didn't need much liquidity possibly because they thought risks were low or that Central Bank could help. The scale of the unregulated financial sector was also a distinctive result as the crisis unfolded. Hence, the needs for regulators to widen the scope of their regulatory remit. There was a lack of risk management, lack of liquidity management and procyclical behavior that added fuel to the fire. Capital reserves were built on artificially low default risks. And, when the crisis broke, mark to market triggered both asset write-downs and panic selling. So there are many financial lessons from the crisis but the key is liquidity.</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="clear: both;">
				<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
				<br />
				</span></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>POLICY LESSONS <br />
					<br />
					</strong>The first lesson is, avoid cheap money. This encourages the buildup of debt especially where debt is subsidized by favorable tax treatment as was the case in the US. Avoiding cheap money doesn't mean that there will not be occasions when interest rates should be low as in the West now. <br />
					<br />
					<br />
					The second lesson: learn the lessons from Asia and make effective use of macro-prudential measures. The third lesson is applicable to China and much of Asia now. With interest rates low in the west and likely to stay that way for some time, money is likely to flow east. This is likely to feed the asset-price inflation, perhaps on some government bond markets, and also in equities and real estate. Asia needs to heed such warning signs and not only take on board avoiding cheap money but also do more in terms of accepting greater currency flexibility and moving towards deepening and broadening its capital markets.<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					State capitalization and the role of the state are likely to be a future dominant issue. The crisis also<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">&nbsp;saw a desire by some financial firms to secure anchor shareholders. There is a need for long term players. Perhaps the most important policy issue is the need for an international approach to regulatory issues. The trade-off between an international approach and domestic agenda is an important one. One can understand on domestic economic grounds why now there are differences in macro policy. While deflation is a risk in the West, the East is characterized by inflation. Yet on financial issues, given the contagion that was witnessed during the crisis, an international approach is the key. Thus we have seen the move to G20 and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and this was reflected in the Basel III announcement.<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					In conclusion, the three key words are- debt, and the need to minimize it; liquidity, and the need for financial institutions to have sufficient amount; and the importance of policy makers to send the right incentives. (The writer is Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd.)<br />
					<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="clear: both;">
				<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
				</span></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2012-09-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'In order to derive a proper understanding, it is important to look at this crisis in context. It is evident that a shift in the balance of power is underway i.e. from the West to the East.',
			'sortorder' => '51',
			'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) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '102',
			'article_category_id' => '37',
			'title' => 'Four Months Wait For BUDGET Is Over',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<span style="width: 100%;">Nepal's caretaker government has finally managed to bring out the annual budget by issuing an Ordinance after a delay of four months from the date the fiscal year strated. Giving continuity to most of the ongoing programs, Finance Minister Surendra Pandey, announced the budget of Rs 337.9 billion for the fiscal year 2010/11. It is an increment of 18 per cent compared to last year's budget of Rs 285.9 billion. <br />
			<br />
			The government has allocated 56.3 per cent of the total budget for recurrent expenditure, 38.3 per cent for capital expenditure and 5.4 per cent for principal repayment. The estimated spending is 30.4 per cent more than the revised estimate of expenditure of the previous year. In terms of the structure of the expenditure, recurrent expenditure has increased by 25.8 per cent and capital expenditure by 44.8 per cent.<br />
			<br />
			To meet the expenditures, the government aims to mobilize Rs 216.64 billion from revenue and Rs 65.35 billion from foreign grants. Deficit of Rs 55.91 billion is expected to be covered from foreign loans of Rs 22.23 billion and domestic borrowings of Rs. 33.68 billion. The amount of proposed foreign loans is 2.6 per cent of the estimated GDP.<br />
			<br />
			A review of the first quarter's revenue collection of the current fiscal year makes it challenging to meet the revenue target of the budget. It, therefore, seems an uphill task to meet the target of 4.5 per cent economic growth. Last year's budget had targeted 5.5 per cent economic growth but the actual achievement was 3.5 per cent. The new budget expects inflation to be around 8 per cent. It is higher than this year's monetary policy's target of 7.5 per cent. <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			</span></div>
	</div>
	<div align="justify" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<strong>Major Highlights of the Budget</strong><br />
		<br />
		<div style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 5px;">
			01. More allocations for the infrastructure projects <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; like Kathmandu-Terai fast track road, Mid-hills <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; highway, Sikta and Ranijamara irrigation, <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Syafrubesi-Rasuwagadi road track, Upper <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tamakoshi hydropower, etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			02. Rs 500 thousand cash for the organizers of <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; seminar or workshop involving more than 100 <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; foreign passport holders entering Nepal <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; through air-route once at a time<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			03. Provision of sub health post and police post <br />
			&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; for the productive industry that offers <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; employment to more than 500 Nepali workers.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			04. Black-topped roads reaching the premises of <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; manufacturing companies employing more <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; than 100 Nepali people.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			05. Lands to be classified into six categories: <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; agricultural, industrial, forestry, commercial, <br />
			&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; residential and public community. Ownership <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; certificates to be issued accordingly.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			06. Construction of large and medium sized <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; reservoirs based hydropower projects at least <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; one in every Development Region.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			07. Two per cent incentive on equivalent Nepali <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; currency to exporters on submission of bank <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; documents showing that they have received <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; convertible currencies earned from the <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; exports. Incentive will be three percent and <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; higher if the value addition of exported <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; commodities exceeds 50 per cent or higher. <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They will also get 25 per cent income tax <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; exemption.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			08. Door opens for Non-resident Nepalis to invest <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; in the capital market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			09. E-tendering made mandatory from 14 April <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2011 onwards for all the contracts and tenders <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; of more than Rs 20 million.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			10. Merger of banks, finances and insurance <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; companies encouraged. Changes in the <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; provision of taxing assets and liabilities as <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; deposal after merger will be introduced to <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; make it non-taxable, and special <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; arrangements have been made for share <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; holders, managers and employees.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/table-of-i-nc(1).jpg" /></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2012-09-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal’s caretaker government has finally managed to bring out the annual budget by issuing an Ordinance after a delay of four months from the date the fiscal year started.',
			'sortorder' => '50',
			'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) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '100',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '“We Have An Edge Over Other Laboratories”',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				Super Religare Laboratories Ltd (SRL) and Life Care Services Pvt Ltd have started a jointventure recently to offer the Nepali public a world-class pathology lab. At a programme to mark this occasion, <strong>Dr Sanjeev K Chaudhry</strong>, the Chief Executive Officer of SRL, spoke to Nubiz about the venture and its future in Nepal. Excerpts from the interview:</div>
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Could you brief us on SRL? </strong><br />
				Super Religare Laboratories (SRL) is India’s largest and one of the world’s fastest growing health care diagnostics company. SRL was the first pathology lab system in India to get quality accreditations from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), Government of India and the College of American Pathologists (CAP), USA. SRL is today approached by leading hospitals of the UK, the Middle East, the SAARC region and South East Asia for their testing needs. A large part of the decision that a doctor makes in terms of what treatment to do or how to heal a patient is based on the output of an accurate diagnosis. We are the market leaders not just in terms of geographic capability or the size of an operation but also in terms of scientific and medical capability. SRL is the only Pathology Lab Network from India to have five reference labs and over 170 labs, with a footprint spanning over 1500 collection centres. Since its inception in 1996, it has conducted over 50 million tests and today its operations have scaled up to a level where 10 million people every year repose their trust in the testing facilities of SRL.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What kind of research did you carry out before approving this particular venture?</strong><br />
				Well, the laboratory of this nature is commercially viable if it is processing about 100 samples a day. We realised that we can price the services at this laboratory very high and make a lot of profit due to our monopoly position. However, it is not part of the “We have an edge over other laboratories” New Business Age | October 2010 25 Visiting Business People Nubiz SRL philosophy to do so. We believe in doing things correctly and at a fair price. So we have priced it very competitively in line with the market reality in Nepal. Our strategy is to seek profit through volume expansion. Since this lab is located in Kathmandu, we also had to think about the people residing outside the valley. So we have also set up sample collection centres outside the Kathmandu valley. There are already eight collection centres linked to this facility that includes Pokhara, Dharan, Janakpur, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Bharatpur. Over a period of time, we plan to have a 100 collection centres across Nepal.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Tell us about your foray into the Nepali market.</strong> <br />
				Being a neighbour of this country and being very closely associated culturally, socially and economically, we get a lot of people from Nepal who frequent India for treatment. There are many others who only send their samples. We perform tests on nearly about 80,000 samples and a few hundred every day from Nepal itself. So, we were convinced that coming to Nepal with a modern laboratory was always a viable proposition. This will serve not only our existing clientele here but also a large number of people who will have easy access to our laboratory here.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What is the kind of investment that you have put in your operations in Nepal? </strong><br />
				Super Religare Reference Laboratories (Nepal) Pvt Ltd is a joint venture between SLR, India and Life Care services Pvt Ltd, Nepal, which is part of a leading corporate group here led by Mr Ravi Bhakta Shrestha. We have already invested about US$ 1 million in this facility. With time, the facility will expand with more investment in its infrastructure. From the perspective of the health care industry, you need to understand that this facility is the part of a very large network. This network is connected electronically to a large number of reference laboratories across the world. For now, while it may be only a US$ 1 million investment, there is a whole SRL investment of several hundred million dollars in India and elsewhere which will be supporting the local facility here.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>How big are your operations and reach in global terms? </strong><br />
				Besides India and Nepal, we have a presence in Dubai at the Dubai Health Care City, in Mauritius, and in a couple of African countries, too. Very soon, we will be expanding to Europe and the United States as well.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What is the kind of expectation for growth here in Nepal that you have in mind, in the foreseeable future? </strong><br />
				At the moment, the parent company is growing at 30 to 40 per cent annually. We expect to register the same growth rate in Nepal or perhaps, even a higher rate. It would mean performing more tests and opening more collection centres. You can evaluate these things in multiple ways. We’ll look at establishing more laboratories in Kathmandu as well as other parts of Nepal once the need arises.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Tell us about the target consumer base that you keep in mind while focusing at a market like Nepal’s. </strong><br />
				Going by experience, we divide the population of any country into quintiles which consist of 20 per cent each. We find it relevant to directly target the top three quintiles which cover the 60 per cent population. This number definitely has the ability to pay for the treatment and it can afford to go for the best treatment. The bottom 40 per cent usually faces the problem of affordability and therefore they go to the state-run hospitals. To a patient, it may be free-of-cost but to the state it does cost money. The state-run hospitals do the best they can at their end. Anything that goes beyond their capacity is sent to a laboratory like ours which again is a source of revenue for our business.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>You said that you enjoy a virtual monopoly. Does that mean you do not have any competition whatsoever? </strong><br />
				We do have competition. When I say we enjoy a monopoly, it is in terms of the quality of our laboratory. Any test can be performed in a number of ways, including the use of primitive techniques like studying a slide under the microscope. In fact, a lot of laboratories can perform the tests that we do. The difference is in the processes for collection, testing, and reporting because our servers preserve the data on a long term basis. We believe in providing 100 per cent guaranteed service. SRL consistently follows the best of national and international quality protocols, thereby ensuring the accuracy of every test report. The same quality and international standard protocols will also be ensured in our Kathmandu lab. This is where we have an edge and it sets us apart from other laboratories.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>How cheaper is it going to be for the people who have been sending their samples thus far to your laboratory in India? </strong><br />
				For them, it will be at least 20 per cent cheaper as there won’t be a transportation cost. More importantly, it is the same result with the same efficiency and accuracy, only at a faster rate.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-31',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Super Religare Laboratories Ltd (SRL) and Life Care Services Pvt Ltd have started a jointventure recently to offer the Nepali public a world-class pathology lab. At a programme to mark this occasion, Dr Sanjeev K Chaudhry, the Chief Executive Officer of SRL, spoke to Nubiz about the venture and its future in Nepal. Excerpts from the interview:',
			'sortorder' => '49',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	)
)
$current_user = null
$logged_in = false
simplexml_load_file - [internal], line ??
include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 60
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224
View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418
include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473
Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968
Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200
Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167
[main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117

Notice (8): Undefined variable: file [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]
Code Context
  //  $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';



    if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){
$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp'
$dataForView = array(
	'articles' => array(
		(int) 0 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 1 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 2 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 3 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 4 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 5 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 6 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 7 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 8 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 9 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 10 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 11 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 12 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 13 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 14 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		)
	),
	'current_user' => null,
	'logged_in' => false
)
$articles = array(
	(int) 0 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '115',
			'article_category_id' => '50',
			'title' => 'Media's Arm-Twisting Ways',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>If a media report questioning the quality of its product is printed or aired, the business house, instead of immediately issuing a refuting press release, should launch an investigation into the matter first. If the media reports are true, it must have the courage to withdraw the products from the market, and then issue an apology and compensate the consumers.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>When the media reports negatively against a business venture with a vicious intent, it is bound to leave a bad taste in the mouth. The media and the business sector must strongly support each other as both need to depend on each other for continued existence.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div>
			As if the political instability in Nepal was not causing enough harm to the business environment already, a section of the media, recently, further aggravated the situation by frustrating business ventures through negative reporting. Dish Nepal, a DTH (direct-to-home) service provider; Real Juice, a Dabur Nepal brand; and Blackberry Services from Ncell, a cellular phone giant are among the businesses that were the targets of negative reporting by certain media outlets.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ad.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /><br />
			<br />
			Some of these companies faced the media wrath because they allegedly did not yield to intimidating tactics toâ gift advertisement contracts, while others were reported against because their market rivals sponsored spiteful information in an attempt to kill the competition. In at least one of these cases, the issue even managed political overtone. <br />
			The relationship between a section of the corporate houses and some media outlets has hit an abysmal low. Businesses need the media to launch and promote their brands and products in the marketplace. In turn, the media depends on advertisement contracts which are the major source of revenue for them. Thus, businesses and media establishments complement each other and it is absolutely essential for them to learn to co-exist. <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			The media seems to be losing its focus of late, believe some media observers. They say that this could have a huge impact on the corporatepress relationship in the long run. Advertisers are indeed circumspect while giving business to the media of their choice lest they invite the attention of media establishments that they are not interested to advertise in, says an official from the Advertising Association of Nepal (AAN).<br />
			<br />
			There has been a paradigm shift in the functioning of the media during the last few years due to various reasons, including corporatisation. The media, an important and vibrant partner in the economic growth of Nepal, must be eternally vigilant to the wrongdoings, if any. The press is, of course, a watchdog of society but that does not allow it to launch smear campaigns against businesses and poison the consumers minds. This, in no way, means that the business sector can make any kind of compromise with its obligation to produce and distribute quality products. If a media report questioning the quality of its product is printed or aired, the business house, instead of immediately issuing a refuting press release, should launch an investigation into the matter first. If the media reports are true, it must have the courage to withdraw the products from the market, and then issue an apology and compensate the consumers. It is a kind of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and is practiced everywhere in a civilised&nbsp; society.<br />
			Nowadays, news is no more just news; it has become&nbsp; a management issue&nbsp; as well. Increasingly, the managers seem to be more important than the editors themselves. They dictate which news should go and which should not. A reporter with a daily confessed on the condition of anonymity, There are times when we are instructed to report on certain issues which we neither understand, nor do we necessarily agree with. If a journalist continuously refuses to adhere, then his/her job is at stake.<br />
			<br />
			Manoj Neupane, Brand Officer of Dish Nepal admits to having received calls from a section of the media asking for advertisements or else get prepared to face adversity. It is an extortion of sorts.Sanju</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div>
			Koirala, Corporate Communications Manager of Spice Nepal Pvt Ltd that is now changed to Ncell Pvt Ltd., says, It is not possible for us to give advertisements to all and sundry. We choose media outlets depending on their reach and the target audience they cater to. Neupane reasons, My choice of media depends on its impact analysis and I am the one who approaches the media with advertisement contracts. It's not the other way round.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			The media has become more interested in earning profit at the cost of its role as the fourth estate. Market forces have dictated its role at the cost of the valued principles and wellaccepted ethics of journalism. The over aggressive marketing strategies have done more harm to the media sector than it comprehends. This is the age of conscious consumers. It is a consumer's prerogative to choose and rate a product or service in the market. Brainwashing the consumers and misleading them is the least that the media or market rivals can do. If a brand/product fails to live up to the expectations and promises it made, the consumers themselves will raise a hue and cry.<br />
			The smear campaigns in the media, coupled with political instability, will have an adverse impact on prospective investments. The unjustified adverse publicity against the products and services of such important ventures will not only hit the Nepali economy and exports hard but will also deter new foreign direct investments into Nepal. These issues could always be resolved amicably in a business-like manner.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			Having said that, one must understand that establishing a media enterprise does not guarantee that advertisements will come automatically. There are several factors such as subscription figures, a strong readership/ viewership base and popularity of a television channel/newspaper etc that determine the inflow of advertisements to a particular media. After all, a Rs 3.5 billion advertising industry does not have enough in its kitty to help survive all the existing newspapers and magazines, radio stations and scores of television channels in Nepal. Bullying does not ensure advertisement contracts, the popularity of the media does. An advertiser is free to choose his preferred media tools for the promotion of his products. A media house, on the other hand, is free, too, to publish a news report, irrespective of the instructions from the corporate houses providing the advertisements. So it's a two-way story.<br />
			<br />
			Businesses thrive in competition and not in isolation. To try and end competition in an unethical manner by sponsoring misleading news is bound to backfire. Once the market determines the truth, what will happen to the credibility of the people who engineer such controversies? questions Neupane. At the same time, negative reporting will take its toll, sooner or later, on the media's credibility, too. <br />
			<br />
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/media.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /><br />
			<br />
			Lastly, if it is proven that a business has cheated or confused the consumers, it is the media's responsibility to present the truth to the audience. However, when the media reports negatively against a business venture with a vicious intent, it is bound to leave a bad taste in the mouth. The media and the business sector must strongly support each other as both need to depend on each other for continued existence. Let there be journalism of hope and let the consumers decide for themselves what is right for them. Sanity must prevail.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="padding: 5px;">
				 </div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-29',
			'modified' => '2013-05-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Businesses and media establishments complement each other. It is absolutely essential for them to learn to co-exist.',
			'sortorder' => '63',
			'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) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '114',
			'article_category_id' => '41',
			'title' => 'Business And State: Nepali Capitalist Classes And Their Interests',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes. We won't be doing any justice to two traditional capitalist classes&nbsp; the Newars and the Marwaris&nbsp; if we say that these communities favored the former king during his direct rule.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>After the declaration of the Republic Nepal, the state is represented by the political parties. So it is natural that the capitalist class siding with the political parties has better ground to grow, again with the blessings of the state. For the time being, we have to accept that the capitalist class close to the former king doesn't enjoy such blessings at par. But they have the experience of doing business with all other capitalist classes.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				Traditional Newar capitalist class means a group of certain castes in the Newari community that are engaged in transit trade between India and Tibet (the autonomous region of the People's Republic of China) since the ancient time. This capitalist class is often referred to as the Caravan Traders because of their admirable mobility for business. The economic history of Newars is as old as Medieval Nepal. Marwaris are the traditional capitalist class of India who later migrated to Nepal in course of business. It has often been argued that the business history of Marwaris is as old as the economic history of India.</div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<br />
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div>
			<strong>By Mohan Das Manandhar &amp; Rojan Bajracharya</strong><br />
			It is undisputed that a number of important developments that occurred in the political sphere of Nepal in the past few years have affected the national economy and businesses alike. Particularly, after the declaration of Republic Nepal, it has become necessary to understand the customs, ethos and ways of doing business in the new political setup. It is natural that the business communities are and should be dynamic to readjust themselves with regime change otherwise an economy like Nepal would stall for once and for all.<br />
			<br />
			It will take some time for this dynamism to take pace and develop new commercial culture and statebusiness relationship. However, it is important to recognize at the outset how the business communities pledge their common interest to the state in view of their common interest guiding the future commercial culture and state-business relationship. One of the important components of market dynamism and competitiveness is the business communities ability to bring forward their collective interest and the state's readiness to address these interests.<br />
			<br />
			Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes. We won't be doing any justice to two traditional capitalist classes&nbsp; the Newars and the Marwaris&nbsp; if we say that these communities favoured the former king during his direct rule. However, we can't deny the fact that the rulers and their kin who represented the state during the former king's direct rule are another traditional capitalist class of the country; and that these three capitalist classes needed to join hands for their common interest. <br />
			<br />
			This article doesn't intend to explore what issues held them together and what separated them. We presume that all these three capitalist classes did share a common business interest, but the Newars and the Marwaris were always aware that it would be useless to have a conflicting interest as the third capitalist class (the royals) had the blessings of the state. So, the Newars and the Marwaris felt the need to build strategic ties with the political parties to defend their interests that were different from the common interest. The political parties, in turn, needed these traditional capitalists to support their movement for republicanism. <br />
			<br />
			However, the problem was that some skeptics inside the political parties thought the Newars and the Marwaris had stronger ties with the royals, and were therefore on the king's side. The king and the royalties on the other hand conceived that they could not operate the entire business and commercial activities of the country by themselves. The two traditional capitalists enjoyed an established commercial network which was the important pillar of the country's economy at that point of time. The triangular relationship between these three actors during the King's direct rule was intricate. The king and the political parties provided patronage to the traditional capitalists for their own political interests and harmonized relationship with the other two actors.<br />
			<br />
			Going further back in history, after the 1990 political transformation, the country entered into an era of democratic electoral practice. The absolute monarch was brought under the constitution and the political parties were handed the executive powers of the state. Now the state was represented by two distinct political forces the king and the political parties. Soon, these two forces were confronting with each other. An opposition political force, the Maoists, even launched an armed uprising against the constitutional monarchical dispensation.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div>
			Later, former king Gyanendra seized the executive powers on February 1, 2005. It showed that though the political parties were assigned the executive role, the king could still afford to become authoritarian. Interestingly, it was also the period of a change in the economic regime from a closed, import-substitution economy to a liberal economy.<br />
			<br />
			In this article, what we have presumed is that the state during the former king's direct rule had conceived the need of economic liberalization in the country. It got continued with time. With economic liberalization, new business opportunities emerged in the country and so did the new capitalist classes. Gradually, a new breed of aspiring capitalists also started to get engaged in trade and commercial activities giving birth to new capitalist classes in the country. It is certain that, with the latest political change, business ventures of the former king's relatives became more transparent. They have the benefit of being tagged as general public in theory but are enjoying the blessings of the state in practice. The capitalist classes also started to tag political affiliations for their mutual benefit which is but natural.<br />
			<br />
			However, the relationships of the capitalist classes with the former king and the political parties still remain harmonized in nature. Further, few new capitalists also emerged due to nurturing by political parties or by virtue of being the relatives of the leaders of these political parties. It was but natural in any new democratic country, at least in South Asia. It is not unusual that the relationship of this capitalist class with the political parties is similar to that of the king and his relatives' capitalist class. So the capitalist class close to the political parties and the one close to the king became competitors in the market and both had had the state's blessings to further their business.<br />
			<br />
			The common interests of both the traditional and the new capitalist classes are the same. This has resulted into business associations in various capacities and the strengthening of the institutional capacity of old associations : This developed formal channels to liaison the common interests of the business communities with the state. On the other hand, the traditional Newar and Marwari capitalist classes are blessed with its own strong, wellestablished conventional network. It is important to note here that this traditional network still guides the commercial culture and the way of doing business informally. So we must presume that there must have been a timely adjustment in the conventional network of the Newars and the Marwaris. <br />
			<br />
			After the declaration of the Republic Nepal, the state is represented by the political parties. So it is natural that the capitalist class siding with the political parties has better ground to grow, again with the blessings of the state. For the time being, we have to accept that the capitalist class close to the former king doesn't enjoy such blessings at par. But they have the experience of doing business with all other capitalist classes. There are traditional Newar and Marwari capitalist classes blessed with well established conventional network and commercial culture. And the fourth capitalist class is the one which has evolved in the last one decade due to new market opportunities. <br />
			<br />
			Obviously, all these capitalist classes would stand together for their common business interests but each of them has its own self-interest and are, therefore, skeptic about each other at times. It is certain that business associations are working together as building blocks to get united for their common interests and distinct identity. However, the challenge is to build unity with diversity.<br />
			<br />
			<em>(Manandharm and Bajracharya are freelance researchers.) <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			</em></div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="padding: 5px;">
				 </div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-29',
			'modified' => '2012-09-17',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes.',
			'sortorder' => '62',
			'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) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '113',
			'article_category_id' => '42',
			'title' => 'Stocks End Sour, Despite Late Budget (Review For 24 Oct- 23 Nov, 2010)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The budget has opened door for Non-Resident Nepalis and provided some ropes for merger between different financial institutions and insurance companies. However, it has not addressed cut and dry approach for uplifting the stampeded stock market of Nepal.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The operation of Central Depository System (CDS) will replace the current scrip-based manual system of trading. It will be introducing computerized book entry system cutting the transaction time and facilitating prompt trade.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			The secondary market of Nepal, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), plummeted in the review period erasing its early gains. The four-month-late budget was expected to boost up the faded stock market. But that could not happen. The Nepse index went down 6.70 points or 1.60 per cent to settle at the review period's low of 419.63 while the highest point of the period was 426.33 on 24 Oct.<br />
			<br />
			During the review period, most of the companies declared their dividend and book closing date and published first quarter financial reports and company analysis. Hence, it can be expected that a great momentum is not going take place very soon as the investors will take time to analyse and interpret the health of institutions and their future prospects.<br />
			<br />
			The outflow of fund during the time of Dashain and Tihar has also hampered the capital market of Nepal, as banking sector is facing liquidity crisis while the lending rate between the banks has also picked high. Hence, spending and withdrawals made at the festival time have affected the investing capacity of the investors. On the other hand, different banks have already declared their revised interest rate on the deposits attracting the investors to hold the capital and deposit it at the bank rather than investing in the market.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			The budget for the fiscal year 2010/11 delayed due to political wrangling among Nepal is and provided some ropes for merger between different financial institutions and insurance companies. However, it has not addressed cut and dry approach for uplifting the stampeded stock market of Nepal.<br />
			<br />
			The much awaited Nepal Central Depository and Clearing Ltd was registered. Nepal Stock Exchange, Citizen Investment Trust and 17 commercial banks have signed the Memorandum of Association of the company as the founder shareholders. Nepse has 51 per cent, CIT has 15 per cent, six commercial banks have 2.88 per cent each while the rest stake in this company is held by 11 commercial banks. The operation of Central Depository System (CDS) will replace the current scrip-based manual system of trading. It will be introducing computerized book entry system cutting the transaction time and facilitating prompt trade. <br />
			<br />
			The trial operation of the CDS system will be made in January 2011 as the software will be handed over by Tata Group by December 15, 2010. The taste of new improved system will surely cure some of the ills of the market; however, political and economic conditions till that period will also determine the sentiment of the market.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		<br />
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="padding: 5px;">
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bar.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 369px; height: 274px;" /><br />
				<br />
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/pie-chart.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 360px; height: 253px;" /></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Performance by Sector </strong><br />
			<br />
			Banking sector, accumulating the heavy volume of trade in Nepse, experienced a double digit dip of 10.77 points or 2.76 per cent to close at 389.68. Similarly, hotel sector plunged 8.66 points followed by 7.64 points down in development banks to settle at 402.48 and 400.11, respectively. The ‘others sector’ skidded 2.35 points while hydropower sector lost 1.89 points. Trading sector descended 1.72 points or 0.65 per cent to close at 265.15. However, insurance accelerated by a fast 34.51 points or 7.02 per cent to settle at 491.75. Finance sector spread the modest of 0.02 points or 0.01 per cent to rest at 357.07.<br />
			<br />
			The sensitive index that measures the performance of 94 blue chips scrip at the secondary market, drifted down 2.33 points or 2.27 per cent to 102.58 while the float index calculated on the basis of real transaction, receded 1 . 2 4 points to 36.5. Total of Rs. 471,129,498 was</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			realized during the review period from 1,656,453 units of share traded via 26,545 transactions.<br />
			<br />
			The figure on the previous page depicts the sectorwise distribution based on the total amount of trade. The commercial banks accounted 50.45 per cent while finance sector covered 14.53 per cent. Similarly, development banks held 13.97 per cent, insurance occupied 9.25 per cent and hydropower sector retained 8.32 per cent while the remaining sectors made up the rest.<br />
			<br />
			Technically, both the 200 days Simple Moving Average (SMA) and 30 days SMA are above the Nepse index, as the market has retreated from its previous surge. Nepse index is overlapped with 30 days SMA showing the shabby nature of stock in the short term while in the long term it is weak. Hence, the chance of acceleration in the market is not visible; however, a few fluctuations can be expected in the short term. (The writer is a stock analyst)</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		<br />
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="padding: 5px;">
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/stock.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 307px; height: 216px;" /></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2012-09-16',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The secondary market of Nepal, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), plummeted in the review period erasing its early gains.',
			'sortorder' => '61',
			'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) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '112',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''The Government Has Not Recognised Advertising As A Real Industry'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural Nepali audience, too.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>In other countries, there is a rebate of 5 to 10 per cent out of the profit that can be spent on advertising that encourages the advertisers to spend more. We need a similar policy in our country.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Being a key player in Nepal’s ad industry for almost two decades, what is your evaluation of its evolution? </strong><br />
			Our market has seen tremendous change and ended with a 360 degree turn of success. We only had the state-owned Gorkhapatra and The Rising Nepal in the print media and Nepal Television and Radio Nepal in broadcast media to begin with. Most of the advertising two decades ago constituted government ads and notices. Over the years, Nepali advertising has taken a long leap because consumption patterns have changed and the market has changed, too, because of democracy and several other factors. Multinational companies (MNCs) were not there. FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) products were very few. Today, we have MNCs, new big companies and many FMCGs. All these changes have brought in new players in the market. The advertising situation has been changing every five years. Today, we are almost on a par with advertising industry in the neighbouring countries. But our online advertising has not grown as expected.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There seems to be unhealthy competition among the major players on holding onto the clients. How can this be controlled?</strong><br />
			Unhealthy competition does exist, but it is not as it was a decade ago. The clients have become more professional and demanding. Leading advertising agencies are under pressure to produce quality ads ever since the clients have started demanding effective campaigns. If you can deliver good work and service to the client, the client is bound to stay on. The smaller advertising agencies, however, continue to compete with each other by offering lower tariff and increased percentage sharing to the clients. I am sure this scenario will change with time once they come to terms with the professional demands of the market. Media exposure has led to clients demanding more professional service as they now know what’s happening in other countries. Compared to a decade ago, there are more advertising agencies producing quality work which has helped bring down unhealthy competition.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Now the ad market of Nepal stands at around Rs 3.5 billion. Are the ad agencies having a good time? </strong><br />
			Yes, it is a good time for the ad agencies which are serious and professional. They are prospering and they will be prospering.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Prisma has top profi le clients like Bottler’s Nepal, Samsung, Western Union, Ncell and Bajaj, to name a few. How tough is the competition among the agencies? </strong><br />
			The competition among the top notch agencies is very healthy and professional. We have a good portfolio of clients but in today’s age of competition, we have to be better than others and perform well to get an edge. So, the competition among the top notch advertising agencies is more in terms of quality and creative work.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The number of advertisers has grown but the number of ads and the market value have grown more. What is contributing to this growth? </strong><br />
			Several factors have contributed to this growth. For one, our urban population is growing consistently and so is the demand for products and brands. MNCs like Unilever and Dabur are pumping in more investments. Another reason for this growth is the change in our consumption habits. Almost 60 per cent of our population is below 32 years of age. This population is literate and possesses decision making capacity which enables them to dictate the market, which in turn, demands the products to be competitive and good. This is where the advertising agencies come in the picture. The entry of new players into the market fuels increased advertising spending from the existing competitors. An example is, when today’s Ncell came in as Mero Mobile, Nepal Telecom was forced to turn aggressive. During its old days of monopoly, it never felt the need for advertising as it does today. Similarly, there are certain sectors that have grown tremendously in recent times. Today, the largest spender in advertising is the education sector. Real Estate sector is another major contributor to Nepal’s advertising industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is the lack of creative talent the only reason our advertisements are not at par with foreign advertisements? </strong><br />
			I, for one, do not agree with this. When you look at any other country’s advertisements, for example India, there is sectoral advertising. Each advertisement there targets a special section of the society. Nepal is a market with all sorts of consumers mixed up. I cannot make a very creative ad for a mobile phone company like Ncell as it should cater also to the consumers living in remote Nepal where literacy level is very low. I do not expect such audience to comprehend the message that I will be conveying through a highly creative ad. For example, I cannot compare the comprehension levels of the youth in Kathmandu and Solukhumbu. It’s a major reason why Nepali ads are created in the simplest manner possible. What use is creativity if it cannot sell a product? It would be unfair to judge the creative talents of Nepali advertising professionals given the constraints that they have to face. It would be equally unfair to compare us with international advertising which caters to people with high literacy levels and different mindsets from ours. You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural<br />
			Nepali audience, too.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Aren’t the agencies pressurising the government to introduce a regulatory framework? </strong><br />
			We have been pressurising the government for a long time. Despite us being an Rs 3.5 billion industry today, the government has not recognised us and given us due treatment. During election time, politicians seek our assistance to create campaigns which means they do know the importance of advertising even for electoral purposes. However, once the government is formed, they forget that advertising should be treated like an industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Today’s youth look at careers other than advertising. How does that impact the ad industry? </strong><br />
			One of the biggest challenges for our ad industry is the lack of quality human resource. We have not been able to create enough interest among the youth. They would rather aspire for a banking career, for example, which is secure as well as a rewarding career. Advertising is merely a small topic for them while in college and not part of their core curriculum as such. It’s ignorance that’s keeping them from a career in advertising. They probably don’t realise that advertising, too, can be a lifelong and rewarding career. Once they realise this, the problem of quality human resource will have found a solution.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Almost all MNC ads are dubbed from foreign languages, mostly from Hindi. Can’t we come out with our own ads for these products? </strong><br />
			One reason for dubbed ads is the trickle-down effect of international media in Nepal. For example, multinationals like Unilever want to create synergy among the communication they are doing in this region as most people have already seen the same advertisements on Indian TV channels. Nepal and India have similar culture and consumption patterns. In India, too, they use the same ad in different languages in different states. This way, the advertiser saves the production cost of new advertisements and invests only in releasing them over a number of channels in different languages. Another reason is the celebrity endorsement. Indian celebrities are equally popular in Nepal. A possible solution could be ‘clean feed’ which will block the advertisements on foreign channels aired to Nepal, thus forcing the advertisers to create advertisements in Nepali. However, there is no such policy at this point of time.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Our ad market is only of Rs 3.5 billion. Isn’t it quite small in size when you consider that a single company allocates more than this for advertisements in other countries? </strong><br />
			You have to understand that our market size is rather small. You cannot compare the advertising budget of Indian corporates with that of ours. A company’s turnover usually determines the amount it wants to allocate for advertising spending. Another thing that we need to look into is the potential of the market in terms of growth which also induces the budget of the industry. Thirdly, the government policy doesn’t provide for tax exemption on advertising spending after a certain limit after which the money spent on advertising is not considered as an expense. This discourages advertisers from making sustained investment in advertising. In other countries, there is a rebate of 5 to 10 per cent out of the profit that can be spent on advertising that encourages the advertisers to spend more. We need a similar policy in our country.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The reported annual growth of 12 to 15 per cent of the ad industry is said to be mainly because of media infl ation. Do you agree?</strong><br />
			Inflation is created by the media but there is always a debate in the advertising sector for several reasons. You see electronic media suffering a lot during load shedding. On the other hand, there are advertising categories which have been shrinking because the whole industry has shrunk. Lately, noodles industries’ advertising spending has gone down heavily. But we are still growing. New breed of advertisers such as the real estate, education sector, and lately, DTH have come up. We are growing not just because of media inflation; there is a genuine growth, too. We expect to grow at 20 to 25 per cent looking at the pace of media growth but it is not happening because of the political situation and power cuts.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the market share of Prisma?</strong><br />
			We are proud to be in the market for 20 years. There are good clients attached with us for more than a decade. Our clients have succeeded in becoming market leaders over the years. We consider good work, recognition and revenue as the most important. It’s important to enjoy a good profit even if the turnover is less. I cannot quote a market share for you but we are holding a good position in the market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which Nepali ad do you think is the best, either by your agency or some other agency and why? </strong><br />
			The biggest and the best campaign that ever happened is the Ncell rebranding from Mero Mobile that we did. The campaign was very successful and we are very proud to have done this campaign. Also, it was the only rebranding ever happened in Nepal.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2010-12-27',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural Nepali audience, too.',
			'sortorder' => '60',
			'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' => '111',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''An Advertisement Must Sell The Product'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>We defi nitely lack the right people in the advertising industry. There is no academic institution to train people in advertising, besides the regular brief training packages provided by the Advertising Association of Nepal.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you evaluate the Nepali ad industry? </strong><br />
			The industry has grown a lot in the last decade and it is still growing. It’s a Rs 3.5 billion industry now. But there’s still the lack of trained, educated professionals in this field. It makes a huge difference in the output, especially in a creative field. The new generation, it seems, is more comfortable to work in the banks, the way the old generation preferred government jobs to private ones. In advertising, as is the case with any other creative sector, people who don’t want a nine-to-five job are more interested. And those who want to explore their talent join this industry.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There is no categorisation of ad agencies. Every agency has the same basic tag of ‘Advertising Agency’. Is that alright? </strong><br />
			It is high time that we differentiate. When we help sell the products of the clients, we position them. Every product has its own positioning. Similarly ad agencies must be differentiated or, let’s say, positioned. We in Water Communication would like to call ourselves a strategy and design company. Others see us as a creative agency. I think creativity is essential but strategy must be stronger.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>A common criticism against the Nepali ads is that they lack creativity. Ad agency people say that highly creative ads tend to go a bit over the top and that the general public fails to catch them. Can’t we create ads that are simple, yet highly creative?</strong><br />
			Creativity must be saleable. If you can’t sell creativity, I don’t call it creative. The main purpose of advertising is to promote the sales of products. Creativity must be promoting the sales. We don’t make ads for the sake of creativity. In the case of Nepal, the boundary for creativity in advertising is limited. I have to sell the products of my clients anyhow. Clients have different needs. And we need to be flexible.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Many ads are made in such a way that the focus is more on something other than the product or its value. Such ads, rather than promoting the products, end up confusing the consumers. What is the main reason behind it? </strong><br />
			The person or agency responsible for making the promotion strategy must be aware what they want to sell. If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Mobile phones and the Internet are growing as big media. How is your agency trying to cash in on this opportunity?</strong> <br />
			The new media is coming up rapidly and has a huge scope. In Nepal, the mobile phone has a greater scope than the Internet as there are more mobile users. Around 30 per cent Nepalis have access to mobile phones. Despite knowing about this opportunity, many ad agencies are unable to tap it. Mobile phone is a medium which provides a direct contact with the customers. But we don’t have an up-to-date database for that. Marketing through mobiles is a recent phenomenon in Nepal. We are far behind countries like India, China or even Bangladesh. Our customers are semiliterate. Still print is the best media for us for the time being. The television has definitely gained in popularity lately. So, it will certainly take some time before advertising could be done through the new media.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>As you said, the industry has a big problem of skilled human resource. How are you managing this crunch? </strong><br />
			We definitely lack the right people in the advertising industry. There is no academic institution to train people in advertising, besides the regular brief training packages provided by the Advertising Association of Nepal. So, there are very few trained professionals in the creative department. In the marketing department, we manage with the products of private colleges.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Celebrity endorsement is not used much in the Nepali ads, while we see that quite a lot in foreign ads. Why are our ad makers not interested in using the celebrities to make ads? </strong><br />
			A celebrity is already a brand. But the celebrity-brand is perhaps yet to find a wider acceptance in Nepal. A product is also a brand. Rajesh Hamal is definitely a brand. It’s the media that creates a celebrity who then naturally becomes a brand. But sadly, the Nepali media has not gone beyond Rajesh Hamal and a few other names. Stars are not made by advertising agencies but by the media. We have limited celebrities and almost all the advertisers are using them to endorse their brands.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In creating an advertisement, who plays the important role - the advertiser or the ad agency?</strong><br />
			Both play very important roles. And both have a common purpose – to reach the consumers. Clients give their needs and requirements and agencies help them with the means to reach the consumers. At the end, that must sell the product. Some might say that advertisers influence the creation of ads while others might argue that such an influence is possible because the ad agencies are not competitive.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems and challenges you are facing in this industry? </strong><br />
			The major problem we are facing is the lack of human resource. Another problem is the industry’s growth is not healthy and professional. There is unhealthy competition going on. There are many people who talk more and work less. There is no design policy. Such a policy would not only help to promote the products but also determine the country’s image. When we talk about Nepal tourism year, Nepal is not to be promoted only by the Nepal Tourism Board. Nepal has to be sold as a product. I don’t know if anybody has even thought about this policy.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What future do you see for the advertising industry? </strong><br />
			It’s going to be more competitive. It will be run by more professional people. Our market is very small compared to the Indian market. To survive here, agencies must have more professional people. Strategically, only strong agencies can come up with such human resource and compete. The small agencies that can’t compete won’t be able to survive in the market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2010-12-27',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.',
			'sortorder' => '59',
			'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' => '110',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘The Number Of Women In Advertising Is Increasing’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you set apart your ad agency among several others in the market?</strong><br />
			Advertising agencies are basically the same. Our ultimate target is to produce an advertisement that satisfies the clients and stays in the minds of the consumers for long. But definitely, we are able to set ourselves apart because of our philosophy. This philosophy defines me and my team. I and my whole team believe that we work hard, talk straight and are damn good at what we do. This confidence in the profession has established our team in this industry.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>With the number of ad agencies increasing every year, how tough has the competition become?</strong><br />
			I am happy that gradually people are realizing that the advertisement industry is a field with lots of opportunities. I don’t see it as a competition. I don’t think I am competing with anyone. Rather, I compete with myself. I have set some goals for myself and I am constantly working to meet these goals. I take each day as a challenge. I want to do better than what I did yesterday.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems of the Nepali ad industry? </strong><br />
			A major problem is the lack of skilled human resource. First, our youths are unaware of the opportunities in advertising. They either want to work in banks or in the multinational companies. So we are not getting smart and creative Nepali people even if we pay salary and other benefits on a par with these institutions. Second, we don’t have schools or institutions where we can enhance our creativity. An advertising agency has to hire a freshman. It takes at least a year for that person to learn everything. But when he is ready, another agency takes away that person. Third, even though we hire the best person in our company, our clients do not have confidence in them. They insist on hiring a foreigner for creative concepts. Thus the money that we could have spent in our country goes outside. Mostly, this money goes to India.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There are many ads that use the female body just as a means to get public attention. How do you see this trend?</strong> <br />
			Different people have different perceptions of the same thing. In my case, I believe showing females in an advertisement is not bad but how they are shown makes the difference. We live in a country like Nepal where we follow certain norms and values. No advertisement should cross the social limits such that it becomes unacceptable to society at the end. Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Do you implement your such ideas when you make ads? </strong><br />
			Being a woman, I think a lot before doing anything. I am very careful not to tarnish the image of females through my advertisement because with every woman I associate myself. Similarly, when I think logically as an ad maker, I know there are several things in the nature that can be depicted in an advertisement in the place of women to convey the message. If anything is shown unnecessarily, consumers</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How is the participation of women in this fi eld so far? </strong><br />
			As of now, there are many women working in this field. And I think their number is increasing. But there are very few women who are investing in this field or holding top positions. I have been able to establish myself because of my confidence. I never feel weak just because I am a woman. I think I can compete with men in every aspect. Every woman should feel this way.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is it a fi eld suitable for women?</strong><br />
			I don’t want to categorise professions on the basis of gender. With confidence and creativity, everyone can do better in this profession. Women can compete with men in every profession. However, women still lag behind because of low self-esteem. Women should take a step forward and explore the opportunities in this sector. I strongly believe that an advertising professional can fit in any other sector because he/she gains a bit of many different experiences in this field -- marketing, designing, writing etc. This field has so much to offer to creative people.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What should be done to attract more women to this creative fi eld?<br />
			</strong>People become successful when they work in the field of their interest. If someone has an inner desire to be a part of the advertising industry, I would welcome them. However, they have to be able to face the challenges. I urge women not to feel weak or discouraged because this is a field where creativity counts, not the physical strength.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Who are your top clients? </strong><br />
			Chaudhary Group, Triveni Group, Sujal Foods, MariGold Foods, Khajurico Nepal are our top clients. There are several others, too. And we have some snacks and confectionaries in the list.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which Nepali ad do you consider the best, made either by your agency or other agencies? </strong><br />
			I consider the advertisement of U-n-Me tea to be the best advertisement of our team. I love this advertisement because it is very tender. It has a quality to touch the hearts of the consumers and remain in their minds for a long time. Among the ads made by other companies, I think the advertisement of Wai Wai Gyan Uday is the best for the beautiful amalgamation of caste and creeds of Nepal.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.',
			'sortorder' => '58',
			'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' => '109',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''Advertising Is Growing At Breakneck Speed'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The unhealthy competition is created by agencies that cannot offer quality services. In an effort to retain their own clients or even get the clients of others, some agencies lower the fees for their services to such an extent that it is not possible to compete with them.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>v-chitra won awards under fi ve categories, including the “Best Creative Agency” Award, in the latest Crity Awards. What puts this company on the top?</strong><br />
			Our motto is: Everyday is a new beginning. So for us at v-chitra, winning an award is a thing of the past. But awards do put more pressure on us, as our clients expect more from us. At v-chitra, we believe that everyday customers have new choices. Everyday our clients have to renew their relationship with their customers so as to remain the first choice. So, we strive to make that happen, everyday.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which do you think is the best advertisement campaign and why?</strong><br />
			My next campaign will be my best one. Every campaign I develop becomes a part of my learning curve. It helps me experiment with new ideas and presentation styles. So, after making a campaign, I analyse it in detail to see if it could have been better. I make sure that I implement what I find in my analysis in my next campaign.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the market share of v-chitra? Who are its major clients? </strong><br />
			It is very difficult to calculate our market share in percentage. But what I can tell you is we are one of the fastest growing agencies. Our Major Clients now are the Chaudhary Group – Wai Wai and Rio; Syakar Group – Honda two- and fourwheelers, Honda generators and Philips; Pashupati Paints; Teletalk – Colors Mobiles, Yeti Travels, Rosebud School, and Balterio floorings, among many others.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Different sources have different estimates about the size of Nepal’s advertising industry. What is your estimate about the size of the ad industry? </strong><br />
			Genuine figures about the size of the advertisement industry are not available. These days, different sources are making different estimates. But we cannot comment on any of the estimates or verify any of them.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you see the evolution of the advertising industry in Nepal? </strong><br />
			It is growing at break-neck speed. Nothing can stop it. But there are some constraints. The biggest constraint is the shortage of professional human resource. As far as infrastructure is concerned, there is a great chasm between man and machine. The industry has invested in physical infrastructure but not in the professionalisation of human resource. Currently, a majority of talented youth is going overseas to study. The industry has failed to develop interest in the young talents towards advertising. At the recent Crity Awards, I was happy to see a category for the “Best Creative Youth.”But that’s not enough. We have to make an advertising career just as lucrative as a banking career.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Most of the advertising agencies play the role of a mediator between the advertisers and the media. Is that all an Ad agency is supposed to do? </strong><br />
			The most important function in advertising is to create. Creating new concepts and ideas, to effectively sell the products and services is the primary objective of any agency. Everything else in an agency is support service. At v-chitra, we concentrate on providing creative solutions that are based on sound marketing strategies. Without a sound strategy, all creative concepts will fail.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>With the demand for advertisements growing, there seems to be a mushrooming of ad agencies. What makes v-chitra stand out? </strong><br />
			We try to create effective communication platforms for the products and services we represent. Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There seems to be unhealthy competition among the major players of the advertising industry in terms of retaining the clients. What do you have to say about this? </strong><br />
			The unhealthy competition is created by agencies that cannot offer quality services. In an effort to retain their own clients or even get the clients of others, some agencies lower the fees for their services to such an extent that it is not possible to compete with them. But the clients need to understand that they are causing a long-term, irreparable damage to their brands by associating themselves with such agencies.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In Europe and America, online advertising has come up really strong over the past few years. Why do the ad agencies in Nepal continue to ignore online advertising? </strong><br />
			Online advertising will increase only when the base of computer and Internet users is wide enough. Clients like to spend on the kind of media that has a wide readership, audience or viewers. Having said that, I think online advertising, too, is picking up in Nepal. The growth is slow, but it’s definitely picking up.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the situation of the availability of professional human resource in advertising?</strong><br />
			The youth have to be shown the rewards, financial or otherwise, for them to enter this industry. An agency can offer such rewards, only if it is itself rewarded. As of now, the clients expect many of our services free of cost; they think that 15 per cent media commission is enough. Even that is shared and stretched to the limits by corporate houses that see only their profit. But they need to understand that squeezing an agency beyond the limits affects them and their brands directly because it also affects, directly, the quality of service and creativity.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the challenges and problems of the advertising industry?</strong> <br />
			The lack of professional human resource is the biggest challenge. The industry needs more smart, young and energetic professionals. Alongside, we should generate new talents who will enhance the quality and scope of advertising in Nepal.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What do you expect from the government for this industry?<br />
			</strong> Advertising is self sustaining. It is purely an economic activity that survives on entrepreneurial initiatives. Businesses today have realised the importance of advertising. All that I expect from the government is to create an ideal business environment for the industries and services to flourish. Then the advertising industry will automatically sustain itself.</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-26',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.',
			'sortorder' => '57',
			'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' => '108',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘The Advertisers Need To Realise That A Single Slogan Can Work Wonders For Them.’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you view the Nepali advertising industry in the present context?</strong><br />
			The Nepali advertising industry is finally established as a full-fledged industry with big investments and big opportunities. A few years back, the industry was looked down upon by many as a fringe business that required little finance and human resource. Today, one needs to enter this business with complete planning, a sound investment and loads of creativity. The operational cost for even a small scale advertising agency would be more than a million rupees per month. Any company that wants to establish itself as an advertising agency must have the creativity, capacity and the infrastructure to sell that creativity.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you look at the current size of Nepal’s advertising industry which is said to be around Rs 3.5 billion?</strong><br />
			I think the market value of the industry is more than Rs 3.5 billion. There are a lot of unseen expenses that are not taken into account. I estimate the value of the industry to be around Rs 5 billion. While the growth of the market and its corresponding value pleases us no end, an Rs 5 billion market cannot accommodate so many new entrants into the industry. There are around 150 or more ad agencies registered with AAN. If this trend continues, the market will not be in a position to sustain them all.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What has prompted the growth in the industry’s market value? </strong><br />
			This growth is simply because of the increased number of advertisers. For example, a couple of decades ago, you could count the number of banks on your fingertips. Today, we have 27 commercial banks operating in the country. The number of service providers such as the insurance companies, financial institutions etc. have grown too. The manufacturing companies have also seen a tremendous growth in numbers. As the market has grown more competitive over the years, the corporate sector has begun to understand the importance of advertising like never before. They now believe in the mileage and benefits that advertising brings to their products and services. It has become imperative to resort to brand building measures and stand out in the crowd as products and services are being launched on almost a daily basis. Besides this, the media sector has grown too which provides advertisers added platforms for advertising.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What rate is the Nepali advertising industry growing at, on an annual basis? </strong><br />
			Frankly speaking, I don’t have the exact data for that. But we have seen that the media sector owes its survival to their respective advertising revenues. However, I can tell from my 20 years of experience and observation that we are growing at around 40 per cent as an industry. <br />
			<br />
			<strong>What is the advertising spending of MNCs here vis-à-vis the domestic companies? </strong><br />
			The MNCs clearly have more budget for advertising than the domestic companies. The domestic companies are neither big in size nor do they have a great range of products to advertise. Financially speaking, they allocate limited budget for advertising.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Could you take us through your journey of 20 years with the advertising industry?</strong><br />
			In the last 20 years or so, the market has grown by leaps and bounds. The number of advertisers and the advertising agencies has grown immensely resulting in where the industry stands today. And the growth is not only quantitative but qualitative as well. The positivity of it all is that the industry is headed in the right direction. Over the last decade or so, the focus of advertising has shifted from merely advertising product manufacturers, to creating lasting brand names.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems and challenges that the industry faces today? </strong><br />
			We don’t have any technical problems or issues related to the resources. The major problem of this industry is the shortage of educated and creative manpower. It is definitely something that plagues the industry the most. There is definitely a requirement for specifically trained human resource. Perhaps, we could start with courses and trainings related to the advertising industry included in various academic curriculums.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Even though Nepali advertisements have come a long way, we are still not in the same league when compared to global advertisements. Why so? </strong><br />
			I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag. The advertisers need to realise that a single slogan can work wonders for them. I believe that if the advertisers do value creativity and compensate it monetarily, the situation will definitely get better.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Does the industry follow a particular line on ethical issues? </strong><br />
			Do they ever refrain from working for a particular product? I can’t speak for the industry but I follow certain ethics in advertising. For example, I won’t produce any advertisements for the casinos. As the casinos are forbidden by the law, I don’t think it is the right thing to advertise about them. Also, I won’t put up a hoarding board for alcohol and tobacco related products in the vicinity of schools and colleges. I am aware of the social responsibility that we carry, as part of the industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the accounts you are currently working with? </strong><br />
			We have a mix bag of domestic clients as well as MNCs. To name a few, we have accounts like Salt Trading Corporation, Bank of Asia, NIC Bank, Janata Bank, Rahul Dairy Products, NLIC, Vishal Group, Panchakanya Group, P&amp;G and UTL etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which advertisement campaign are you particularly proud of, during your entire career? </strong><br />
			It has to be the one that we made for Tokla tea that we made around eight years ago. It was the re-launching of Tokla tea and it became a huge success. At that time, 80 per cent of the market share was with a different brand of tea. Today, Tokla tea commands 70 per cent of the market. I would like to mention here that advertisements made by other advertising agencies such as those of Unilever, IME etc. are definitely of high quality.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 583px;">
	 </div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag.',
			'sortorder' => '56',
			'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' => '107',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘We Need An Advertisement Censor Board’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 583px; text-align: center;">
	<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/crity-award.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why was AAN formed and what are its activities? </strong><br />
			AAN (Advertising Association of Nepal) was formed as the umbrella association of the advertising industry. It was set up for the protection of the rights and welfare of the industry, and to formulate the policies. It plays a vital role as a bridge between the advertisers and the media enterprises.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Being an old hand in Nepal’s advertising industry, what is your take on its evolution?</strong><br />
			The advertising industry has now transformed from being a small business sector to a full-fledged industry. Having grown consistently over the years, it has gradually asserted its role in the corporate world. It’s unimaginable today that a product/brand can establish itself in the market without the help of advertising campaigns.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The advertising market of Nepal stands at about Rs 3.5 billion. Is the growth in tandem with the expansion in other sectors? </strong><br />
			This augurs well for the advertising agencies, for sure. In fact, the industry value should have been around Rs 4.5 billion owing to the inflation. However, political instability has inhibited its progress to a great extent. Looking at the positive changes, even the rice brands have started advertising which never happened before. Even though the advertising market has been growing at the rate of 15 to 20 per cent annually, the time has not come for us to get particularly happy about it.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you view the unhealthy competition among the advertising agencies? </strong><br />
			It is no secret that there is unhealthy competition to get ad accounts. However, the Nepali media is the main reason behind this unhealthy competition. The number of media houses has been increasing at an alarming rate despite the market remaining comparatively small. The lack of uniformity in the market value, non-existent market planning and direct marketing, among others, are the key reasons for the unhealthy competition.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How can the unhealthy competition for holding the clients come to an end? </strong><br />
			There must be uniformity in the market rate. Next, it has become absolutely necessary that the ad agencies be categorised. Similarly, the media should be categorised, too. The government must issue licenses taking into consideration the respective categories. AAN has been working on this in association with various media groups. For example, we have worked with the Television Broadcasting Association to fix ad tariffs. Fixing a standard ad tariff will definitely create a favourable environment for the investors and help the market sustain.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is the industry in dire need of a regulatory framework? </strong><br />
			To regulate the advertising market, an advertisement policy is mandatory, to start with. We have certain policies but they need to be updated with the changing time. The government must have a different advertising authority set-up to regulate the advertising agencies.<br />
			<strong><br />
			According to you, which Nepali ad is the best, in recent memory? </strong><br />
			Personally, I like Jagdamba Steel’s “Nepali Mann Mann ma” which incidentally, was produced by Welcome Advertising. It was voted as the most popular ad. Quality wise, I think Pepsodent ad is the best one.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In general, the youth is looking at several career options but not advertising. What could be the reasons behind this? </strong><br />
			There is no doubt that we have not been able to attract young talent. However, the youth is showing interest in being a part of the industry, off late. Colleges have included advertising as a subject in their syllabi and advertising training centres such as Infinity Advertising Training Institute, too, are being established. Therefore, we are looking at better times ahead and hope that more young people will look at advertising as a rewarding career. There is the lack of skilled manpower due to braindrain and also because the trained ones are enticed by the banks. If the advertising industry will be managed properly, most of the youngsters would be in this sector.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why do our advertisements lack quality as well as creativity compared to the advertising standards abroad? </strong><br />
			My personal opinion is that Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity. The Nepali advertising agencies have been awarded with a number of international awards and certificates of merit since 2003. I will go as far as to say that our creative talents are second to none in South Asia. The annual Crity Awards have also encouraged the advertising agencies to produce better creative work. As the market gets more established with time, we should definitely be in a position to compete in the international market with a renewed vigour.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why were the recently held Crity Awards criticised and labelled as biased? </strong><br />
			Crity Awards is not confined to honouring advertising excellence. It is a celebration for the entire media industry. Any talk of branding the event as controversial is a baseless rumour. Recently, we organised a post-event programme for the ‘6th Crity Awards 2067’ where we had an interaction among the advertising agencies, media executives and journalists. We reached a conclusion that the awards ceremony did not have any reasons whatsoever to invite the wrath of the so-called critics.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The corporate big-wigs are circumspect about investing in the advertising industry. How do you view this hesitation?</strong><br />
			Well, there is sufficient investment in the advertising industry and that is why it has transformed into an industry from a small business. The annual turnover of the industry is Rs 3.5 billion now. AAN has close to 140 ad agencies registered with it. Politically, once there is a peaceful environment in the country and we have a stable government in place, the investment will definitely increase. There is a good number of multinational as well as local brands looking forward to an investor friendly environment to start/resume investments. It is only a matter of time, hopefully.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Besides being an advertising administrator, you are also an entrepreneur in the industry. How are you doing on that account?</strong><br />
			Welcome Advertising is an independent agency, in operation for 21 years now. It is an authorised member of the International Network in Nepal as well as a production house. Welcome Advertising works with some of the biggest names in the market such as the Jagdamba Group, Unilever, G Phone, MS Group etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There has been an issue about exaggerating product features through advertisements. How do you plan to address this? </strong><br />
			The question you have asked is very relevant in the present context. These are the advertisements which are produced by the clients themselves that are courting controversies. For such problems, censorship of advertisements is the best solution that one can think of. Therefore we do need a censor board which will monitor and approve advertisements before they go to print or get aired. The government must take an initiative to this end by setting up a separate advertisement authority. Alternately, the government could give this responsibility to AAN.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity.',
			'sortorder' => '55',
			'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' => '106',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Body And Mind',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Body and Mind</strong><br />
			Even a single cell organism such as a bacterium acts as if it has a mind. It moves away from toxins and towards nutrients. For bacteria, such behavioural response is the key to survival. Humans have minds, in addition to bodies, although both serve the same purpose -- a purpose shared by every species on earth, i.e. survival and well- being. Products and services, in essence, serve the purpose of mind/body by enhancing the survival (physical, psychological and social) and the quality of survival. No wonder advertising is more and more focused on the quality of life that products bring to consumers’ lives rather than their functional attributes.<br />
			The question of mind-body has intrigued many great philosophers and scientists. While the eastern civilization had long understood the connection between mind and body, it took a long time for the West to grasp this knowledge. An increasing body of scientific evidence suggests that mind (the immaterial) and body (the material) have a symbiotic relationship. What happens in the mind has outcomes on the body, and the body has a significant role in the shaping of the mind. But for many centuries, the West embraced the concept of disembodied mind (mind separate from the body; spirit separate from matter) and this had a profound impact on many disciplines including medicine, as exemplified in the way it treated diseases (by simply focusing on the body and not the mind). It would not be wrong to assume that this mind/ body problem had a great impact on the way marketers approached advertising. As a result, for a long time, marketers practiced a rationalist-materialistic approach in advertising (e.g. nice shampoo=nice hair=nice job).In the absence of proper understanding of bodily emotions and their influence on the mind, emotions were generally overlooked as an effective approach in advertising. <br />
			Emotions help us survive and survive better. If we did not have the emotion of fear, we would walk </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/car.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 280px; height: 313px;" /><br />
			<br />
			freely in the middle of the highway, though not for very long.If we did not feel good or happy, we would not get into any kind of exploration; whether it was seeking a mate or having sex when we lived in the jungle or seeking scientific discoveries while we live in a civilized world. It is very difficult for an eternally sad and depressed person to engage in such explorations. Some argue that emotions are dysfunctional, but this is true only when an emotion or its intensity is inappropriate to the situation. <br />
			With the re-emergence of the integrated theory of mind/body, and the role of body (where emotions occur) and its making of the mind (where the emotions are felt and classified as painful or pleasurable etc.), emotions have received their due importance in management and, by extension, in advertising. It is worthwhile to note that beliefs are tied with emotions. And emotions can lead to new beliefs and strengthen existing beliefs. It is our emotional connect with the brands that strengthens our belief in them.Only recently has science agreed upon a broad definition of emotions and their purpose in our lives.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Mind and Brands</strong><br />
			Products exist in the outer world. Mind exists inside us. We engage our body to interact with objects (including products) and events in the outer world.<strong> </strong> However, it is our mind, in conjunction with our body, which gives meaning to those products.<br />
			In other words, mind and products come together to make a brand. Products, or for that matter, any external objects or events, do not have much intrinsic qualities of their own. Products are generally neither good, nor bad; neither black nor white; neither beautiful nor ugly. And when they are made under the statutory quality standards, they are neither superior nor inferior. It is our mind that gives (or doesn’t give) products such qualities. <br />
			This is where advertising comes in. Advertising helps the mind embrace the</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			intended qualities of products through association or conditioning. When those intended qualities, through a repetitive exposure of messages (provided they are delivered in the proper way, here delivery of the message is the key) become hardwired in the brain, they become a belief. Beauty care products don’t make us more beautiful as much as they make us feel more beautiful, and so do the designer clothes and many other products. Does one nutritional drink make kids smarter or taller than others or does it make any smarter at all? No one can say for sure. Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation. But if the consumers strongly believe (with strong emotions) that it does, then no reasoning can change their mind.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Brands and God</strong><br />
			Brands are much more than simply matter, much more than what they are made of. Belief is what lies underneath both God and brands; the only difference is the degree. And mind is the space where both God and brands are experienced. This is in no way meant to reduce God to mental states or to draw any parallel between God and brands, because God is much more powerful than any brand mankind has ever made.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			Only God can create the kind of belief that He does. However, I believe that any brand that can create a godlike belief will be the truly ultimate brand. Whether it is ever possible to do so is another question altogether. But that should not stop brands from trying. This effort is what will drive brands to continually evolve forever. (Panday is a Creative Consultant and winner of six Crity Advertising Awards)<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation.',
			'sortorder' => '54',
			'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) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '105',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'God, Belief And Brands',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 595px;">
	<strong>In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			Have you seen God? This is a question I have faced many times in life. As a theist, I find it difficult to answer this because I haven’t seen God. But not seeing God or rather not being able to see Him hasn’t changed my belief in Him. My inability to see God can be attributed to many reasons. Perhaps God hasn’t endowed me with senses (vision, in particular) strong enough to see Him. Perhaps God doesn’t exist in the form and shape that my senses are attuned to. Humans have the instinct to anthropomorphise objects. Everything has to be human like. We look for faces in the clouds and in cars. In marketing, we attribute human-like characteristics to products. But, God doesn’t necessarily have to be a carbon based organism governed by the laws of the cosmos.<br />
			As for science, it has a concrete theory neither about the origins of mankind and the universe, nor about the brain which builds such theories. So, for science to come to a conclusion about God would be a bit too premature. Science, especially narrow science, rejects what it doesn’t know and ignores what it doesn’t understand. For centuries, science chose to ignore the issue of emotions. And science continues to ignore the phenomenon of consciousness (i.e. awareness in the most basic sense ) because neither can it fully understand this phenomenon , nor can it explain how it works inside the brain. For the time being, let science be science and God be God. At the very core, both science and God function as one, because both seek the same purpose - survival and well-being of mankind.<br />
			For a layman like me, the questions such as the evidence of God’s existence and whether God created this universe and the species or they evolved are not worth pursuing. Even if the issue of Creation vs. Evolution is ultimately resolved, it will not be the end of God or Science. Both will continue playing significant roles in our lives as long as we continue being an existence made of mind and matter. So, instead of the big questions, what I prefer to be asked is whether I believe in God or not? To that, my answer will always be a resounding YES. I do believe that God does exist.<br />
			Belief, in itself, is nothing less than a miracle. Belief is healing, not only psychologically but also physically. Belief in God gives us the strength to follow a moral path. Belief is empowering. Belief is comforting. In times of crisis, belief in God has helped many, including me, maintain sanity in life.And my belief is not only limited to God; it extends to scientists and even brands, whose cause I champion. If I did not believe in scientists who said that Earth will not collide with other planets soon, at least not during my lifetime,<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<img alt="" height="454" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/pic-ss.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" width="280" /> <br />
			&nbsp;then I would have ceased to exist long ago as a result of anxiety disorder. In fact, most of the scientific truths are simply beliefs for the vast majority of people.<br />
			For most of us, the existence of atoms, quarks or strings are beliefs and not scientific truths because by definition we ought to have observed them empirically in order to account them as scientific truths. But common sense dictates that it is best to leave science to scientists, even if they come up with a new theory every now and then.<br />
			Let me clarify that this discussion is neither about God nor about science, and it is certainly not against the non-believers. They are as much right in their (dis-) belief as I am in my belief. This article is mainly about belief because this is what makes a brand out of a product. In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.Medical science presents a classic example of the power of belief -- the placebo effect, where patients get better by ingesting a sugar pill, while they believe (falsely) that they are getting medicine. This is what some scientists call the belief effect. In one study, a psychology professor at the University of Connecticut found that ‘eighty percent of the effect of antidepressants, as measured in clinical trials, could be attributed to the placebo effect.’ This is the power of belief.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	 </div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.',
			'sortorder' => '53',
			'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) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '104',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Brand Mantra For Now - STAY YOUNG!',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			The umbrella-idea of ‘Grow Young’ could be the key for many brands in Nepal today. Let’s take the time to explore if it is just another jargon in an industry already full of branded synonyms or is there more to it? <br />
			According to the statistics, Nepal is a youth dominant country with 72 per cent of its population below the age of 35 years. That makes Nepal a market for the youth, so to speak. In order to stay relevant in this youthdominant market, brands have to remain youthful and contemporary all the time. With the passage of time, even the most successful brands become outdated or old-fashioned if they cannot keep up with the changing mindsets of the consumers. <br />
			Look around yourself and you will find many brands getting trapped in a time warp – Bata shoes or Bombay Dyeing could be the examples from the sub-continent and Brighter toothpaste, Rara noodles, Gogo detergent from Nepal. This clearly leaves the marketers and the advertising agencies with a challenging job at their hands – to make the brands look, feel and sense young at all times so that they don’t get lost into the oblivion. This means regenerating the Product Life Cycle graph with the changing demographic status of the country. <br />
			The importance and challenge for a brand to stay young and fresh is further compounded by the unique demographics of this country. Since marketers from sectors as diverse as automobiles to apparels to mobile phones have young audience at the heart of their campaigns, the importance of staying contemporary is the need of the hour.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			What do young people mean to the business world today? They are always open to new ideas, have the spending power, and are the key influencers even for decisions where they aren’t the ultimate buyers. They are willing to experiment and proving to be trendsetters in the process. To connect with the youth and their minds, it is important for brands to stay young and desirable. Therefore the only way forward for brands today is to constantly remain young in order to have a lasting effect. <br />
			Catch-them-young is turning out to be a ‘big idea’ the world over. And Nepal is no exception where organised categories are first tried by the youth. To comply with this trend, and implement the ‘big idea’ to create a platform for brands to stay fresh and young, there is a new process called ‘unboxing’. This approach could prove to be quite handy where the creative and client servicing units of an advertising agency join hands to use five Knowledge Blocks (5KBs) to generate ideas. These 5KBs originate from field study and research conducted by the client servicing team along with the client’s marketing or brand team. The 5KBs consist of a) consumer understanding b) category opportunities c) competitive gaps d) brand advantage and e) brand personality. Each 5KB gives clues to ideas that brands can own. <br />
			The strategic and the creative units collaborate to explore the findings, which leads to brand ideas. The ideas are then filtered to retain only the ones that keep the brand ‘fresh and young’. <br />
			(Shakya is associated with Outreach Nepal Pvt Ltd. This article has been acquired from AAN website and edited by Nubiz for clarity. - Ed.)<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="width: 595px;">
	<img alt="" height="197" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/big-idea.jpg" style="float: left;" width="363" /> <img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/stay-young.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 131px; height: 200px; float: right;" />
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The umbrella-idea of ‘Grow Young’ could be the key for many brands in Nepal today. Let’s take the time to explore if it is just another jargon in an industry already full of branded synonyms or is there more to it?',
			'sortorder' => '52',
			'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) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '103',
			'article_category_id' => '37',
			'title' => 'Lessons From The Global Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<div align="left">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">The key lessons from the recent global financial crisis could be divided under three heads:<br />
					<br />
					Economic lessons<br />
					<br />
					Financial lessons<br />
					<br />
					Policy lessons<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>
	<p>
		<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
		</span></p>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
			<div>
				<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
					<div align="left">
						<span style="font-size:12px;">Overall, we need to learn that the key economic lesson of this crisis is to avoid too much debt.</span></div>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>
		<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
		</span>
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
				<div>
					<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
						<div align="left">
							<span style="font-size:12px;">The banks that came out of the crisis unscathed were well capitalized, had ample liquidity and had strategies that were customer focused. In many respects, they could be termed conservatively run.</span></div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</div>
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
			</span>
			<div style="width: 595px;">
				<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
					<div align="justify">
						<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>ECONOMIC LESSONS </strong><br />
						In order to derive a proper understanding, it is important to look at this crisis in context. It is evident that a shift in the balance of power is underway i.e. from the West to the East. Though it will take time, the beneficiaries in this shift are countries with good financial resources, natural resources or the ability to adapt/ change. Thus the winners will have cash, commodities or creativity. The West, having seen an era of excess now encounters an era of austerity. In contrast, emerging economies have enjoyed an era of boom and are now in need of investment. These macro-trends will have a significant bearing on the postcrisis debate. In the UK, for instance, the debate over the banking and financial sector still has some way to go. A few years ago there was at least a general agreement that the financial sector was good for the economy. Now there are questions if the banking/ financial sector is good or bad. The danger in that debate is that commercial banks that facilitate much business and trade will be squeezed. In the US, Paul Volcker has not only produced his own plan for the financial sector but last year he also said the only socially useful innovation from banks had been the ATM machine. This links into the wider debate over innovation vs. regulation and getting the balance right. For Asia, the debate is different. Relative to the challenges in the banking sector in the west, this is an opportunity. But, relative to the macro-economic environment and outlook in Asia, there are challenges. For instance, the cost of future public sector investment is huge, estimated at over eight trillion dollars. Then there is the issue of capital flows and how to manage this, which links into the</span></div>
				</div>
				<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
					<div align="justify">
						<span style="font-size:12px;">need for Asia to deepen and broaden its capital markets. The outlook for the banking and financial sector cannot be viewed in isolation from the macro-economic climate. <br />
						There is a genuine risk of a double-dip, slipping back into recession, although a weak recovery is more likely. A double dip could occur if there was a policy mistake, an external shock or a loss of confidence. But the world economy is experiencing a shift, with more of global growth driven by emerging economies. Whilst, it is important not to underestimate the downside risks from debt and deleveraging in the West, looking at levels gives a different perspective. A decade ago, the size of the world economy was $ 31 trillion. On the eve of the crisis, it had risen to $ 61 trillion collapsing during the crisis to $ 58 trillion. Now it is back to pre-crisis levels. Global trade peaked in 2008, collapsing 21 per cent by May 2009. Since then trade has almost recovered to pre-recession levels reaching 98 per cent of that level by June 2010. The world economy is not decoupled. The collapsing trade had highlighted the inter-connectedness of the world economy. Although it was a crisis made in the West, it has had global implications. But the key lesson from this crisis is debt, too much debt. Although there were many characteristics of this crisis that were different from the previous ones, the fundamental cause was the same: too much debt. In fact, there are a number of factors linked to this. The crisis witnessed a lethal combination of debt, leverage and gearing combined with easy money and with one way.<br />
						<br />
						<br />
						</span></div>
				</div>
				<div style="clear: both;">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
	</span>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>FINANCIAL LESSONS <br />
					</strong><br />
					The main financial lesson of the crisis is liquidity. The crisis was triggered by a combination of factors: an imbalanced global economy, a failure to heed to warning signs and a systemic failure of the financial system. A strong rebound seen in banks over the last year has occurred in an environment where the global policy stimulus has been huge. Now, a more difficult time lies ahead as it becomes clear that the recovery in the West is weak, adding to the pressure on banks to lend. To heed the lessons for the financial sector, it is important to learn lessons from those that failed and also recognize that not all broke, even in the city of London, and there are lessons to learn from where things worked well. The banks that came out of the crisis unscathed were well capitalized, had ample liquidity and had strategies that were customer focused. In many respects, they could be termed “conservatively run”. There were also lessons to learn from countries that had a good crisis e.g. Australia and Canada benefitted from effective supervision. There are also important lessons to learn from Asia, including China, particularly in the case of macroprudential measures. <br />
					<br />
					These are specific and targeted measures that</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">worked well. They included reserve requirements for banks and specific measures that could, for instance, be aimed at real estate such as Loan to Value ratios. The potential effectiveness of macroprudential measures needs to be fully appreciated. They can be effective especially if used alongside appropriate monetary policies. There are also important lessons to learn from those institutions that failed. It came out loud and clear that there was a failure of corporate governance. In particular, senior managements and Boards did not guard against excessive risk-taking. This was particularly relevant with respect to liquidity. Some banks thought they didn't need much liquidity possibly because they thought risks were low or that Central Bank could help. The scale of the unregulated financial sector was also a distinctive result as the crisis unfolded. Hence, the needs for regulators to widen the scope of their regulatory remit. There was a lack of risk management, lack of liquidity management and procyclical behavior that added fuel to the fire. Capital reserves were built on artificially low default risks. And, when the crisis broke, mark to market triggered both asset write-downs and panic selling. So there are many financial lessons from the crisis but the key is liquidity.</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="clear: both;">
				<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
				<br />
				</span></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>POLICY LESSONS <br />
					<br />
					</strong>The first lesson is, avoid cheap money. This encourages the buildup of debt especially where debt is subsidized by favorable tax treatment as was the case in the US. Avoiding cheap money doesn't mean that there will not be occasions when interest rates should be low as in the West now. <br />
					<br />
					<br />
					The second lesson: learn the lessons from Asia and make effective use of macro-prudential measures. The third lesson is applicable to China and much of Asia now. With interest rates low in the west and likely to stay that way for some time, money is likely to flow east. This is likely to feed the asset-price inflation, perhaps on some government bond markets, and also in equities and real estate. Asia needs to heed such warning signs and not only take on board avoiding cheap money but also do more in terms of accepting greater currency flexibility and moving towards deepening and broadening its capital markets.<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					State capitalization and the role of the state are likely to be a future dominant issue. The crisis also<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">&nbsp;saw a desire by some financial firms to secure anchor shareholders. There is a need for long term players. Perhaps the most important policy issue is the need for an international approach to regulatory issues. The trade-off between an international approach and domestic agenda is an important one. One can understand on domestic economic grounds why now there are differences in macro policy. While deflation is a risk in the West, the East is characterized by inflation. Yet on financial issues, given the contagion that was witnessed during the crisis, an international approach is the key. Thus we have seen the move to G20 and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and this was reflected in the Basel III announcement.<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					In conclusion, the three key words are- debt, and the need to minimize it; liquidity, and the need for financial institutions to have sufficient amount; and the importance of policy makers to send the right incentives. (The writer is Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd.)<br />
					<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="clear: both;">
				<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
				</span></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2012-09-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'In order to derive a proper understanding, it is important to look at this crisis in context. It is evident that a shift in the balance of power is underway i.e. from the West to the East.',
			'sortorder' => '51',
			'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) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '102',
			'article_category_id' => '37',
			'title' => 'Four Months Wait For BUDGET Is Over',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<span style="width: 100%;">Nepal's caretaker government has finally managed to bring out the annual budget by issuing an Ordinance after a delay of four months from the date the fiscal year strated. Giving continuity to most of the ongoing programs, Finance Minister Surendra Pandey, announced the budget of Rs 337.9 billion for the fiscal year 2010/11. It is an increment of 18 per cent compared to last year's budget of Rs 285.9 billion. <br />
			<br />
			The government has allocated 56.3 per cent of the total budget for recurrent expenditure, 38.3 per cent for capital expenditure and 5.4 per cent for principal repayment. The estimated spending is 30.4 per cent more than the revised estimate of expenditure of the previous year. In terms of the structure of the expenditure, recurrent expenditure has increased by 25.8 per cent and capital expenditure by 44.8 per cent.<br />
			<br />
			To meet the expenditures, the government aims to mobilize Rs 216.64 billion from revenue and Rs 65.35 billion from foreign grants. Deficit of Rs 55.91 billion is expected to be covered from foreign loans of Rs 22.23 billion and domestic borrowings of Rs. 33.68 billion. The amount of proposed foreign loans is 2.6 per cent of the estimated GDP.<br />
			<br />
			A review of the first quarter's revenue collection of the current fiscal year makes it challenging to meet the revenue target of the budget. It, therefore, seems an uphill task to meet the target of 4.5 per cent economic growth. Last year's budget had targeted 5.5 per cent economic growth but the actual achievement was 3.5 per cent. The new budget expects inflation to be around 8 per cent. It is higher than this year's monetary policy's target of 7.5 per cent. <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			</span></div>
	</div>
	<div align="justify" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<strong>Major Highlights of the Budget</strong><br />
		<br />
		<div style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 5px;">
			01. More allocations for the infrastructure projects <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; like Kathmandu-Terai fast track road, Mid-hills <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; highway, Sikta and Ranijamara irrigation, <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Syafrubesi-Rasuwagadi road track, Upper <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tamakoshi hydropower, etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			02. Rs 500 thousand cash for the organizers of <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; seminar or workshop involving more than 100 <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; foreign passport holders entering Nepal <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; through air-route once at a time<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			03. Provision of sub health post and police post <br />
			&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; for the productive industry that offers <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; employment to more than 500 Nepali workers.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			04. Black-topped roads reaching the premises of <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; manufacturing companies employing more <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; than 100 Nepali people.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			05. Lands to be classified into six categories: <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; agricultural, industrial, forestry, commercial, <br />
			&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; residential and public community. Ownership <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; certificates to be issued accordingly.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			06. Construction of large and medium sized <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; reservoirs based hydropower projects at least <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; one in every Development Region.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			07. Two per cent incentive on equivalent Nepali <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; currency to exporters on submission of bank <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; documents showing that they have received <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; convertible currencies earned from the <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; exports. Incentive will be three percent and <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; higher if the value addition of exported <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; commodities exceeds 50 per cent or higher. <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They will also get 25 per cent income tax <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; exemption.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			08. Door opens for Non-resident Nepalis to invest <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; in the capital market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			09. E-tendering made mandatory from 14 April <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2011 onwards for all the contracts and tenders <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; of more than Rs 20 million.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			10. Merger of banks, finances and insurance <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; companies encouraged. Changes in the <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; provision of taxing assets and liabilities as <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; deposal after merger will be introduced to <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; make it non-taxable, and special <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; arrangements have been made for share <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; holders, managers and employees.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/table-of-i-nc(1).jpg" /></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2012-09-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal’s caretaker government has finally managed to bring out the annual budget by issuing an Ordinance after a delay of four months from the date the fiscal year started.',
			'sortorder' => '50',
			'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) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '100',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '“We Have An Edge Over Other Laboratories”',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				Super Religare Laboratories Ltd (SRL) and Life Care Services Pvt Ltd have started a jointventure recently to offer the Nepali public a world-class pathology lab. At a programme to mark this occasion, <strong>Dr Sanjeev K Chaudhry</strong>, the Chief Executive Officer of SRL, spoke to Nubiz about the venture and its future in Nepal. Excerpts from the interview:</div>
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Could you brief us on SRL? </strong><br />
				Super Religare Laboratories (SRL) is India’s largest and one of the world’s fastest growing health care diagnostics company. SRL was the first pathology lab system in India to get quality accreditations from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), Government of India and the College of American Pathologists (CAP), USA. SRL is today approached by leading hospitals of the UK, the Middle East, the SAARC region and South East Asia for their testing needs. A large part of the decision that a doctor makes in terms of what treatment to do or how to heal a patient is based on the output of an accurate diagnosis. We are the market leaders not just in terms of geographic capability or the size of an operation but also in terms of scientific and medical capability. SRL is the only Pathology Lab Network from India to have five reference labs and over 170 labs, with a footprint spanning over 1500 collection centres. Since its inception in 1996, it has conducted over 50 million tests and today its operations have scaled up to a level where 10 million people every year repose their trust in the testing facilities of SRL.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What kind of research did you carry out before approving this particular venture?</strong><br />
				Well, the laboratory of this nature is commercially viable if it is processing about 100 samples a day. We realised that we can price the services at this laboratory very high and make a lot of profit due to our monopoly position. However, it is not part of the “We have an edge over other laboratories” New Business Age | October 2010 25 Visiting Business People Nubiz SRL philosophy to do so. We believe in doing things correctly and at a fair price. So we have priced it very competitively in line with the market reality in Nepal. Our strategy is to seek profit through volume expansion. Since this lab is located in Kathmandu, we also had to think about the people residing outside the valley. So we have also set up sample collection centres outside the Kathmandu valley. There are already eight collection centres linked to this facility that includes Pokhara, Dharan, Janakpur, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Bharatpur. Over a period of time, we plan to have a 100 collection centres across Nepal.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Tell us about your foray into the Nepali market.</strong> <br />
				Being a neighbour of this country and being very closely associated culturally, socially and economically, we get a lot of people from Nepal who frequent India for treatment. There are many others who only send their samples. We perform tests on nearly about 80,000 samples and a few hundred every day from Nepal itself. So, we were convinced that coming to Nepal with a modern laboratory was always a viable proposition. This will serve not only our existing clientele here but also a large number of people who will have easy access to our laboratory here.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What is the kind of investment that you have put in your operations in Nepal? </strong><br />
				Super Religare Reference Laboratories (Nepal) Pvt Ltd is a joint venture between SLR, India and Life Care services Pvt Ltd, Nepal, which is part of a leading corporate group here led by Mr Ravi Bhakta Shrestha. We have already invested about US$ 1 million in this facility. With time, the facility will expand with more investment in its infrastructure. From the perspective of the health care industry, you need to understand that this facility is the part of a very large network. This network is connected electronically to a large number of reference laboratories across the world. For now, while it may be only a US$ 1 million investment, there is a whole SRL investment of several hundred million dollars in India and elsewhere which will be supporting the local facility here.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>How big are your operations and reach in global terms? </strong><br />
				Besides India and Nepal, we have a presence in Dubai at the Dubai Health Care City, in Mauritius, and in a couple of African countries, too. Very soon, we will be expanding to Europe and the United States as well.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What is the kind of expectation for growth here in Nepal that you have in mind, in the foreseeable future? </strong><br />
				At the moment, the parent company is growing at 30 to 40 per cent annually. We expect to register the same growth rate in Nepal or perhaps, even a higher rate. It would mean performing more tests and opening more collection centres. You can evaluate these things in multiple ways. We’ll look at establishing more laboratories in Kathmandu as well as other parts of Nepal once the need arises.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Tell us about the target consumer base that you keep in mind while focusing at a market like Nepal’s. </strong><br />
				Going by experience, we divide the population of any country into quintiles which consist of 20 per cent each. We find it relevant to directly target the top three quintiles which cover the 60 per cent population. This number definitely has the ability to pay for the treatment and it can afford to go for the best treatment. The bottom 40 per cent usually faces the problem of affordability and therefore they go to the state-run hospitals. To a patient, it may be free-of-cost but to the state it does cost money. The state-run hospitals do the best they can at their end. Anything that goes beyond their capacity is sent to a laboratory like ours which again is a source of revenue for our business.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>You said that you enjoy a virtual monopoly. Does that mean you do not have any competition whatsoever? </strong><br />
				We do have competition. When I say we enjoy a monopoly, it is in terms of the quality of our laboratory. Any test can be performed in a number of ways, including the use of primitive techniques like studying a slide under the microscope. In fact, a lot of laboratories can perform the tests that we do. The difference is in the processes for collection, testing, and reporting because our servers preserve the data on a long term basis. We believe in providing 100 per cent guaranteed service. SRL consistently follows the best of national and international quality protocols, thereby ensuring the accuracy of every test report. The same quality and international standard protocols will also be ensured in our Kathmandu lab. This is where we have an edge and it sets us apart from other laboratories.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>How cheaper is it going to be for the people who have been sending their samples thus far to your laboratory in India? </strong><br />
				For them, it will be at least 20 per cent cheaper as there won’t be a transportation cost. More importantly, it is the same result with the same efficiency and accuracy, only at a faster rate.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-31',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Super Religare Laboratories Ltd (SRL) and Life Care Services Pvt Ltd have started a jointventure recently to offer the Nepali public a world-class pathology lab. At a programme to mark this occasion, Dr Sanjeev K Chaudhry, the Chief Executive Officer of SRL, spoke to Nubiz about the venture and its future in Nepal. Excerpts from the interview:',
			'sortorder' => '49',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	)
)
$current_user = null
$logged_in = false
$xml = false
include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224
View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418
include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473
Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968
Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200
Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167
[main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117

Warning (2): simplexml_load_file() [<a href='http://php.net/function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: I/O warning : failed to load external entity &quot;&quot; [APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133]
Code Context
  //  $file = 'http://aabhiyan:QUVLg8Wzs2F7G9N7@nepalstock.com.np/api/subindexdata.xml';



    if(!$xml = simplexml_load_file($file)){
$viewFile = '/var/www/html/newbusinessage.com/app/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp'
$dataForView = array(
	'articles' => array(
		(int) 0 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 1 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 2 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 3 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 4 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 5 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 6 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 7 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 8 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 9 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 10 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 11 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 12 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 13 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		),
		(int) 14 => array(
			'Article' => array(
				[maximum depth reached]
			)
		)
	),
	'current_user' => null,
	'logged_in' => false
)
$articles = array(
	(int) 0 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '115',
			'article_category_id' => '50',
			'title' => 'Media's Arm-Twisting Ways',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>If a media report questioning the quality of its product is printed or aired, the business house, instead of immediately issuing a refuting press release, should launch an investigation into the matter first. If the media reports are true, it must have the courage to withdraw the products from the market, and then issue an apology and compensate the consumers.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>When the media reports negatively against a business venture with a vicious intent, it is bound to leave a bad taste in the mouth. The media and the business sector must strongly support each other as both need to depend on each other for continued existence.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div>
			As if the political instability in Nepal was not causing enough harm to the business environment already, a section of the media, recently, further aggravated the situation by frustrating business ventures through negative reporting. Dish Nepal, a DTH (direct-to-home) service provider; Real Juice, a Dabur Nepal brand; and Blackberry Services from Ncell, a cellular phone giant are among the businesses that were the targets of negative reporting by certain media outlets.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/ad.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /><br />
			<br />
			Some of these companies faced the media wrath because they allegedly did not yield to intimidating tactics toâ gift advertisement contracts, while others were reported against because their market rivals sponsored spiteful information in an attempt to kill the competition. In at least one of these cases, the issue even managed political overtone. <br />
			The relationship between a section of the corporate houses and some media outlets has hit an abysmal low. Businesses need the media to launch and promote their brands and products in the marketplace. In turn, the media depends on advertisement contracts which are the major source of revenue for them. Thus, businesses and media establishments complement each other and it is absolutely essential for them to learn to co-exist. <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			The media seems to be losing its focus of late, believe some media observers. They say that this could have a huge impact on the corporatepress relationship in the long run. Advertisers are indeed circumspect while giving business to the media of their choice lest they invite the attention of media establishments that they are not interested to advertise in, says an official from the Advertising Association of Nepal (AAN).<br />
			<br />
			There has been a paradigm shift in the functioning of the media during the last few years due to various reasons, including corporatisation. The media, an important and vibrant partner in the economic growth of Nepal, must be eternally vigilant to the wrongdoings, if any. The press is, of course, a watchdog of society but that does not allow it to launch smear campaigns against businesses and poison the consumers minds. This, in no way, means that the business sector can make any kind of compromise with its obligation to produce and distribute quality products. If a media report questioning the quality of its product is printed or aired, the business house, instead of immediately issuing a refuting press release, should launch an investigation into the matter first. If the media reports are true, it must have the courage to withdraw the products from the market, and then issue an apology and compensate the consumers. It is a kind of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and is practiced everywhere in a civilised&nbsp; society.<br />
			Nowadays, news is no more just news; it has become&nbsp; a management issue&nbsp; as well. Increasingly, the managers seem to be more important than the editors themselves. They dictate which news should go and which should not. A reporter with a daily confessed on the condition of anonymity, There are times when we are instructed to report on certain issues which we neither understand, nor do we necessarily agree with. If a journalist continuously refuses to adhere, then his/her job is at stake.<br />
			<br />
			Manoj Neupane, Brand Officer of Dish Nepal admits to having received calls from a section of the media asking for advertisements or else get prepared to face adversity. It is an extortion of sorts.Sanju</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div>
			Koirala, Corporate Communications Manager of Spice Nepal Pvt Ltd that is now changed to Ncell Pvt Ltd., says, It is not possible for us to give advertisements to all and sundry. We choose media outlets depending on their reach and the target audience they cater to. Neupane reasons, My choice of media depends on its impact analysis and I am the one who approaches the media with advertisement contracts. It's not the other way round.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			The media has become more interested in earning profit at the cost of its role as the fourth estate. Market forces have dictated its role at the cost of the valued principles and wellaccepted ethics of journalism. The over aggressive marketing strategies have done more harm to the media sector than it comprehends. This is the age of conscious consumers. It is a consumer's prerogative to choose and rate a product or service in the market. Brainwashing the consumers and misleading them is the least that the media or market rivals can do. If a brand/product fails to live up to the expectations and promises it made, the consumers themselves will raise a hue and cry.<br />
			The smear campaigns in the media, coupled with political instability, will have an adverse impact on prospective investments. The unjustified adverse publicity against the products and services of such important ventures will not only hit the Nepali economy and exports hard but will also deter new foreign direct investments into Nepal. These issues could always be resolved amicably in a business-like manner.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			Having said that, one must understand that establishing a media enterprise does not guarantee that advertisements will come automatically. There are several factors such as subscription figures, a strong readership/ viewership base and popularity of a television channel/newspaper etc that determine the inflow of advertisements to a particular media. After all, a Rs 3.5 billion advertising industry does not have enough in its kitty to help survive all the existing newspapers and magazines, radio stations and scores of television channels in Nepal. Bullying does not ensure advertisement contracts, the popularity of the media does. An advertiser is free to choose his preferred media tools for the promotion of his products. A media house, on the other hand, is free, too, to publish a news report, irrespective of the instructions from the corporate houses providing the advertisements. So it's a two-way story.<br />
			<br />
			Businesses thrive in competition and not in isolation. To try and end competition in an unethical manner by sponsoring misleading news is bound to backfire. Once the market determines the truth, what will happen to the credibility of the people who engineer such controversies? questions Neupane. At the same time, negative reporting will take its toll, sooner or later, on the media's credibility, too. <br />
			<br />
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/media.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /><br />
			<br />
			Lastly, if it is proven that a business has cheated or confused the consumers, it is the media's responsibility to present the truth to the audience. However, when the media reports negatively against a business venture with a vicious intent, it is bound to leave a bad taste in the mouth. The media and the business sector must strongly support each other as both need to depend on each other for continued existence. Let there be journalism of hope and let the consumers decide for themselves what is right for them. Sanity must prevail.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="padding: 5px;">
				 </div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-29',
			'modified' => '2013-05-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Businesses and media establishments complement each other. It is absolutely essential for them to learn to co-exist.',
			'sortorder' => '63',
			'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) 1 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '114',
			'article_category_id' => '41',
			'title' => 'Business And State: Nepali Capitalist Classes And Their Interests',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes. We won't be doing any justice to two traditional capitalist classes&nbsp; the Newars and the Marwaris&nbsp; if we say that these communities favored the former king during his direct rule.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>After the declaration of the Republic Nepal, the state is represented by the political parties. So it is natural that the capitalist class siding with the political parties has better ground to grow, again with the blessings of the state. For the time being, we have to accept that the capitalist class close to the former king doesn't enjoy such blessings at par. But they have the experience of doing business with all other capitalist classes.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				Traditional Newar capitalist class means a group of certain castes in the Newari community that are engaged in transit trade between India and Tibet (the autonomous region of the People's Republic of China) since the ancient time. This capitalist class is often referred to as the Caravan Traders because of their admirable mobility for business. The economic history of Newars is as old as Medieval Nepal. Marwaris are the traditional capitalist class of India who later migrated to Nepal in course of business. It has often been argued that the business history of Marwaris is as old as the economic history of India.</div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<br />
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div>
			<strong>By Mohan Das Manandhar &amp; Rojan Bajracharya</strong><br />
			It is undisputed that a number of important developments that occurred in the political sphere of Nepal in the past few years have affected the national economy and businesses alike. Particularly, after the declaration of Republic Nepal, it has become necessary to understand the customs, ethos and ways of doing business in the new political setup. It is natural that the business communities are and should be dynamic to readjust themselves with regime change otherwise an economy like Nepal would stall for once and for all.<br />
			<br />
			It will take some time for this dynamism to take pace and develop new commercial culture and statebusiness relationship. However, it is important to recognize at the outset how the business communities pledge their common interest to the state in view of their common interest guiding the future commercial culture and state-business relationship. One of the important components of market dynamism and competitiveness is the business communities ability to bring forward their collective interest and the state's readiness to address these interests.<br />
			<br />
			Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes. We won't be doing any justice to two traditional capitalist classes&nbsp; the Newars and the Marwaris&nbsp; if we say that these communities favoured the former king during his direct rule. However, we can't deny the fact that the rulers and their kin who represented the state during the former king's direct rule are another traditional capitalist class of the country; and that these three capitalist classes needed to join hands for their common interest. <br />
			<br />
			This article doesn't intend to explore what issues held them together and what separated them. We presume that all these three capitalist classes did share a common business interest, but the Newars and the Marwaris were always aware that it would be useless to have a conflicting interest as the third capitalist class (the royals) had the blessings of the state. So, the Newars and the Marwaris felt the need to build strategic ties with the political parties to defend their interests that were different from the common interest. The political parties, in turn, needed these traditional capitalists to support their movement for republicanism. <br />
			<br />
			However, the problem was that some skeptics inside the political parties thought the Newars and the Marwaris had stronger ties with the royals, and were therefore on the king's side. The king and the royalties on the other hand conceived that they could not operate the entire business and commercial activities of the country by themselves. The two traditional capitalists enjoyed an established commercial network which was the important pillar of the country's economy at that point of time. The triangular relationship between these three actors during the King's direct rule was intricate. The king and the political parties provided patronage to the traditional capitalists for their own political interests and harmonized relationship with the other two actors.<br />
			<br />
			Going further back in history, after the 1990 political transformation, the country entered into an era of democratic electoral practice. The absolute monarch was brought under the constitution and the political parties were handed the executive powers of the state. Now the state was represented by two distinct political forces the king and the political parties. Soon, these two forces were confronting with each other. An opposition political force, the Maoists, even launched an armed uprising against the constitutional monarchical dispensation.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div>
			Later, former king Gyanendra seized the executive powers on February 1, 2005. It showed that though the political parties were assigned the executive role, the king could still afford to become authoritarian. Interestingly, it was also the period of a change in the economic regime from a closed, import-substitution economy to a liberal economy.<br />
			<br />
			In this article, what we have presumed is that the state during the former king's direct rule had conceived the need of economic liberalization in the country. It got continued with time. With economic liberalization, new business opportunities emerged in the country and so did the new capitalist classes. Gradually, a new breed of aspiring capitalists also started to get engaged in trade and commercial activities giving birth to new capitalist classes in the country. It is certain that, with the latest political change, business ventures of the former king's relatives became more transparent. They have the benefit of being tagged as general public in theory but are enjoying the blessings of the state in practice. The capitalist classes also started to tag political affiliations for their mutual benefit which is but natural.<br />
			<br />
			However, the relationships of the capitalist classes with the former king and the political parties still remain harmonized in nature. Further, few new capitalists also emerged due to nurturing by political parties or by virtue of being the relatives of the leaders of these political parties. It was but natural in any new democratic country, at least in South Asia. It is not unusual that the relationship of this capitalist class with the political parties is similar to that of the king and his relatives' capitalist class. So the capitalist class close to the political parties and the one close to the king became competitors in the market and both had had the state's blessings to further their business.<br />
			<br />
			The common interests of both the traditional and the new capitalist classes are the same. This has resulted into business associations in various capacities and the strengthening of the institutional capacity of old associations : This developed formal channels to liaison the common interests of the business communities with the state. On the other hand, the traditional Newar and Marwari capitalist classes are blessed with its own strong, wellestablished conventional network. It is important to note here that this traditional network still guides the commercial culture and the way of doing business informally. So we must presume that there must have been a timely adjustment in the conventional network of the Newars and the Marwaris. <br />
			<br />
			After the declaration of the Republic Nepal, the state is represented by the political parties. So it is natural that the capitalist class siding with the political parties has better ground to grow, again with the blessings of the state. For the time being, we have to accept that the capitalist class close to the former king doesn't enjoy such blessings at par. But they have the experience of doing business with all other capitalist classes. There are traditional Newar and Marwari capitalist classes blessed with well established conventional network and commercial culture. And the fourth capitalist class is the one which has evolved in the last one decade due to new market opportunities. <br />
			<br />
			Obviously, all these capitalist classes would stand together for their common business interests but each of them has its own self-interest and are, therefore, skeptic about each other at times. It is certain that business associations are working together as building blocks to get united for their common interests and distinct identity. However, the challenge is to build unity with diversity.<br />
			<br />
			<em>(Manandharm and Bajracharya are freelance researchers.) <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			</em></div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div style="padding: 5px;">
				 </div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-29',
			'modified' => '2012-09-17',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Before Nepal was declared a republic, there were three major actors in the economic affairs of Nepal: the political parties, the monarchy and the traditional capitalist classes.',
			'sortorder' => '62',
			'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) 2 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '113',
			'article_category_id' => '42',
			'title' => 'Stocks End Sour, Despite Late Budget (Review For 24 Oct- 23 Nov, 2010)',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The budget has opened door for Non-Resident Nepalis and provided some ropes for merger between different financial institutions and insurance companies. However, it has not addressed cut and dry approach for uplifting the stampeded stock market of Nepal.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The operation of Central Depository System (CDS) will replace the current scrip-based manual system of trading. It will be introducing computerized book entry system cutting the transaction time and facilitating prompt trade.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			The secondary market of Nepal, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), plummeted in the review period erasing its early gains. The four-month-late budget was expected to boost up the faded stock market. But that could not happen. The Nepse index went down 6.70 points or 1.60 per cent to settle at the review period's low of 419.63 while the highest point of the period was 426.33 on 24 Oct.<br />
			<br />
			During the review period, most of the companies declared their dividend and book closing date and published first quarter financial reports and company analysis. Hence, it can be expected that a great momentum is not going take place very soon as the investors will take time to analyse and interpret the health of institutions and their future prospects.<br />
			<br />
			The outflow of fund during the time of Dashain and Tihar has also hampered the capital market of Nepal, as banking sector is facing liquidity crisis while the lending rate between the banks has also picked high. Hence, spending and withdrawals made at the festival time have affected the investing capacity of the investors. On the other hand, different banks have already declared their revised interest rate on the deposits attracting the investors to hold the capital and deposit it at the bank rather than investing in the market.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			The budget for the fiscal year 2010/11 delayed due to political wrangling among Nepal is and provided some ropes for merger between different financial institutions and insurance companies. However, it has not addressed cut and dry approach for uplifting the stampeded stock market of Nepal.<br />
			<br />
			The much awaited Nepal Central Depository and Clearing Ltd was registered. Nepal Stock Exchange, Citizen Investment Trust and 17 commercial banks have signed the Memorandum of Association of the company as the founder shareholders. Nepse has 51 per cent, CIT has 15 per cent, six commercial banks have 2.88 per cent each while the rest stake in this company is held by 11 commercial banks. The operation of Central Depository System (CDS) will replace the current scrip-based manual system of trading. It will be introducing computerized book entry system cutting the transaction time and facilitating prompt trade. <br />
			<br />
			The trial operation of the CDS system will be made in January 2011 as the software will be handed over by Tata Group by December 15, 2010. The taste of new improved system will surely cure some of the ills of the market; however, political and economic conditions till that period will also determine the sentiment of the market.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		<br />
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="padding: 5px;">
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/bar.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 369px; height: 274px;" /><br />
				<br />
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/pie-chart.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 360px; height: 253px;" /></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Performance by Sector </strong><br />
			<br />
			Banking sector, accumulating the heavy volume of trade in Nepse, experienced a double digit dip of 10.77 points or 2.76 per cent to close at 389.68. Similarly, hotel sector plunged 8.66 points followed by 7.64 points down in development banks to settle at 402.48 and 400.11, respectively. The ‘others sector’ skidded 2.35 points while hydropower sector lost 1.89 points. Trading sector descended 1.72 points or 0.65 per cent to close at 265.15. However, insurance accelerated by a fast 34.51 points or 7.02 per cent to settle at 491.75. Finance sector spread the modest of 0.02 points or 0.01 per cent to rest at 357.07.<br />
			<br />
			The sensitive index that measures the performance of 94 blue chips scrip at the secondary market, drifted down 2.33 points or 2.27 per cent to 102.58 while the float index calculated on the basis of real transaction, receded 1 . 2 4 points to 36.5. Total of Rs. 471,129,498 was</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			realized during the review period from 1,656,453 units of share traded via 26,545 transactions.<br />
			<br />
			The figure on the previous page depicts the sectorwise distribution based on the total amount of trade. The commercial banks accounted 50.45 per cent while finance sector covered 14.53 per cent. Similarly, development banks held 13.97 per cent, insurance occupied 9.25 per cent and hydropower sector retained 8.32 per cent while the remaining sectors made up the rest.<br />
			<br />
			Technically, both the 200 days Simple Moving Average (SMA) and 30 days SMA are above the Nepse index, as the market has retreated from its previous surge. Nepse index is overlapped with 30 days SMA showing the shabby nature of stock in the short term while in the long term it is weak. Hence, the chance of acceleration in the market is not visible; however, a few fluctuations can be expected in the short term. (The writer is a stock analyst)</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		<br />
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="padding: 5px;">
				<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/stock.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 3px 0pt 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 307px; height: 216px;" /></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2012-09-16',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The secondary market of Nepal, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), plummeted in the review period erasing its early gains.',
			'sortorder' => '61',
			'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) 3 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '112',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''The Government Has Not Recognised Advertising As A Real Industry'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural Nepali audience, too.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>In other countries, there is a rebate of 5 to 10 per cent out of the profit that can be spent on advertising that encourages the advertisers to spend more. We need a similar policy in our country.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Being a key player in Nepal’s ad industry for almost two decades, what is your evaluation of its evolution? </strong><br />
			Our market has seen tremendous change and ended with a 360 degree turn of success. We only had the state-owned Gorkhapatra and The Rising Nepal in the print media and Nepal Television and Radio Nepal in broadcast media to begin with. Most of the advertising two decades ago constituted government ads and notices. Over the years, Nepali advertising has taken a long leap because consumption patterns have changed and the market has changed, too, because of democracy and several other factors. Multinational companies (MNCs) were not there. FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) products were very few. Today, we have MNCs, new big companies and many FMCGs. All these changes have brought in new players in the market. The advertising situation has been changing every five years. Today, we are almost on a par with advertising industry in the neighbouring countries. But our online advertising has not grown as expected.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There seems to be unhealthy competition among the major players on holding onto the clients. How can this be controlled?</strong><br />
			Unhealthy competition does exist, but it is not as it was a decade ago. The clients have become more professional and demanding. Leading advertising agencies are under pressure to produce quality ads ever since the clients have started demanding effective campaigns. If you can deliver good work and service to the client, the client is bound to stay on. The smaller advertising agencies, however, continue to compete with each other by offering lower tariff and increased percentage sharing to the clients. I am sure this scenario will change with time once they come to terms with the professional demands of the market. Media exposure has led to clients demanding more professional service as they now know what’s happening in other countries. Compared to a decade ago, there are more advertising agencies producing quality work which has helped bring down unhealthy competition.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Now the ad market of Nepal stands at around Rs 3.5 billion. Are the ad agencies having a good time? </strong><br />
			Yes, it is a good time for the ad agencies which are serious and professional. They are prospering and they will be prospering.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Prisma has top profi le clients like Bottler’s Nepal, Samsung, Western Union, Ncell and Bajaj, to name a few. How tough is the competition among the agencies? </strong><br />
			The competition among the top notch agencies is very healthy and professional. We have a good portfolio of clients but in today’s age of competition, we have to be better than others and perform well to get an edge. So, the competition among the top notch advertising agencies is more in terms of quality and creative work.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The number of advertisers has grown but the number of ads and the market value have grown more. What is contributing to this growth? </strong><br />
			Several factors have contributed to this growth. For one, our urban population is growing consistently and so is the demand for products and brands. MNCs like Unilever and Dabur are pumping in more investments. Another reason for this growth is the change in our consumption habits. Almost 60 per cent of our population is below 32 years of age. This population is literate and possesses decision making capacity which enables them to dictate the market, which in turn, demands the products to be competitive and good. This is where the advertising agencies come in the picture. The entry of new players into the market fuels increased advertising spending from the existing competitors. An example is, when today’s Ncell came in as Mero Mobile, Nepal Telecom was forced to turn aggressive. During its old days of monopoly, it never felt the need for advertising as it does today. Similarly, there are certain sectors that have grown tremendously in recent times. Today, the largest spender in advertising is the education sector. Real Estate sector is another major contributor to Nepal’s advertising industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is the lack of creative talent the only reason our advertisements are not at par with foreign advertisements? </strong><br />
			I, for one, do not agree with this. When you look at any other country’s advertisements, for example India, there is sectoral advertising. Each advertisement there targets a special section of the society. Nepal is a market with all sorts of consumers mixed up. I cannot make a very creative ad for a mobile phone company like Ncell as it should cater also to the consumers living in remote Nepal where literacy level is very low. I do not expect such audience to comprehend the message that I will be conveying through a highly creative ad. For example, I cannot compare the comprehension levels of the youth in Kathmandu and Solukhumbu. It’s a major reason why Nepali ads are created in the simplest manner possible. What use is creativity if it cannot sell a product? It would be unfair to judge the creative talents of Nepali advertising professionals given the constraints that they have to face. It would be equally unfair to compare us with international advertising which caters to people with high literacy levels and different mindsets from ours. You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural<br />
			Nepali audience, too.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Aren’t the agencies pressurising the government to introduce a regulatory framework? </strong><br />
			We have been pressurising the government for a long time. Despite us being an Rs 3.5 billion industry today, the government has not recognised us and given us due treatment. During election time, politicians seek our assistance to create campaigns which means they do know the importance of advertising even for electoral purposes. However, once the government is formed, they forget that advertising should be treated like an industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Today’s youth look at careers other than advertising. How does that impact the ad industry? </strong><br />
			One of the biggest challenges for our ad industry is the lack of quality human resource. We have not been able to create enough interest among the youth. They would rather aspire for a banking career, for example, which is secure as well as a rewarding career. Advertising is merely a small topic for them while in college and not part of their core curriculum as such. It’s ignorance that’s keeping them from a career in advertising. They probably don’t realise that advertising, too, can be a lifelong and rewarding career. Once they realise this, the problem of quality human resource will have found a solution.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Almost all MNC ads are dubbed from foreign languages, mostly from Hindi. Can’t we come out with our own ads for these products? </strong><br />
			One reason for dubbed ads is the trickle-down effect of international media in Nepal. For example, multinationals like Unilever want to create synergy among the communication they are doing in this region as most people have already seen the same advertisements on Indian TV channels. Nepal and India have similar culture and consumption patterns. In India, too, they use the same ad in different languages in different states. This way, the advertiser saves the production cost of new advertisements and invests only in releasing them over a number of channels in different languages. Another reason is the celebrity endorsement. Indian celebrities are equally popular in Nepal. A possible solution could be ‘clean feed’ which will block the advertisements on foreign channels aired to Nepal, thus forcing the advertisers to create advertisements in Nepali. However, there is no such policy at this point of time.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Our ad market is only of Rs 3.5 billion. Isn’t it quite small in size when you consider that a single company allocates more than this for advertisements in other countries? </strong><br />
			You have to understand that our market size is rather small. You cannot compare the advertising budget of Indian corporates with that of ours. A company’s turnover usually determines the amount it wants to allocate for advertising spending. Another thing that we need to look into is the potential of the market in terms of growth which also induces the budget of the industry. Thirdly, the government policy doesn’t provide for tax exemption on advertising spending after a certain limit after which the money spent on advertising is not considered as an expense. This discourages advertisers from making sustained investment in advertising. In other countries, there is a rebate of 5 to 10 per cent out of the profit that can be spent on advertising that encourages the advertisers to spend more. We need a similar policy in our country.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The reported annual growth of 12 to 15 per cent of the ad industry is said to be mainly because of media infl ation. Do you agree?</strong><br />
			Inflation is created by the media but there is always a debate in the advertising sector for several reasons. You see electronic media suffering a lot during load shedding. On the other hand, there are advertising categories which have been shrinking because the whole industry has shrunk. Lately, noodles industries’ advertising spending has gone down heavily. But we are still growing. New breed of advertisers such as the real estate, education sector, and lately, DTH have come up. We are growing not just because of media inflation; there is a genuine growth, too. We expect to grow at 20 to 25 per cent looking at the pace of media growth but it is not happening because of the political situation and power cuts.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the market share of Prisma?</strong><br />
			We are proud to be in the market for 20 years. There are good clients attached with us for more than a decade. Our clients have succeeded in becoming market leaders over the years. We consider good work, recognition and revenue as the most important. It’s important to enjoy a good profit even if the turnover is less. I cannot quote a market share for you but we are holding a good position in the market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which Nepali ad do you think is the best, either by your agency or some other agency and why? </strong><br />
			The biggest and the best campaign that ever happened is the Ncell rebranding from Mero Mobile that we did. The campaign was very successful and we are very proud to have done this campaign. Also, it was the only rebranding ever happened in Nepal.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2010-12-27',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'You cannot compare a Vodafone campaign in India that targets the urban youth there with an Ncell campaign which has to take into account the rural Nepali audience, too.',
			'sortorder' => '60',
			'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' => '111',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''An Advertisement Must Sell The Product'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	<strong><br />
	</strong></p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>We defi nitely lack the right people in the advertising industry. There is no academic institution to train people in advertising, besides the regular brief training packages provided by the Advertising Association of Nepal.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you evaluate the Nepali ad industry? </strong><br />
			The industry has grown a lot in the last decade and it is still growing. It’s a Rs 3.5 billion industry now. But there’s still the lack of trained, educated professionals in this field. It makes a huge difference in the output, especially in a creative field. The new generation, it seems, is more comfortable to work in the banks, the way the old generation preferred government jobs to private ones. In advertising, as is the case with any other creative sector, people who don’t want a nine-to-five job are more interested. And those who want to explore their talent join this industry.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There is no categorisation of ad agencies. Every agency has the same basic tag of ‘Advertising Agency’. Is that alright? </strong><br />
			It is high time that we differentiate. When we help sell the products of the clients, we position them. Every product has its own positioning. Similarly ad agencies must be differentiated or, let’s say, positioned. We in Water Communication would like to call ourselves a strategy and design company. Others see us as a creative agency. I think creativity is essential but strategy must be stronger.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>A common criticism against the Nepali ads is that they lack creativity. Ad agency people say that highly creative ads tend to go a bit over the top and that the general public fails to catch them. Can’t we create ads that are simple, yet highly creative?</strong><br />
			Creativity must be saleable. If you can’t sell creativity, I don’t call it creative. The main purpose of advertising is to promote the sales of products. Creativity must be promoting the sales. We don’t make ads for the sake of creativity. In the case of Nepal, the boundary for creativity in advertising is limited. I have to sell the products of my clients anyhow. Clients have different needs. And we need to be flexible.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Many ads are made in such a way that the focus is more on something other than the product or its value. Such ads, rather than promoting the products, end up confusing the consumers. What is the main reason behind it? </strong><br />
			The person or agency responsible for making the promotion strategy must be aware what they want to sell. If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Mobile phones and the Internet are growing as big media. How is your agency trying to cash in on this opportunity?</strong> <br />
			The new media is coming up rapidly and has a huge scope. In Nepal, the mobile phone has a greater scope than the Internet as there are more mobile users. Around 30 per cent Nepalis have access to mobile phones. Despite knowing about this opportunity, many ad agencies are unable to tap it. Mobile phone is a medium which provides a direct contact with the customers. But we don’t have an up-to-date database for that. Marketing through mobiles is a recent phenomenon in Nepal. We are far behind countries like India, China or even Bangladesh. Our customers are semiliterate. Still print is the best media for us for the time being. The television has definitely gained in popularity lately. So, it will certainly take some time before advertising could be done through the new media.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>As you said, the industry has a big problem of skilled human resource. How are you managing this crunch? </strong><br />
			We definitely lack the right people in the advertising industry. There is no academic institution to train people in advertising, besides the regular brief training packages provided by the Advertising Association of Nepal. So, there are very few trained professionals in the creative department. In the marketing department, we manage with the products of private colleges.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Celebrity endorsement is not used much in the Nepali ads, while we see that quite a lot in foreign ads. Why are our ad makers not interested in using the celebrities to make ads? </strong><br />
			A celebrity is already a brand. But the celebrity-brand is perhaps yet to find a wider acceptance in Nepal. A product is also a brand. Rajesh Hamal is definitely a brand. It’s the media that creates a celebrity who then naturally becomes a brand. But sadly, the Nepali media has not gone beyond Rajesh Hamal and a few other names. Stars are not made by advertising agencies but by the media. We have limited celebrities and almost all the advertisers are using them to endorse their brands.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In creating an advertisement, who plays the important role - the advertiser or the ad agency?</strong><br />
			Both play very important roles. And both have a common purpose – to reach the consumers. Clients give their needs and requirements and agencies help them with the means to reach the consumers. At the end, that must sell the product. Some might say that advertisers influence the creation of ads while others might argue that such an influence is possible because the ad agencies are not competitive.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems and challenges you are facing in this industry? </strong><br />
			The major problem we are facing is the lack of human resource. Another problem is the industry’s growth is not healthy and professional. There is unhealthy competition going on. There are many people who talk more and work less. There is no design policy. Such a policy would not only help to promote the products but also determine the country’s image. When we talk about Nepal tourism year, Nepal is not to be promoted only by the Nepal Tourism Board. Nepal has to be sold as a product. I don’t know if anybody has even thought about this policy.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What future do you see for the advertising industry? </strong><br />
			It’s going to be more competitive. It will be run by more professional people. Our market is very small compared to the Indian market. To survive here, agencies must have more professional people. Strategically, only strong agencies can come up with such human resource and compete. The small agencies that can’t compete won’t be able to survive in the market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2010-12-27',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'If I want to sell a house, I must know who the customers are and what their needs are. The consumer insight, aspirations and needs must be properly understood before making an ad. And the creativity that goes into the making of the ad must link those needs.',
			'sortorder' => '59',
			'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' => '110',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘The Number Of Women In Advertising Is Increasing’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you set apart your ad agency among several others in the market?</strong><br />
			Advertising agencies are basically the same. Our ultimate target is to produce an advertisement that satisfies the clients and stays in the minds of the consumers for long. But definitely, we are able to set ourselves apart because of our philosophy. This philosophy defines me and my team. I and my whole team believe that we work hard, talk straight and are damn good at what we do. This confidence in the profession has established our team in this industry.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>With the number of ad agencies increasing every year, how tough has the competition become?</strong><br />
			I am happy that gradually people are realizing that the advertisement industry is a field with lots of opportunities. I don’t see it as a competition. I don’t think I am competing with anyone. Rather, I compete with myself. I have set some goals for myself and I am constantly working to meet these goals. I take each day as a challenge. I want to do better than what I did yesterday.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems of the Nepali ad industry? </strong><br />
			A major problem is the lack of skilled human resource. First, our youths are unaware of the opportunities in advertising. They either want to work in banks or in the multinational companies. So we are not getting smart and creative Nepali people even if we pay salary and other benefits on a par with these institutions. Second, we don’t have schools or institutions where we can enhance our creativity. An advertising agency has to hire a freshman. It takes at least a year for that person to learn everything. But when he is ready, another agency takes away that person. Third, even though we hire the best person in our company, our clients do not have confidence in them. They insist on hiring a foreigner for creative concepts. Thus the money that we could have spent in our country goes outside. Mostly, this money goes to India.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There are many ads that use the female body just as a means to get public attention. How do you see this trend?</strong> <br />
			Different people have different perceptions of the same thing. In my case, I believe showing females in an advertisement is not bad but how they are shown makes the difference. We live in a country like Nepal where we follow certain norms and values. No advertisement should cross the social limits such that it becomes unacceptable to society at the end. Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Do you implement your such ideas when you make ads? </strong><br />
			Being a woman, I think a lot before doing anything. I am very careful not to tarnish the image of females through my advertisement because with every woman I associate myself. Similarly, when I think logically as an ad maker, I know there are several things in the nature that can be depicted in an advertisement in the place of women to convey the message. If anything is shown unnecessarily, consumers</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How is the participation of women in this fi eld so far? </strong><br />
			As of now, there are many women working in this field. And I think their number is increasing. But there are very few women who are investing in this field or holding top positions. I have been able to establish myself because of my confidence. I never feel weak just because I am a woman. I think I can compete with men in every aspect. Every woman should feel this way.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is it a fi eld suitable for women?</strong><br />
			I don’t want to categorise professions on the basis of gender. With confidence and creativity, everyone can do better in this profession. Women can compete with men in every profession. However, women still lag behind because of low self-esteem. Women should take a step forward and explore the opportunities in this sector. I strongly believe that an advertising professional can fit in any other sector because he/she gains a bit of many different experiences in this field -- marketing, designing, writing etc. This field has so much to offer to creative people.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What should be done to attract more women to this creative fi eld?<br />
			</strong>People become successful when they work in the field of their interest. If someone has an inner desire to be a part of the advertising industry, I would welcome them. However, they have to be able to face the challenges. I urge women not to feel weak or discouraged because this is a field where creativity counts, not the physical strength.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Who are your top clients? </strong><br />
			Chaudhary Group, Triveni Group, Sujal Foods, MariGold Foods, Khajurico Nepal are our top clients. There are several others, too. And we have some snacks and confectionaries in the list.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which Nepali ad do you consider the best, made either by your agency or other agencies? </strong><br />
			I consider the advertisement of U-n-Me tea to be the best advertisement of our team. I love this advertisement because it is very tender. It has a quality to touch the hearts of the consumers and remain in their minds for a long time. Among the ads made by other companies, I think the advertisement of Wai Wai Gyan Uday is the best for the beautiful amalgamation of caste and creeds of Nepal.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-27',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Using the female body is okay if the concept of advertisement demands it. But no compromises can be made when females are shown in a way that hurts the sentiment of all females.',
			'sortorder' => '58',
			'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' => '109',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => ''Advertising Is Growing At Breakneck Speed'',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<strong>The unhealthy competition is created by agencies that cannot offer quality services. In an effort to retain their own clients or even get the clients of others, some agencies lower the fees for their services to such an extent that it is not possible to compete with them.</strong></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>v-chitra won awards under fi ve categories, including the “Best Creative Agency” Award, in the latest Crity Awards. What puts this company on the top?</strong><br />
			Our motto is: Everyday is a new beginning. So for us at v-chitra, winning an award is a thing of the past. But awards do put more pressure on us, as our clients expect more from us. At v-chitra, we believe that everyday customers have new choices. Everyday our clients have to renew their relationship with their customers so as to remain the first choice. So, we strive to make that happen, everyday.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which do you think is the best advertisement campaign and why?</strong><br />
			My next campaign will be my best one. Every campaign I develop becomes a part of my learning curve. It helps me experiment with new ideas and presentation styles. So, after making a campaign, I analyse it in detail to see if it could have been better. I make sure that I implement what I find in my analysis in my next campaign.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the market share of v-chitra? Who are its major clients? </strong><br />
			It is very difficult to calculate our market share in percentage. But what I can tell you is we are one of the fastest growing agencies. Our Major Clients now are the Chaudhary Group – Wai Wai and Rio; Syakar Group – Honda two- and fourwheelers, Honda generators and Philips; Pashupati Paints; Teletalk – Colors Mobiles, Yeti Travels, Rosebud School, and Balterio floorings, among many others.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Different sources have different estimates about the size of Nepal’s advertising industry. What is your estimate about the size of the ad industry? </strong><br />
			Genuine figures about the size of the advertisement industry are not available. These days, different sources are making different estimates. But we cannot comment on any of the estimates or verify any of them.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you see the evolution of the advertising industry in Nepal? </strong><br />
			It is growing at break-neck speed. Nothing can stop it. But there are some constraints. The biggest constraint is the shortage of professional human resource. As far as infrastructure is concerned, there is a great chasm between man and machine. The industry has invested in physical infrastructure but not in the professionalisation of human resource. Currently, a majority of talented youth is going overseas to study. The industry has failed to develop interest in the young talents towards advertising. At the recent Crity Awards, I was happy to see a category for the “Best Creative Youth.”But that’s not enough. We have to make an advertising career just as lucrative as a banking career.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Most of the advertising agencies play the role of a mediator between the advertisers and the media. Is that all an Ad agency is supposed to do? </strong><br />
			The most important function in advertising is to create. Creating new concepts and ideas, to effectively sell the products and services is the primary objective of any agency. Everything else in an agency is support service. At v-chitra, we concentrate on providing creative solutions that are based on sound marketing strategies. Without a sound strategy, all creative concepts will fail.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>With the demand for advertisements growing, there seems to be a mushrooming of ad agencies. What makes v-chitra stand out? </strong><br />
			We try to create effective communication platforms for the products and services we represent. Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There seems to be unhealthy competition among the major players of the advertising industry in terms of retaining the clients. What do you have to say about this? </strong><br />
			The unhealthy competition is created by agencies that cannot offer quality services. In an effort to retain their own clients or even get the clients of others, some agencies lower the fees for their services to such an extent that it is not possible to compete with them. But the clients need to understand that they are causing a long-term, irreparable damage to their brands by associating themselves with such agencies.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In Europe and America, online advertising has come up really strong over the past few years. Why do the ad agencies in Nepal continue to ignore online advertising? </strong><br />
			Online advertising will increase only when the base of computer and Internet users is wide enough. Clients like to spend on the kind of media that has a wide readership, audience or viewers. Having said that, I think online advertising, too, is picking up in Nepal. The growth is slow, but it’s definitely picking up.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What is the situation of the availability of professional human resource in advertising?</strong><br />
			The youth have to be shown the rewards, financial or otherwise, for them to enter this industry. An agency can offer such rewards, only if it is itself rewarded. As of now, the clients expect many of our services free of cost; they think that 15 per cent media commission is enough. Even that is shared and stretched to the limits by corporate houses that see only their profit. But they need to understand that squeezing an agency beyond the limits affects them and their brands directly because it also affects, directly, the quality of service and creativity.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the challenges and problems of the advertising industry?</strong> <br />
			The lack of professional human resource is the biggest challenge. The industry needs more smart, young and energetic professionals. Alongside, we should generate new talents who will enhance the quality and scope of advertising in Nepal.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What do you expect from the government for this industry?<br />
			</strong> Advertising is self sustaining. It is purely an economic activity that survives on entrepreneurial initiatives. Businesses today have realised the importance of advertising. All that I expect from the government is to create an ideal business environment for the industries and services to flourish. Then the advertising industry will automatically sustain itself.</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-26',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Our creativity distinguishes us from the competitive advertisements, making our products stand out in the media clutter and thus generate better sales. That is how we create the v-chitra brand. All v-chitra creative team members have only one thing in their minds – SELL, SELL and SELL.',
			'sortorder' => '57',
			'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' => '108',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘The Advertisers Need To Realise That A Single Slogan Can Work Wonders For Them.’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you view the Nepali advertising industry in the present context?</strong><br />
			The Nepali advertising industry is finally established as a full-fledged industry with big investments and big opportunities. A few years back, the industry was looked down upon by many as a fringe business that required little finance and human resource. Today, one needs to enter this business with complete planning, a sound investment and loads of creativity. The operational cost for even a small scale advertising agency would be more than a million rupees per month. Any company that wants to establish itself as an advertising agency must have the creativity, capacity and the infrastructure to sell that creativity.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you look at the current size of Nepal’s advertising industry which is said to be around Rs 3.5 billion?</strong><br />
			I think the market value of the industry is more than Rs 3.5 billion. There are a lot of unseen expenses that are not taken into account. I estimate the value of the industry to be around Rs 5 billion. While the growth of the market and its corresponding value pleases us no end, an Rs 5 billion market cannot accommodate so many new entrants into the industry. There are around 150 or more ad agencies registered with AAN. If this trend continues, the market will not be in a position to sustain them all.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What has prompted the growth in the industry’s market value? </strong><br />
			This growth is simply because of the increased number of advertisers. For example, a couple of decades ago, you could count the number of banks on your fingertips. Today, we have 27 commercial banks operating in the country. The number of service providers such as the insurance companies, financial institutions etc. have grown too. The manufacturing companies have also seen a tremendous growth in numbers. As the market has grown more competitive over the years, the corporate sector has begun to understand the importance of advertising like never before. They now believe in the mileage and benefits that advertising brings to their products and services. It has become imperative to resort to brand building measures and stand out in the crowd as products and services are being launched on almost a daily basis. Besides this, the media sector has grown too which provides advertisers added platforms for advertising.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What rate is the Nepali advertising industry growing at, on an annual basis? </strong><br />
			Frankly speaking, I don’t have the exact data for that. But we have seen that the media sector owes its survival to their respective advertising revenues. However, I can tell from my 20 years of experience and observation that we are growing at around 40 per cent as an industry. <br />
			<br />
			<strong>What is the advertising spending of MNCs here vis-à-vis the domestic companies? </strong><br />
			The MNCs clearly have more budget for advertising than the domestic companies. The domestic companies are neither big in size nor do they have a great range of products to advertise. Financially speaking, they allocate limited budget for advertising.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Could you take us through your journey of 20 years with the advertising industry?</strong><br />
			In the last 20 years or so, the market has grown by leaps and bounds. The number of advertisers and the advertising agencies has grown immensely resulting in where the industry stands today. And the growth is not only quantitative but qualitative as well. The positivity of it all is that the industry is headed in the right direction. Over the last decade or so, the focus of advertising has shifted from merely advertising product manufacturers, to creating lasting brand names.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the problems and challenges that the industry faces today? </strong><br />
			We don’t have any technical problems or issues related to the resources. The major problem of this industry is the shortage of educated and creative manpower. It is definitely something that plagues the industry the most. There is definitely a requirement for specifically trained human resource. Perhaps, we could start with courses and trainings related to the advertising industry included in various academic curriculums.<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Even though Nepali advertisements have come a long way, we are still not in the same league when compared to global advertisements. Why so? </strong><br />
			I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag. The advertisers need to realise that a single slogan can work wonders for them. I believe that if the advertisers do value creativity and compensate it monetarily, the situation will definitely get better.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Does the industry follow a particular line on ethical issues? </strong><br />
			Do they ever refrain from working for a particular product? I can’t speak for the industry but I follow certain ethics in advertising. For example, I won’t produce any advertisements for the casinos. As the casinos are forbidden by the law, I don’t think it is the right thing to advertise about them. Also, I won’t put up a hoarding board for alcohol and tobacco related products in the vicinity of schools and colleges. I am aware of the social responsibility that we carry, as part of the industry.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>What are the accounts you are currently working with? </strong><br />
			We have a mix bag of domestic clients as well as MNCs. To name a few, we have accounts like Salt Trading Corporation, Bank of Asia, NIC Bank, Janata Bank, Rahul Dairy Products, NLIC, Vishal Group, Panchakanya Group, P&amp;G and UTL etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Which advertisement campaign are you particularly proud of, during your entire career? </strong><br />
			It has to be the one that we made for Tokla tea that we made around eight years ago. It was the re-launching of Tokla tea and it became a huge success. At that time, 80 per cent of the market share was with a different brand of tea. Today, Tokla tea commands 70 per cent of the market. I would like to mention here that advertisements made by other advertising agencies such as those of Unilever, IME etc. are definitely of high quality.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 583px;">
	 </div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'I am certain that the Nepali advertisements have become better and creative than even before. But there cannot be a comparison with the global advertisements as we are virtually producing creative work for free. In other countries, the creative and innovative ideas are well paid for. This encourages the creative people to generate better ideas. Here, the market is yet to accept the fact that creativity comes with a price tag.',
			'sortorder' => '56',
			'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' => '107',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => '‘We Need An Advertisement Censor Board’',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 583px; text-align: center;">
	<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/crity-award.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" /></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why was AAN formed and what are its activities? </strong><br />
			AAN (Advertising Association of Nepal) was formed as the umbrella association of the advertising industry. It was set up for the protection of the rights and welfare of the industry, and to formulate the policies. It plays a vital role as a bridge between the advertisers and the media enterprises.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Being an old hand in Nepal’s advertising industry, what is your take on its evolution?</strong><br />
			The advertising industry has now transformed from being a small business sector to a full-fledged industry. Having grown consistently over the years, it has gradually asserted its role in the corporate world. It’s unimaginable today that a product/brand can establish itself in the market without the help of advertising campaigns.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The advertising market of Nepal stands at about Rs 3.5 billion. Is the growth in tandem with the expansion in other sectors? </strong><br />
			This augurs well for the advertising agencies, for sure. In fact, the industry value should have been around Rs 4.5 billion owing to the inflation. However, political instability has inhibited its progress to a great extent. Looking at the positive changes, even the rice brands have started advertising which never happened before. Even though the advertising market has been growing at the rate of 15 to 20 per cent annually, the time has not come for us to get particularly happy about it.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How do you view the unhealthy competition among the advertising agencies? </strong><br />
			It is no secret that there is unhealthy competition to get ad accounts. However, the Nepali media is the main reason behind this unhealthy competition. The number of media houses has been increasing at an alarming rate despite the market remaining comparatively small. The lack of uniformity in the market value, non-existent market planning and direct marketing, among others, are the key reasons for the unhealthy competition.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>How can the unhealthy competition for holding the clients come to an end? </strong><br />
			There must be uniformity in the market rate. Next, it has become absolutely necessary that the ad agencies be categorised. Similarly, the media should be categorised, too. The government must issue licenses taking into consideration the respective categories. AAN has been working on this in association with various media groups. For example, we have worked with the Television Broadcasting Association to fix ad tariffs. Fixing a standard ad tariff will definitely create a favourable environment for the investors and help the market sustain.<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Is the industry in dire need of a regulatory framework? </strong><br />
			To regulate the advertising market, an advertisement policy is mandatory, to start with. We have certain policies but they need to be updated with the changing time. The government must have a different advertising authority set-up to regulate the advertising agencies.<br />
			<strong><br />
			According to you, which Nepali ad is the best, in recent memory? </strong><br />
			Personally, I like Jagdamba Steel’s “Nepali Mann Mann ma” which incidentally, was produced by Welcome Advertising. It was voted as the most popular ad. Quality wise, I think Pepsodent ad is the best one.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>In general, the youth is looking at several career options but not advertising. What could be the reasons behind this? </strong><br />
			There is no doubt that we have not been able to attract young talent. However, the youth is showing interest in being a part of the industry, off late. Colleges have included advertising as a subject in their syllabi and advertising training centres such as Infinity Advertising Training Institute, too, are being established. Therefore, we are looking at better times ahead and hope that more young people will look at advertising as a rewarding career. There is the lack of skilled manpower due to braindrain and also because the trained ones are enticed by the banks. If the advertising industry will be managed properly, most of the youngsters would be in this sector.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why do our advertisements lack quality as well as creativity compared to the advertising standards abroad? </strong><br />
			My personal opinion is that Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity. The Nepali advertising agencies have been awarded with a number of international awards and certificates of merit since 2003. I will go as far as to say that our creative talents are second to none in South Asia. The annual Crity Awards have also encouraged the advertising agencies to produce better creative work. As the market gets more established with time, we should definitely be in a position to compete in the international market with a renewed vigour.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Why were the recently held Crity Awards criticised and labelled as biased? </strong><br />
			Crity Awards is not confined to honouring advertising excellence. It is a celebration for the entire media industry. Any talk of branding the event as controversial is a baseless rumour. Recently, we organised a post-event programme for the ‘6th Crity Awards 2067’ where we had an interaction among the advertising agencies, media executives and journalists. We reached a conclusion that the awards ceremony did not have any reasons whatsoever to invite the wrath of the so-called critics.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>The corporate big-wigs are circumspect about investing in the advertising industry. How do you view this hesitation?</strong><br />
			Well, there is sufficient investment in the advertising industry and that is why it has transformed into an industry from a small business. The annual turnover of the industry is Rs 3.5 billion now. AAN has close to 140 ad agencies registered with it. Politically, once there is a peaceful environment in the country and we have a stable government in place, the investment will definitely increase. There is a good number of multinational as well as local brands looking forward to an investor friendly environment to start/resume investments. It is only a matter of time, hopefully.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Besides being an advertising administrator, you are also an entrepreneur in the industry. How are you doing on that account?</strong><br />
			Welcome Advertising is an independent agency, in operation for 21 years now. It is an authorised member of the International Network in Nepal as well as a production house. Welcome Advertising works with some of the biggest names in the market such as the Jagdamba Group, Unilever, G Phone, MS Group etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>There has been an issue about exaggerating product features through advertisements. How do you plan to address this? </strong><br />
			The question you have asked is very relevant in the present context. These are the advertisements which are produced by the clients themselves that are courting controversies. For such problems, censorship of advertisements is the best solution that one can think of. Therefore we do need a censor board which will monitor and approve advertisements before they go to print or get aired. The government must take an initiative to this end by setting up a separate advertisement authority. Alternately, the government could give this responsibility to AAN.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepali advertisements do meet international standards. However, it’s unfair to pit us against international advertisements which are produced at costs manifold than ours. We may produce advertisements with far smaller budgets but we never compromise with creativity.',
			'sortorder' => '55',
			'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' => '106',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Body And Mind',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 583px;">
	<strong>Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Body and Mind</strong><br />
			Even a single cell organism such as a bacterium acts as if it has a mind. It moves away from toxins and towards nutrients. For bacteria, such behavioural response is the key to survival. Humans have minds, in addition to bodies, although both serve the same purpose -- a purpose shared by every species on earth, i.e. survival and well- being. Products and services, in essence, serve the purpose of mind/body by enhancing the survival (physical, psychological and social) and the quality of survival. No wonder advertising is more and more focused on the quality of life that products bring to consumers’ lives rather than their functional attributes.<br />
			The question of mind-body has intrigued many great philosophers and scientists. While the eastern civilization had long understood the connection between mind and body, it took a long time for the West to grasp this knowledge. An increasing body of scientific evidence suggests that mind (the immaterial) and body (the material) have a symbiotic relationship. What happens in the mind has outcomes on the body, and the body has a significant role in the shaping of the mind. But for many centuries, the West embraced the concept of disembodied mind (mind separate from the body; spirit separate from matter) and this had a profound impact on many disciplines including medicine, as exemplified in the way it treated diseases (by simply focusing on the body and not the mind). It would not be wrong to assume that this mind/ body problem had a great impact on the way marketers approached advertising. As a result, for a long time, marketers practiced a rationalist-materialistic approach in advertising (e.g. nice shampoo=nice hair=nice job).In the absence of proper understanding of bodily emotions and their influence on the mind, emotions were generally overlooked as an effective approach in advertising. <br />
			Emotions help us survive and survive better. If we did not have the emotion of fear, we would walk </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/car.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 280px; height: 313px;" /><br />
			<br />
			freely in the middle of the highway, though not for very long.If we did not feel good or happy, we would not get into any kind of exploration; whether it was seeking a mate or having sex when we lived in the jungle or seeking scientific discoveries while we live in a civilized world. It is very difficult for an eternally sad and depressed person to engage in such explorations. Some argue that emotions are dysfunctional, but this is true only when an emotion or its intensity is inappropriate to the situation. <br />
			With the re-emergence of the integrated theory of mind/body, and the role of body (where emotions occur) and its making of the mind (where the emotions are felt and classified as painful or pleasurable etc.), emotions have received their due importance in management and, by extension, in advertising. It is worthwhile to note that beliefs are tied with emotions. And emotions can lead to new beliefs and strengthen existing beliefs. It is our emotional connect with the brands that strengthens our belief in them.Only recently has science agreed upon a broad definition of emotions and their purpose in our lives.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Mind and Brands</strong><br />
			Products exist in the outer world. Mind exists inside us. We engage our body to interact with objects (including products) and events in the outer world.<strong> </strong> However, it is our mind, in conjunction with our body, which gives meaning to those products.<br />
			In other words, mind and products come together to make a brand. Products, or for that matter, any external objects or events, do not have much intrinsic qualities of their own. Products are generally neither good, nor bad; neither black nor white; neither beautiful nor ugly. And when they are made under the statutory quality standards, they are neither superior nor inferior. It is our mind that gives (or doesn’t give) products such qualities. <br />
			This is where advertising comes in. Advertising helps the mind embrace the</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			intended qualities of products through association or conditioning. When those intended qualities, through a repetitive exposure of messages (provided they are delivered in the proper way, here delivery of the message is the key) become hardwired in the brain, they become a belief. Beauty care products don’t make us more beautiful as much as they make us feel more beautiful, and so do the designer clothes and many other products. Does one nutritional drink make kids smarter or taller than others or does it make any smarter at all? No one can say for sure. Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation. But if the consumers strongly believe (with strong emotions) that it does, then no reasoning can change their mind.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<strong>Brands and God</strong><br />
			Brands are much more than simply matter, much more than what they are made of. Belief is what lies underneath both God and brands; the only difference is the degree. And mind is the space where both God and brands are experienced. This is in no way meant to reduce God to mental states or to draw any parallel between God and brands, because God is much more powerful than any brand mankind has ever made.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			Only God can create the kind of belief that He does. However, I believe that any brand that can create a godlike belief will be the truly ultimate brand. Whether it is ever possible to do so is another question altogether. But that should not stop brands from trying. This effort is what will drive brands to continually evolve forever. (Panday is a Creative Consultant and winner of six Crity Advertising Awards)<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Most of the scientific claims made by product advertisements are derived from correlation rather than causation.',
			'sortorder' => '54',
			'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) 10 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '105',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'God, Belief And Brands',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 595px;">
	<strong>In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.</strong></div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			Have you seen God? This is a question I have faced many times in life. As a theist, I find it difficult to answer this because I haven’t seen God. But not seeing God or rather not being able to see Him hasn’t changed my belief in Him. My inability to see God can be attributed to many reasons. Perhaps God hasn’t endowed me with senses (vision, in particular) strong enough to see Him. Perhaps God doesn’t exist in the form and shape that my senses are attuned to. Humans have the instinct to anthropomorphise objects. Everything has to be human like. We look for faces in the clouds and in cars. In marketing, we attribute human-like characteristics to products. But, God doesn’t necessarily have to be a carbon based organism governed by the laws of the cosmos.<br />
			As for science, it has a concrete theory neither about the origins of mankind and the universe, nor about the brain which builds such theories. So, for science to come to a conclusion about God would be a bit too premature. Science, especially narrow science, rejects what it doesn’t know and ignores what it doesn’t understand. For centuries, science chose to ignore the issue of emotions. And science continues to ignore the phenomenon of consciousness (i.e. awareness in the most basic sense ) because neither can it fully understand this phenomenon , nor can it explain how it works inside the brain. For the time being, let science be science and God be God. At the very core, both science and God function as one, because both seek the same purpose - survival and well-being of mankind.<br />
			For a layman like me, the questions such as the evidence of God’s existence and whether God created this universe and the species or they evolved are not worth pursuing. Even if the issue of Creation vs. Evolution is ultimately resolved, it will not be the end of God or Science. Both will continue playing significant roles in our lives as long as we continue being an existence made of mind and matter. So, instead of the big questions, what I prefer to be asked is whether I believe in God or not? To that, my answer will always be a resounding YES. I do believe that God does exist.<br />
			Belief, in itself, is nothing less than a miracle. Belief is healing, not only psychologically but also physically. Belief in God gives us the strength to follow a moral path. Belief is empowering. Belief is comforting. In times of crisis, belief in God has helped many, including me, maintain sanity in life.And my belief is not only limited to God; it extends to scientists and even brands, whose cause I champion. If I did not believe in scientists who said that Earth will not collide with other planets soon, at least not during my lifetime,<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			<img alt="" height="454" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/pic-ss.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;" width="280" /> <br />
			&nbsp;then I would have ceased to exist long ago as a result of anxiety disorder. In fact, most of the scientific truths are simply beliefs for the vast majority of people.<br />
			For most of us, the existence of atoms, quarks or strings are beliefs and not scientific truths because by definition we ought to have observed them empirically in order to account them as scientific truths. But common sense dictates that it is best to leave science to scientists, even if they come up with a new theory every now and then.<br />
			Let me clarify that this discussion is neither about God nor about science, and it is certainly not against the non-believers. They are as much right in their (dis-) belief as I am in my belief. This article is mainly about belief because this is what makes a brand out of a product. In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.Medical science presents a classic example of the power of belief -- the placebo effect, where patients get better by ingesting a sugar pill, while they believe (falsely) that they are getting medicine. This is what some scientists call the belief effect. In one study, a psychology professor at the University of Connecticut found that ‘eighty percent of the effect of antidepressants, as measured in clinical trials, could be attributed to the placebo effect.’ This is the power of belief.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<p>
	 </p>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	 </div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-24',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'In most cases, there is nothing significantly different from one product to another. It is the belief in the brand created by marketers, mainly through advertising, that makes people actually feel the difference.',
			'sortorder' => '53',
			'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) 11 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '104',
			'article_category_id' => '40',
			'title' => 'Brand Mantra For Now - STAY YOUNG!',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			The umbrella-idea of ‘Grow Young’ could be the key for many brands in Nepal today. Let’s take the time to explore if it is just another jargon in an industry already full of branded synonyms or is there more to it? <br />
			According to the statistics, Nepal is a youth dominant country with 72 per cent of its population below the age of 35 years. That makes Nepal a market for the youth, so to speak. In order to stay relevant in this youthdominant market, brands have to remain youthful and contemporary all the time. With the passage of time, even the most successful brands become outdated or old-fashioned if they cannot keep up with the changing mindsets of the consumers. <br />
			Look around yourself and you will find many brands getting trapped in a time warp – Bata shoes or Bombay Dyeing could be the examples from the sub-continent and Brighter toothpaste, Rara noodles, Gogo detergent from Nepal. This clearly leaves the marketers and the advertising agencies with a challenging job at their hands – to make the brands look, feel and sense young at all times so that they don’t get lost into the oblivion. This means regenerating the Product Life Cycle graph with the changing demographic status of the country. <br />
			The importance and challenge for a brand to stay young and fresh is further compounded by the unique demographics of this country. Since marketers from sectors as diverse as automobiles to apparels to mobile phones have young audience at the heart of their campaigns, the importance of staying contemporary is the need of the hour.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<div align="justify">
			What do young people mean to the business world today? They are always open to new ideas, have the spending power, and are the key influencers even for decisions where they aren’t the ultimate buyers. They are willing to experiment and proving to be trendsetters in the process. To connect with the youth and their minds, it is important for brands to stay young and desirable. Therefore the only way forward for brands today is to constantly remain young in order to have a lasting effect. <br />
			Catch-them-young is turning out to be a ‘big idea’ the world over. And Nepal is no exception where organised categories are first tried by the youth. To comply with this trend, and implement the ‘big idea’ to create a platform for brands to stay fresh and young, there is a new process called ‘unboxing’. This approach could prove to be quite handy where the creative and client servicing units of an advertising agency join hands to use five Knowledge Blocks (5KBs) to generate ideas. These 5KBs originate from field study and research conducted by the client servicing team along with the client’s marketing or brand team. The 5KBs consist of a) consumer understanding b) category opportunities c) competitive gaps d) brand advantage and e) brand personality. Each 5KB gives clues to ideas that brands can own. <br />
			The strategic and the creative units collaborate to explore the findings, which leads to brand ideas. The ideas are then filtered to retain only the ones that keep the brand ‘fresh and young’. <br />
			(Shakya is associated with Outreach Nepal Pvt Ltd. This article has been acquired from AAN website and edited by Nubiz for clarity. - Ed.)<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div align="center" style="width: 595px;">
	<img alt="" height="197" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/big-idea.jpg" style="float: left;" width="363" /> <img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/stay-young.jpg" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 131px; height: 200px; float: right;" />
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2011-01-02',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'The umbrella-idea of ‘Grow Young’ could be the key for many brands in Nepal today. Let’s take the time to explore if it is just another jargon in an industry already full of branded synonyms or is there more to it?',
			'sortorder' => '52',
			'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) 12 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '103',
			'article_category_id' => '37',
			'title' => 'Lessons From The Global Crisis',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				<div align="left">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">The key lessons from the recent global financial crisis could be divided under three heads:<br />
					<br />
					Economic lessons<br />
					<br />
					Financial lessons<br />
					<br />
					Policy lessons<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>
	<p>
		<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
		</span></p>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
			<div>
				<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
					<div align="left">
						<span style="font-size:12px;">Overall, we need to learn that the key economic lesson of this crisis is to avoid too much debt.</span></div>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div>
		<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
		</span>
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
				<div>
					<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
						<div align="left">
							<span style="font-size:12px;">The banks that came out of the crisis unscathed were well capitalized, had ample liquidity and had strategies that were customer focused. In many respects, they could be termed conservatively run.</span></div>
					</div>
				</div>
			</div>
			<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
			</span>
			<div style="width: 595px;">
				<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
					<div align="justify">
						<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>ECONOMIC LESSONS </strong><br />
						In order to derive a proper understanding, it is important to look at this crisis in context. It is evident that a shift in the balance of power is underway i.e. from the West to the East. Though it will take time, the beneficiaries in this shift are countries with good financial resources, natural resources or the ability to adapt/ change. Thus the winners will have cash, commodities or creativity. The West, having seen an era of excess now encounters an era of austerity. In contrast, emerging economies have enjoyed an era of boom and are now in need of investment. These macro-trends will have a significant bearing on the postcrisis debate. In the UK, for instance, the debate over the banking and financial sector still has some way to go. A few years ago there was at least a general agreement that the financial sector was good for the economy. Now there are questions if the banking/ financial sector is good or bad. The danger in that debate is that commercial banks that facilitate much business and trade will be squeezed. In the US, Paul Volcker has not only produced his own plan for the financial sector but last year he also said the only socially useful innovation from banks had been the ATM machine. This links into the wider debate over innovation vs. regulation and getting the balance right. For Asia, the debate is different. Relative to the challenges in the banking sector in the west, this is an opportunity. But, relative to the macro-economic environment and outlook in Asia, there are challenges. For instance, the cost of future public sector investment is huge, estimated at over eight trillion dollars. Then there is the issue of capital flows and how to manage this, which links into the</span></div>
				</div>
				<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
					<div align="justify">
						<span style="font-size:12px;">need for Asia to deepen and broaden its capital markets. The outlook for the banking and financial sector cannot be viewed in isolation from the macro-economic climate. <br />
						There is a genuine risk of a double-dip, slipping back into recession, although a weak recovery is more likely. A double dip could occur if there was a policy mistake, an external shock or a loss of confidence. But the world economy is experiencing a shift, with more of global growth driven by emerging economies. Whilst, it is important not to underestimate the downside risks from debt and deleveraging in the West, looking at levels gives a different perspective. A decade ago, the size of the world economy was $ 31 trillion. On the eve of the crisis, it had risen to $ 61 trillion collapsing during the crisis to $ 58 trillion. Now it is back to pre-crisis levels. Global trade peaked in 2008, collapsing 21 per cent by May 2009. Since then trade has almost recovered to pre-recession levels reaching 98 per cent of that level by June 2010. The world economy is not decoupled. The collapsing trade had highlighted the inter-connectedness of the world economy. Although it was a crisis made in the West, it has had global implications. But the key lesson from this crisis is debt, too much debt. Although there were many characteristics of this crisis that were different from the previous ones, the fundamental cause was the same: too much debt. In fact, there are a number of factors linked to this. The crisis witnessed a lethal combination of debt, leverage and gearing combined with easy money and with one way.<br />
						<br />
						<br />
						</span></div>
				</div>
				<div style="clear: both;">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
	</span>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>FINANCIAL LESSONS <br />
					</strong><br />
					The main financial lesson of the crisis is liquidity. The crisis was triggered by a combination of factors: an imbalanced global economy, a failure to heed to warning signs and a systemic failure of the financial system. A strong rebound seen in banks over the last year has occurred in an environment where the global policy stimulus has been huge. Now, a more difficult time lies ahead as it becomes clear that the recovery in the West is weak, adding to the pressure on banks to lend. To heed the lessons for the financial sector, it is important to learn lessons from those that failed and also recognize that not all broke, even in the city of London, and there are lessons to learn from where things worked well. The banks that came out of the crisis unscathed were well capitalized, had ample liquidity and had strategies that were customer focused. In many respects, they could be termed “conservatively run”. There were also lessons to learn from countries that had a good crisis e.g. Australia and Canada benefitted from effective supervision. There are also important lessons to learn from Asia, including China, particularly in the case of macroprudential measures. <br />
					<br />
					These are specific and targeted measures that</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">worked well. They included reserve requirements for banks and specific measures that could, for instance, be aimed at real estate such as Loan to Value ratios. The potential effectiveness of macroprudential measures needs to be fully appreciated. They can be effective especially if used alongside appropriate monetary policies. There are also important lessons to learn from those institutions that failed. It came out loud and clear that there was a failure of corporate governance. In particular, senior managements and Boards did not guard against excessive risk-taking. This was particularly relevant with respect to liquidity. Some banks thought they didn't need much liquidity possibly because they thought risks were low or that Central Bank could help. The scale of the unregulated financial sector was also a distinctive result as the crisis unfolded. Hence, the needs for regulators to widen the scope of their regulatory remit. There was a lack of risk management, lack of liquidity management and procyclical behavior that added fuel to the fire. Capital reserves were built on artificially low default risks. And, when the crisis broke, mark to market triggered both asset write-downs and panic selling. So there are many financial lessons from the crisis but the key is liquidity.</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="clear: both;">
				<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
				<br />
				</span></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="width: 595px;">
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;"><strong>POLICY LESSONS <br />
					<br />
					</strong>The first lesson is, avoid cheap money. This encourages the buildup of debt especially where debt is subsidized by favorable tax treatment as was the case in the US. Avoiding cheap money doesn't mean that there will not be occasions when interest rates should be low as in the West now. <br />
					<br />
					<br />
					The second lesson: learn the lessons from Asia and make effective use of macro-prudential measures. The third lesson is applicable to China and much of Asia now. With interest rates low in the west and likely to stay that way for some time, money is likely to flow east. This is likely to feed the asset-price inflation, perhaps on some government bond markets, and also in equities and real estate. Asia needs to heed such warning signs and not only take on board avoiding cheap money but also do more in terms of accepting greater currency flexibility and moving towards deepening and broadening its capital markets.<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					State capitalization and the role of the state are likely to be a future dominant issue. The crisis also<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
				<div align="justify">
					<span style="font-size:12px;">&nbsp;saw a desire by some financial firms to secure anchor shareholders. There is a need for long term players. Perhaps the most important policy issue is the need for an international approach to regulatory issues. The trade-off between an international approach and domestic agenda is an important one. One can understand on domestic economic grounds why now there are differences in macro policy. While deflation is a risk in the West, the East is characterized by inflation. Yet on financial issues, given the contagion that was witnessed during the crisis, an international approach is the key. Thus we have seen the move to G20 and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and this was reflected in the Basel III announcement.<br />
					<br />
					<br />
					In conclusion, the three key words are- debt, and the need to minimize it; liquidity, and the need for financial institutions to have sufficient amount; and the importance of policy makers to send the right incentives. (The writer is Chief Executive Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd.)<br />
					<br />
					</span></div>
			</div>
			<div style="clear: both;">
				<span style="font-size:12px;"><br />
				</span></div>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2012-09-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'In order to derive a proper understanding, it is important to look at this crisis in context. It is evident that a shift in the balance of power is underway i.e. from the West to the East.',
			'sortorder' => '51',
			'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) 13 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '102',
			'article_category_id' => '37',
			'title' => 'Four Months Wait For BUDGET Is Over',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
		<div align="justify">
			<span style="width: 100%;">Nepal's caretaker government has finally managed to bring out the annual budget by issuing an Ordinance after a delay of four months from the date the fiscal year strated. Giving continuity to most of the ongoing programs, Finance Minister Surendra Pandey, announced the budget of Rs 337.9 billion for the fiscal year 2010/11. It is an increment of 18 per cent compared to last year's budget of Rs 285.9 billion. <br />
			<br />
			The government has allocated 56.3 per cent of the total budget for recurrent expenditure, 38.3 per cent for capital expenditure and 5.4 per cent for principal repayment. The estimated spending is 30.4 per cent more than the revised estimate of expenditure of the previous year. In terms of the structure of the expenditure, recurrent expenditure has increased by 25.8 per cent and capital expenditure by 44.8 per cent.<br />
			<br />
			To meet the expenditures, the government aims to mobilize Rs 216.64 billion from revenue and Rs 65.35 billion from foreign grants. Deficit of Rs 55.91 billion is expected to be covered from foreign loans of Rs 22.23 billion and domestic borrowings of Rs. 33.68 billion. The amount of proposed foreign loans is 2.6 per cent of the estimated GDP.<br />
			<br />
			A review of the first quarter's revenue collection of the current fiscal year makes it challenging to meet the revenue target of the budget. It, therefore, seems an uphill task to meet the target of 4.5 per cent economic growth. Last year's budget had targeted 5.5 per cent economic growth but the actual achievement was 3.5 per cent. The new budget expects inflation to be around 8 per cent. It is higher than this year's monetary policy's target of 7.5 per cent. <br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			</span></div>
	</div>
	<div align="justify" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
		<strong>Major Highlights of the Budget</strong><br />
		<br />
		<div style="padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 5px;">
			01. More allocations for the infrastructure projects <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; like Kathmandu-Terai fast track road, Mid-hills <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; highway, Sikta and Ranijamara irrigation, <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Syafrubesi-Rasuwagadi road track, Upper <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tamakoshi hydropower, etc.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			02. Rs 500 thousand cash for the organizers of <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; seminar or workshop involving more than 100 <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; foreign passport holders entering Nepal <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; through air-route once at a time<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			03. Provision of sub health post and police post <br />
			&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; for the productive industry that offers <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; employment to more than 500 Nepali workers.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			04. Black-topped roads reaching the premises of <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; manufacturing companies employing more <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; than 100 Nepali people.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			05. Lands to be classified into six categories: <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; agricultural, industrial, forestry, commercial, <br />
			&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; residential and public community. Ownership <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; certificates to be issued accordingly.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			06. Construction of large and medium sized <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; reservoirs based hydropower projects at least <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; one in every Development Region.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			07. Two per cent incentive on equivalent Nepali <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; currency to exporters on submission of bank <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; documents showing that they have received <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; convertible currencies earned from the <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; exports. Incentive will be three percent and <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; higher if the value addition of exported <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; commodities exceeds 50 per cent or higher. <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They will also get 25 per cent income tax <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; exemption.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			08. Door opens for Non-resident Nepalis to invest <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; in the capital market.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			09. E-tendering made mandatory from 14 April <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 2011 onwards for all the contracts and tenders <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; of more than Rs 20 million.<br />
			<br />
			<br />
			10. Merger of banks, finances and insurance <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; companies encouraged. Changes in the <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; provision of taxing assets and liabilities as <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; deposal after merger will be introduced to <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; make it non-taxable, and special <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; arrangements have been made for share <br />
			&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; holders, managers and employees.</div>
	</div>
	<div style="clear: both;">
		 </div>
</div>
<div style="width: 595px;">
	<img alt="" src="http://www.newbusinessage.com/ckfinder/userfiles/Images/table-of-i-nc(1).jpg" /></div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2012-09-20',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Nepal’s caretaker government has finally managed to bring out the annual budget by issuing an Ordinance after a delay of four months from the date the fiscal year started.',
			'sortorder' => '50',
			'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) 14 => array(
		'Article' => array(
			'id' => '100',
			'article_category_id' => '31',
			'title' => '“We Have An Edge Over Other Laboratories”',
			'sub_title' => '',
			'summary' => null,
			'content' => '<div style="width: 595px;">
	<div justify="" style="width: 595px;">
		<div>
			<div align="center" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px;">
				Super Religare Laboratories Ltd (SRL) and Life Care Services Pvt Ltd have started a jointventure recently to offer the Nepali public a world-class pathology lab. At a programme to mark this occasion, <strong>Dr Sanjeev K Chaudhry</strong>, the Chief Executive Officer of SRL, spoke to Nubiz about the venture and its future in Nepal. Excerpts from the interview:</div>
			<br />
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Could you brief us on SRL? </strong><br />
				Super Religare Laboratories (SRL) is India’s largest and one of the world’s fastest growing health care diagnostics company. SRL was the first pathology lab system in India to get quality accreditations from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), Government of India and the College of American Pathologists (CAP), USA. SRL is today approached by leading hospitals of the UK, the Middle East, the SAARC region and South East Asia for their testing needs. A large part of the decision that a doctor makes in terms of what treatment to do or how to heal a patient is based on the output of an accurate diagnosis. We are the market leaders not just in terms of geographic capability or the size of an operation but also in terms of scientific and medical capability. SRL is the only Pathology Lab Network from India to have five reference labs and over 170 labs, with a footprint spanning over 1500 collection centres. Since its inception in 1996, it has conducted over 50 million tests and today its operations have scaled up to a level where 10 million people every year repose their trust in the testing facilities of SRL.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What kind of research did you carry out before approving this particular venture?</strong><br />
				Well, the laboratory of this nature is commercially viable if it is processing about 100 samples a day. We realised that we can price the services at this laboratory very high and make a lot of profit due to our monopoly position. However, it is not part of the “We have an edge over other laboratories” New Business Age | October 2010 25 Visiting Business People Nubiz SRL philosophy to do so. We believe in doing things correctly and at a fair price. So we have priced it very competitively in line with the market reality in Nepal. Our strategy is to seek profit through volume expansion. Since this lab is located in Kathmandu, we also had to think about the people residing outside the valley. So we have also set up sample collection centres outside the Kathmandu valley. There are already eight collection centres linked to this facility that includes Pokhara, Dharan, Janakpur, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and Bharatpur. Over a period of time, we plan to have a 100 collection centres across Nepal.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Tell us about your foray into the Nepali market.</strong> <br />
				Being a neighbour of this country and being very closely associated culturally, socially and economically, we get a lot of people from Nepal who frequent India for treatment. There are many others who only send their samples. We perform tests on nearly about 80,000 samples and a few hundred every day from Nepal itself. So, we were convinced that coming to Nepal with a modern laboratory was always a viable proposition. This will serve not only our existing clientele here but also a large number of people who will have easy access to our laboratory here.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What is the kind of investment that you have put in your operations in Nepal? </strong><br />
				Super Religare Reference Laboratories (Nepal) Pvt Ltd is a joint venture between SLR, India and Life Care services Pvt Ltd, Nepal, which is part of a leading corporate group here led by Mr Ravi Bhakta Shrestha. We have already invested about US$ 1 million in this facility. With time, the facility will expand with more investment in its infrastructure. From the perspective of the health care industry, you need to understand that this facility is the part of a very large network. This network is connected electronically to a large number of reference laboratories across the world. For now, while it may be only a US$ 1 million investment, there is a whole SRL investment of several hundred million dollars in India and elsewhere which will be supporting the local facility here.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>How big are your operations and reach in global terms? </strong><br />
				Besides India and Nepal, we have a presence in Dubai at the Dubai Health Care City, in Mauritius, and in a couple of African countries, too. Very soon, we will be expanding to Europe and the United States as well.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>What is the kind of expectation for growth here in Nepal that you have in mind, in the foreseeable future? </strong><br />
				At the moment, the parent company is growing at 30 to 40 per cent annually. We expect to register the same growth rate in Nepal or perhaps, even a higher rate. It would mean performing more tests and opening more collection centres. You can evaluate these things in multiple ways. We’ll look at establishing more laboratories in Kathmandu as well as other parts of Nepal once the need arises.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>Tell us about the target consumer base that you keep in mind while focusing at a market like Nepal’s. </strong><br />
				Going by experience, we divide the population of any country into quintiles which consist of 20 per cent each. We find it relevant to directly target the top three quintiles which cover the 60 per cent population. This number definitely has the ability to pay for the treatment and it can afford to go for the best treatment. The bottom 40 per cent usually faces the problem of affordability and therefore they go to the state-run hospitals. To a patient, it may be free-of-cost but to the state it does cost money. The state-run hospitals do the best they can at their end. Anything that goes beyond their capacity is sent to a laboratory like ours which again is a source of revenue for our business.<br />
				<br />
				<br />
				 </div>
		</div>
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: right;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>You said that you enjoy a virtual monopoly. Does that mean you do not have any competition whatsoever? </strong><br />
				We do have competition. When I say we enjoy a monopoly, it is in terms of the quality of our laboratory. Any test can be performed in a number of ways, including the use of primitive techniques like studying a slide under the microscope. In fact, a lot of laboratories can perform the tests that we do. The difference is in the processes for collection, testing, and reporting because our servers preserve the data on a long term basis. We believe in providing 100 per cent guaranteed service. SRL consistently follows the best of national and international quality protocols, thereby ensuring the accuracy of every test report. The same quality and international standard protocols will also be ensured in our Kathmandu lab. This is where we have an edge and it sets us apart from other laboratories.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 5px; width: 47%; float: left;">
			<div align="justify">
				<strong>How cheaper is it going to be for the people who have been sending their samples thus far to your laboratory in India? </strong><br />
				For them, it will be at least 20 per cent cheaper as there won’t be a transportation cost. More importantly, it is the same result with the same efficiency and accuracy, only at a faster rate.</div>
		</div>
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
	<div style="width: 595px;">
		<div style="clear: both;">
			 </div>
	</div>
</div>',
			'published' => true,
			'created' => '2010-12-24',
			'modified' => '2010-12-31',
			'keywords' => '',
			'description' => 'Super Religare Laboratories Ltd (SRL) and Life Care Services Pvt Ltd have started a jointventure recently to offer the Nepali public a world-class pathology lab. At a programme to mark this occasion, Dr Sanjeev K Chaudhry, the Chief Executive Officer of SRL, spoke to Nubiz about the venture and its future in Nepal. Excerpts from the interview:',
			'sortorder' => '49',
			'image' => null,
			'article_date' => '0000-00-00 00:00:00',
			'homepage' => false,
			'breaking_news' => false,
			'main_news' => false,
			'in_scroller' => false,
			'user_id' => '0'
		)
	)
)
$current_user = null
$logged_in = false
$xml = false
simplexml_load_file - [internal], line ??
include - APP/View/Elements/side_bar.ctp, line 133
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::_renderElement() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 1224
View::element() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 418
include - APP/View/Articles/index.ctp, line 157
View::_evaluate() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 971
View::_render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 933
View::render() - CORE/Cake/View/View.php, line 473
Controller::render() - CORE/Cake/Controller/Controller.php, line 968
Dispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 200
Dispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/Cake/Routing/Dispatcher.php, line 167
[main] - APP/webroot/index.php, line 117