Brand New Bikes to be launched in the Nepalese market in 2014

KATHMANDU , NOV 25 -
The Nepali market will see the entry of several new motorcycles from reputed brands in the New Year 2014. Dealers of Bajaj, Honda, Hero, Suzuki and TVS said they are all set to introduce new models.

Syakar Trading Company, sole authorised distributor of Honda motorcycles for Nepal, is all set to introduce Honda CB Trigger by January 2014.

Rajan Puri, manager, Honda division of the company, said it would capture the youth mind, which the Unicorn was not able to address properly. “We are sure the bike to be most loved by the Nepali commuters as it is more stylish, smooth, reliable and convenient. And, we expect our market share to rise,” he said.

Powered by a 150 cc engine, the CB Trigger comes with a contoured tank having 3D Honda emblem floating side cowls and arrow shaped side panels which contributes to aggressive looks, all sporty muffler that emph sizes muscular character of the bike.The bike also features easy-to-operate combine brake system, which Puri says reduces braking distance by 32 percent compared to conventional braking. The bike offers a mileage of over 50 kmpl, the company said. The company said the bike will be priced around Rs 225,000.

Nepal General Marketing, sole authorised distributor of Hero motorcycles, plans to launch a new version of its premium bike Hero Karizma ZMR by January 2014. According to Dinesh Ratna Bajracharya, brand promotion manager of the company, the sporty bike will be targeted at people aged between 18 and 24 years old. The 225cc motorcycle, fitted with digital ignition system, would compete with Bajaj Pulsar 220, he said.

 The company is also planning to launch a new version of Hero CBZ Extreme. “The bike will come with new added features like double and single disk brakes, stylish front looks among others,” he said, the company hopes to raise its market share to 35 percent from the current 26-27 percent.

Ganesh Enterprises, distributor of Suzuki bikes , will launch the GZ 150 cruiser by January. “The bike looks very attractive, stylish, and will surely attract teenagers,” said sales manager Pramila Khatri. “With 150cc engine it has DCP FI system that represents the highest level of engine technology.” The bike will be priced at Rs 285,000.

Hansaraj Hulaschand and Company, authorised distributor of Bajaj, plans to launch a modified version of its premium segment bike Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS. “After surveying the need and desires of consumers in the market we are planning to bring the bike with new design, graphics and exterior,” Chiranjivi Shah, deputy general manager of HH Bajaj, said. “It will not only contribute to increase our market share, but surely enhance our brand image.” The company is yet to finalise the price of the bike.

CG Motocorp, authorised distributor of TVS, has said it will launch an upgraded Apache RTR by December 2013. “The new bike will come with cosmetic upgrades,” Karan Chaudhary, executive director of the company, said, adding the price is yet to be fixed.

Source:ekantipur.com, 25/11/2013

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Price of Chicken hiked ridiculously high

CHITWAN, NOV 25 -
Rishi Dhakal, a resident of Astha Tole, Bharatpur, bought chicken at Rs 380 per kg on Sunday. The pricing left him surprised as he had bought the same quantity of chicken at Rs 350 a day ago. Many customers like Dhakal are saddened by the random price hike almost every day.

“I run a small restaurant, and this price hike has left me in trouble as chicken is something that customers seek the most,” said Dhakal, adding if the price continues to go up, it will have a negative impact on their business.

The demand for chicken has gone up significantly in recent times due to wedding and picnic season and the Constituent Assembly (CA) election. But the supply has remained on the lower side, fuelling the price rise. Chicken traders have fixed the price at Rs 360 per kg, but it is difficult to find chicken at that price in the market.

Amid low supply, chicken sellers are found charging customers arbitrarily in the absence of effective market monitoring. There are an estimated 1,000 fresh houses in the district. Normally, the district consumes 400 quintal chicken a day, but the demand has gone up to 450 quintals due to picnic and wedding season, according to Nepal Poultry Market Management Association. “As we have less supply capacity, the price has been adjusted accordingly,” said Shankar Prasad Kandel, president of the association.

Saying that market inspection could not be carried out effectively due to the CA election, Kandel said they would take action against traders cheating customers.

The short supply of chicken is the result of recent bird-flu outbreak in the Kathmandu valley and other parts of the country, which prompted culling of a huge number of chicken s. The association said 60 percent chicken s were culled in farms in the valley, while Chitwan saw culling of 20 percent of the species.

Farmers are also reluctant increase production fearing possible losses due to repeated outbreak of the disease. Even if the farmers are interested in adding chicks, they are not getting chicks easily due to the shortage. “Since there are no chicks in farms, it will take around one year for the price to come back to normal,” said Kandel.

 Meanwhile, amid complaints of arbitrary price hike by chicken sellers, the District Administration Office has said it will conduct market inspection and take action against traders cheating customers. “We have received complaints about traders charging arbitrarily,” said Narendra Raj Sharma, chief district officer of Chitwan. “Such traders will be taken action.”

Source: ekantipur.com, 25/11/2013
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Gold Price slides to Rs.54,000

KATHMANDU, NOV 22 -
Local bullion prices cooled down in a reflection of international trends with gold dropping Rs 1,600 per tola. The Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association (Fenegosida) on Thursday set the price of the yellow metal at Rs 54,000 per tola (11.664 gm). On Wednesday, gold traded at Rs 55,600 per tola.

Similarly, silver became cheaper by Rs 40 per tola. Silver traded at Rs 865 per tola on Thursday, down from Rs 905 on Wednesday.

Meanwhile in the international market, gold traded at US$ 1,283.17 per ounce on Thursday. World prices stood at US$ 1,247.53 per ounce on Sunday. Fenegosida maintained Sunday’s prices till Wednesday since the Nepali market was greatly affected by the Constituent Assembly (CA) polls. “As we fix the rates based on international trends, prices have dropped in the market here,” said Mani Ratna Shakya, president of Fenegosida. “As prices in the international market remain volatile, we cannot predict local prices until tomorrow morning.” Meanwhile, the sharp fall in gold prices is expected to bring smiles to wedding shoppers. Gold sales jump during the marriage season which lasts from mid-November to mid-December due to large purchases to make bridal jewellery.

Traders say that the market witnesses a growth of over 100 percent during the month compared to normal times. Demand remains on the high side until mid-February. “Due to the CA election, people were too preoccupied to visit the bullion market to buy gold . We are expecting a huge rise in sales from now onwards,” said Shakya. Demand for the precious yellow metal is certain to remain high throughout the country, he added.

However, political stability will play a crucial role in the performance of the bullion market, he said. “Demand will definitely be higher. However, if there is political stability, it will be much greater than expected,” said Shakya.

While the usual daily requirement of gold in the local market is estimated to be 15-20 kg, it jumps to more than 40 kg during the period mid-November to mid-December.

Considering the surge in demand during this time of the year, Nepal Rastra Bank has permitted banks to import 20 kg of gold daily until mid-December.

The central bank allows banks to import only 15 kg of gold daily during other times.

Source: ekantipur.com, 22/11/2013

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Securities Board of Nepal drafting the Commodities Act

KATHMANDU: After a long delay, the capital market regulator has jump started the drafting of the Commodities Act to bring the commodities market under the regulatory ambit, finally.

The commodities market might come under the regulatory ambit soon as Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has started working on the Act to regulate the market that has been operational since last seven years without any regulator.

“We started preparing the draft of the Commodities Act about a month back, so that Sebon can have a stronger base to regulate the market,” pointed out spokesperson for Sebon Niraj Giri.

Sebon — the capital market regulator — was commissioned to regulate the commodities market in the budget of fiscal year 2010-11.

The blossoming commodities market has come under fire after Sebon released its study report on the undertakings of the exchanges last year. After the report was launched, Sebon came under escalated pressure from both authorities and operators of the commodities exchanges to start regulating the market.

Earlier, in December 2012, Sebon had prepared draft regulations to regulate the commodities market by introducing a guideline or directive which was shot down by the Ministry of Law.

In the existing Securities Act 2063, Sebon is authorised to regulate the capital market only — there is no mention of the commodities market. In the absence of the right to regulate, any regulation or directive introduced by Sebon for commodities exchanges and their brokers would not hold much weight in court.

The Law Ministry had recommended bringing the commodities market under the regulatory ambit only through the enactment of the Securities Act so that a strong legal base could be established. However, the dissolution of the Parliament in May, 2012, derailed Sebon’s plans to regulate the commodities market.

“After the CA election, a new Parliament will be formed so there will not be much difficulty in the enactment of the Commodities Act,” said Giri. “Moreover, with the Act in place, Sebon will have enough legal right to monitor, supervise and even penalise commodities exchanges, brokers and even investors if they are found to be engaged in anything wrong,” he added.

The Act will contain the outline for the operation of the market such as structure of the exchange and their components such as brokers, capital and trading technology, among others. Other specific directions will be included in the regulations, directives and bylaws that will follow the Act.

At present, there are seven commodities exchanges operating in Nepal. They provide portals to buy or sell contracts of commodities such as precious and base metals, crude oil and few agricultural products, but there is no delivery system and transactions are held for speculative motive.

Sebon’s study had pointed out that the market has mobilised investment worth Rs 250 million but has more than Rs 13 billion of investment from investors involved. And 80 per cent of the investors lose the money invested.

“Since the reports of investors losing money and suspicions of foul play started to circulate last year, the transaction volume of the market has almost crashed,” pointed out a CEO of one of the commodity exchanges. “We hope being under a regulatory ambit will help clean the image of the market to an extent,” he added.

Even though the report did not find any illegal undertakings by these exchanges and the brokers but it substantiated the doubts that the market operation is not in favour of investors. Moreover, suspicious trading software, lack of transparency and bad corporate governance of the exchanges have left investors vulnerable.

Source: The Himalayan Times, 17/11/2013

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Increase in number of loan defaulters in Nepal

KATHMANDU: The number of blacklisted names for defaulting on loans has grown with the increase in the amount of loans floated by the commercial banks.

The Credit Information Bureau (CIB) has blacklisted 210 firms and individuals for defaulting on loan repayments in the first four months of the current fiscal year. During the corresponding period a year ago, there were 175 such blacklisted firms and individuals.

“The expansion in lending of the banks has been substantial in the past couple of years which has also

increased the number of defaulters,” pointed out vice president of Nepal Bankers’ Association Upendra Poudyal.

According to the recently published first quarter financials of commercial banks, the amount of loans floated by banks has increased by 22 per cent in the past one year. The 30 banks have floated loans worth

Rs 739 billion by mid-October 2013. These banks had lent Rs 606 billion till mid-October 2012.

Nepal Rastra Bank’s data also shows that in the past 10 months, the number of credit accounts at banks has increased by 12 per cent. There were 532,135 loan accounts with commercial banks in mid-November 2012, which has gone up to 595,500 accounts by mid-August 2013.

“In the last three years, the slowdown in the real estate sector has also increased the number of defaults,” added Poudyal. In the past two years, CIB has blacklisted 25 housing developers and construction companies.

In fiscal year 2012-13, CIB blacklisted 660 firms and individuals on the recommendation of financial institutions for failing to repay loans. The content of the blacklist more than doubled in the last fiscal year in

comparison to fiscal year 2011-12, when CIB blacklisted 305 defaulters.

Though the amount of non-performing assets in the banks’ balance sheets seem to be declining, they are provisioning more for possible loan loss. The first quarter financials of the banks show that the non-performing loans (NPL) of 30 banks have reached 2.62 per cent of total loans on average. Such NPL stood at 2.9 per cent a year ago.

Despite the decline in the percentage of bad loans, the amount of provisioning undertaken to cushion against possible loan loss increased in the first quarter. During the period, banks set aside Rs 2.6 billion for the purpose which stood at Rs 2.3 billion a year ago.

“In the past years, banks might have been a bit less cautious in terms of lending which has resulted in the increased number of defaults,” pointed out Poudyal.

In addition, from November 2012, the central bank directed financial institutions to blacklist those who had defaulted on loans worth Rs one million or more from the earlier Rs 2.5 million

ceiling. The downsizing of the eligibility has pushed more individuals and firms to be blacklisted.

There are more individual names in the blacklist than institutions — almost two-thirds are individuals. Banks request CIB to blacklist any person or a firm that fails to repay loans on time. Blacklisting of defaulters most of the time helps banks recover the loans sooner.

Being blacklisted makes the borrower — any natural person or firm — ineligible for acquiring or rescheduling any new loan from any financial institution — not even a credit card.

Moreover, such blacklisted people also become ineligible to hold the post of a director of any publicly listed company or even contest in local or general elections.

source: The Himalayan Times, 18/11/2013

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