Massive increase in internet users in Nepal

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Nepal has achieved a 24.51 percent internet penetration, according to the latest figures released by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).

Driven by a significant growth in GPRS, ADSL, CDMA, optical fibre and 3G internet services, the number of data subscribers has increased to 6.4 million as of mid-April from 4.6 million a year ago (as of mid-April 2012). According to the NTA, a majority of the internet subscribers are cell phone users who use GPRS — a mobile data service — in the GSM mobile network of Ncell and Nepal Telecom.

Rising demand for data service and stiff market competition has compelled internet service providers (ISPs) to come up with newer schemes at competitive prices to attract customers.

Easy access to GPRS service, tariff cut, increased trend of using smart phones, social media craze among youngsters and increasing ICT knowledge are some of the major factors responsible for the growth in the number of data users.

After NT launched its new high-speed WiMax wireless internet service, ISPs too have slashed their tariffs with attractive schemes. For the growing competition in the data market, the state-owned company recently the slashed prices of almost of all of its data services, including GPRS, 3G and leased line services, with a target of “retaining existing customers and attracting new ones”.

NT is also working to take its new “Sky Pro” mobile data service, which is combined with voice, nationwide under the IP-CDMA project. “We are focusing more on data service as per the demand trend,” said Rajesh Joshi, joint spokesperson for NT. He said customers can use the Sky Pro service in laptop and desktop computers using a USB device.

ISPs, which earlier used to concentrate more on the corporate segment, have started to come up with attractive packages for general uses. According to the ISP Association of Nepal, there is a rapid growth in demand from individuals (30 percent a year) compared to that (10-15 percent a year) in the corporate segment.

Around 90 percent of the country’s data customers are mobile GPRS users. The remaining 10 percent are the users of 3G service, ADSL, optical fibre, cable modem, EDVO, CDMA 1X, dial up and WiMax services.

Ncell commands a 52 percent of the Nepali data market, while Nepal Telecom has a 46 percent share. The remaining two percent is shared by United Telecom Limited (UTL) and internet service providers (ISPs).
Although the growth in the overall internet service subscription is increasing, customers are shying away from dial-up data services for the availability of high-speed cable internet , wireless 3G internet , ADSL and WiMax.

The NTA said the dial-up user base declined to 15,445 users by mid-April from 18,747 users last year. Dial-up is nearly a two-decade-old technology and provides slow connectivity compared to wireless and optical fibre services.

Source: ekantipur, 26th May 2013.
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Riddhi Siddhi Jewellers and Geetanjali cheating customers

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Riddhi Siddhi Jewellers and Geetanjali cheating customers

KATHMANDU, NEPAL:

Shree Riddhi Siddhi Jewellers at Bishal Bazar and Geetanjali Jewellers at Durbar Marg are found to be cheating customers through the use of weighing machines without certification from the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM).

The irrigularities were found when a joint team from the Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) and NBSM inspected three jewelry outlets in the New Road area and one at Durbar Marg, Tueday.

The monitoring team inspected Shree Riddhi Siddhi Jewellers, Shalimar Jewellers and Shagoon Diamonds at Bishal Bazar and Geetanjali Jewellers at Durbar Marg.

“The team found that Shree Riddhi Siddhi Jewellers had been selling diamond jewelry without license and was also using an uncertified weighing machine while Geetanjali Jewelers was likewise using uncertified weighing machines. We have instructed both establishments to stop selling diamond jewelry until they show proof of authorization and certification of their weighing machines,” said Hari Narayan Belbase, director of DoCSM.

Under existing rules, weighing machines should be certified by NBSM and the certification renewed annually.

However, Shree Riddhi Siddhi Jewellers denied any irregularity on their part and said their weighing machines were duly certified and they had full authorization to sell diamond jewelry.

The team did not find any irregularities at Shalimar Jewellers and Shagoon Diamonds.

“We have collected samples of gold jewelry from all four shops for determining if they are cheating on quality. NBSM has taken the samples and we are awaiting the quality test report,” said Belbase.

Earlier, the government had carried out market monitoring on April 22 and bullion traders had protested the way this was done. They submitted a memorandum to the government, demanding regulations for monitoring, and closed their shops protesting that the monitoring they were subjected to was unsystematic and a terrifying experience.

The monitoring team inspected Ganapati Jewellers at New Road and RB Diamond Jewelers and Tejmin Jewelery at Pyukha.

The monitors found that the shops were using dodgy weighing machines and a high amount of fillers and additives in gold and diamond jewelry. In the case of silver articles, it was found that cadmium use was involved.

Source: myrepublica, 21st May 2013

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Price of Gold drops again

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Price of Gold drops Again

KATHMANDU, NEPAL:

The price of gold once again dropped today to reach a year low of Rs 49,099 per tola (11.664 gram).

On the first day of trading today, the domestic market witnessed a fall of Rs 651 per tola in gold price, according to Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association. On Friday, the precious yellow metal was traded at Rs 49,750 per tola in the domestic market.

The gold price is fixed in

the domestic market on the basis of international market price. “A drop of $20 per ounce today in the international market has pulled the price down in the domestic market,” the association added.

The international market is expected to witness a fall in gold price to $1,320 per ounce, which will further bring down the price in the domestic market, it said, adding that the strong dollar has also contributed to the lowering of the price of gold.

The price started to drop from mid-April. On April 15 and 16, prices dropped by Rs 6,300 per tola — on April 15 it dropped by Rs 3,300 and on April 16 it further plunged by Rs 3,000 — due to prices decreasing in the international market. The price of the precious yellow metal had touched a record high of Rs 62,000 per tola in the domestic market on September 14, 2012.

Source: The Himalayan Times, 20th May 2013

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Nepal's foreign reserves rises to over Rs.474 billion

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Nepal's foreign reserves rises to over Rs.474 billion

KATHMANDU: The total foreign currency reserve has increased by 7.9 per cent to Rs 474.16 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, according to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB).

Earlier, the foreign currency reserve was Rs 439.46 billion during the same period of the fiscal year 2068/069.

Of the total reserve, the NRB owns Rs 387.56 billion which is 3.2 percent more than of the last fiscal year.

Likewise, the reserve of Indian currency reached 64.52 billion with an increase by 6.8 percent against the same period of the last fiscal year.

According to the NRB, the reserve of the foreign exchange is sufficient to import goods and service of 9.2 months.

Similarly, the revenue mobilisation of the government during the review period has reached Rs 210.47 billion increasing by 22.3 per cent, thanks to rise in exports. The revenue mobilization was Rs 172.9 billion in the last fiscal year.

Likewise, value added tax (VAT) revenue has reached Rs 60.64 billion increasing by 15.7 per cent as compared to the last fiscal year.

During the review period, customs tax contributed Rs 41.64 billion which is more by nearly 39 percent than the review period of the last fiscal year.

According to the central bank, the income tax revenue has also increased by 31.1 percent contributing a total of Rs 48.26 billion due to reform in income tax administration and positive impact of taxpayer education.

Similarly, the excise duty revenue collection has reached Rs 26.19 billion during the review period contributing 20.5 percent increase than the same period of the last fiscal year.

However, the non-tax revenue has deceased to Rs 23.82 billion in the review period against Rs 25.25 billion of the same period of the last fiscal year, according to the NRB.

Source: The Himalayan Times, 14th May 2013
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Nepal's Inflation comes down to 9.5 percent

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

Inflation moderated to 10-month low of 9.5 percent in April, as prices of non-food items and services rose at a slower pace in the month. Inflation last hovered at this level in May 2012.

Consumer price hike eased on the back of deceleration in rise in prices of clothes, footwear, furniture and household equipment, the latest macroeconomic report of Nepal Rastra Bank shows. Slower hike in transport and health costs also helped inflation to ease in the month, the report states.

In one-year period to April, prices of clothes and footwear went up by 10 percent than 15.1 percent recorded in the same period last year. Hike in prices of furniture and household equipment also eased to 12.1 percent in the one-year period, as against 13.6 percent registered in the same period a year ago.

Similarly, transport and health costs rose by 7.6 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, in one-year period to April, in comparison to hike of 17.8 percent and 7.7 percent seen a year ago.

During the period, prices of most of the food items, however, surged, exerting pressure on low-income group which spends significant portion of disposable income to purchase rice, lentil, vegetables, cooking oil and spices.

In the period, prices of cereal grains and their products surged by 13.5 percent, while prices of legume varieties shot up by 11.8 percent. Similarly, prices of meat and fishes climbed by 16.2 percent and prices of ghee and oil rose by 10.3 percent in the period.

Price hike in Nepal is generally attributed to rise in prices of commodities in India, from where Nepal imports most of the goods.

Imports from India went up by 22.9 percent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, shows the report, as against the increment of 13.1 percent recorded in the same period last year. Similarly, imports from other countries rose by 15.5 percent in the nine-month period compared to a hike of 28.3 percent reported in the same period a year ago.

Overall, Nepal´s merchandise imports surged by 20.3 percent to Rs 408.83 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year.

In contrast, Nepal´s exports in the period went up by marginal 3.5 percent to Rs 57.16 billion, the report shows. In the same period last fiscal year, exports had gone up by 15.9 percent to Rs 55.24 billion.

Nepal´s total exports grew at a tepid pace as exports to India increased by a marginal 0.4 percent during the period, as against a rise of 18.4 percent recorded in the same period last year.

Exports to other countries, on the other hand, went up by 10 percent in the nine-month period.

As imports surpassed exports, Nepal´s trade deficit surged by 23.6 percent to Rs 351.67 billion in the period. This, in turn, played a major role in causing the country´s current account surplus-difference between exports and imports of goods and services and transfers from the country and aboard-to shrink to Rs 22.23 billion in the nine-month period as against a surplus of Rs 41.95 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Nepal managed to post a current account surplus despite widening trade deficit because of 21.9-percent growth in workers´ remittances to Rs 302.58 billion. In the same period last year, workers remittance had surged by 36.5 percent, indicating lower growth rate this year.

At the same time, the net service income posted a surplus of Rs 4.56 billion in the nine-month period compared to a surplus of Rs 12.49 billion in the same period last year.

As current account surplus shrank due to widening trade deficit, the overall balance of payments -- the country´s total transaction with other nations -- surplus narrowed to Rs 30.77 billion in the first nine months as against Rs 92.55 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Source: myrepublica, May 13th 2013

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NRB will notify promoters about CEOs who underperform

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

 The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) will inform the board of directors concerned about the under-performing chief executive officers (CEO) of the banks and financial institutions. The central bank feels that the financial health of not just the banks and financial institutions but the whole country can be affected as the CEOs will always be involved in their private business and will only serve their personal interest no matter how well they are paid.

NRB will inform the boards of under-performing banks and financial institutions about their CEOs as per the standards set on the basis of supervision by the central bank’s as it does not just raise the cost of the institutions but affects the whole financial sector in the long run. “This has been done as per the regular supervisory role of the central bank,” Deputy Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari stated and mentioned that good governance of the banks and financial institutions has been targeted to make the management more responsible. NRB argues that informing the boards will create an environment like that of surprise inspections and will make the management more responsible.

NRB has evaluated the managerial efficiency of CEOs on the basis of policy directives, operating cost, management of staffers, professional agenda, timely meetings and work-place activities. The central bank has not revealed the names of inefficient CEOs on the basis of those standards but NRB sources claimed that Shovan Dev Pant of Lumbini Bank, Ratna Raj Bajracharya of IME Global, Anil Gyawali of Nabil, Ajay Shrestha and other two are among the better CEOs. NRB officials claim that this provision will allow the boards to know about the supervision of the management and even make necessary interventions.

The central bank earlier had introduced the provision banning the board members from playing a managerial role stating that governance of some banks and financial institutions was weakened due to unnecessary interference of the board members. This provision of informing the boards about the performance of CEOs after separating the roles of promoters and managers is said to have targeted the management heads. The central bank, however, claims that prior information to the boards provided with an aim of not letting the banks and financial institutions fail due to managerial inefficiency will help improve the banks and financial institutions.    

Source: Karobar Daily, May 4th 2013

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Nepal's Money Exchangers Cheating Customers

KATHMANDU, NEPAL

 Mahendra Thapa of Myagdi, who had returned back home from Malaysia, exchanged 1,600 ringgit at one Jayanti Money Changer in Mitranagar, Gongabu on Thursday. He should have got Rs 45,456 as per the exchange rate of Rs 28.41 per ringgit for the day, but he got just Rs 44,000 as the money exchanger gave him Rs 1,456 less at the rate of Rs 27.50 per ringgit.

The money exchangers, that have got permission from the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), have been fleecing customers in lack of monitoring by the central bank. They do not just exchange the currency at the fixed rate but also do not provide a bill for exchanging. They cheat the consumers by Rs 1-4 per unit of foreign currency exchanged. Though the commercial banks can make some minor adjustments based on the state of demand and supply, money exchangers have to exchange at the rate set by NRB.

The Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 1962 of NRB states that the licensed firm or individual shall not do transactions making changes in the fixed exchange rate but a majority of money exchangers in the capital are not just changing the exchange rate but not even providing any document for exchanging foreign currency. Customers have to produce a photocopy of passport, and fill the numbers printed on the currency notes and personal details while exchanging foreign currency from commercial banks but money exchangers are doing so without giving or asking for any document from the customers though they are also required to keep records as per the NRB Money Changer Guidelines.

Thapa had also exchanged his hard earned money without submitting a copy of passport and individual form. “They did not take my passport even when I insisted. I required money and exchanged it from there as it was near the hotel where I was staying,” he reasoned. Sai Money Changer, also of Gongabu, has also been exchanging money at a different rate without any document. Purna Bahadur Roka of Myagdi, who was also staying at a hotel in Mitranagar, also got less while exchanging Qatari riyal from Sai without any document. “I protested that the amount was less but they argued that it was the prevailing rate. I thought they may be right but later found that I was cheated,” he revealed.

Promoter of Jayanti Shankar Oli claimed that there was a difference in the exchange rate as even they have to exchange at the commercial banks. “We have to invest Rs 5 million. What is the use of working if we do not make some money?” he asked. Sudip Sharma, who works at a money exchanger in Thamel, said the foreign currency they exchange are deposited later at the commercial banks using others’ passports. “This is done to exchange money at the time when the exchange rate has increased and for commission,” he explained. Hotelier in Thamel Sushant Aryal revealed that the money exchangers also exchange the foreign currency of tourists staying at the hotels. “Even I have exchanged on their behalf on many occasions. The guests do not know about the regulations and we get benefits,” he added.

 Customers go to money exchangers as the commercial banks ask for documents and exchange only at the rate fixed by NRB. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mega Bank Anil Shah stated that NRB should monitor even the money exchangers and take action against those violating regulations. NRB Spokesperson Bhaskar Mani Gyawali insisted that the money exchangers should function as per the circular issued by NRB and its regulations and said they will be punished if found doing anything differently. “We have also formed regulations for inspection and supervision. They will be immediately punished if found to be doing anything during inspection,” he assured.

Source: Karobar Daily, April 28th 2013

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