Tourism in Nepal a major economic activity

KATHMANDU, JAN 10 -

Chief Secretary Lilamani Poudel has said tourism has emerged as a major economic activity in Nepal and is expected to do wonders in the coming years in terms of employment generation and poverty alleviation.

At the time when other sectors are not performing well, tourism is only the sector that could benefit Nepal in the short-run, said Paudel addressing the 50th annual general meeting of Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) here on Thursday.

Saying that attracting 100,000 tourists means adding 50,000 jobs, he said: “Hence, in the present context, tourism can change the fortunes of remote areas as well other places with potential but lacking infrastructure.

Areas such as far-west have a lot of potential to attract visitors, but it is disappointing that the areas have not been explored yet.”

He urged the private sector to come up with a strategic plan, under which the government can mobilise resources to develop a particular sector, eventually benefiting the rural areas.
Tourism Secretary Sushil Ghimire said a strong national flag career plays a crucial role in the development of tourism. “In Nepal, it took almost 26 years to buy planes for the national flag carrier. This fact has shown why Nepal is lagging behind,” he said, adding planners and policymakers must realise the fact.

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry President Suraj Vaidya said the country is receiving huge investment in tourism after hydropower. He said Nepal has observed sustained growth in terms of the number of tourists, but has not been able to attract quality tourists.

“We should not run after the numbers. We need to look what is the value of tourism or what quality tourism means to Nepal,” he said, adding the private sector has expected the new government will bring a Labour Bill to ensure and create business-friendly environment.

Outgoing NATTA President Pavitra Kumar Karki lamented the country has not been able to increase the average length stay of tourists.

Poor airport infrastructure, weak performance of Nepal Airlines and uncontrolled airfare are some challenges for the country’s tourism, he said.

 
Post journo Prasain awarded

Nepal Associ-ation of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) has felicitated The Kathmandu Post scribe Sangam Prasain with the NATTA Media Award 2013 for his significant contribution to the development of Nepal’s tourism through journalism.

 Prasain was conferred a plaque and cash award by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ram Kumar Shrestha amid NATTA’s 50th annual general meeting. Ramesh Tiwari from an online media and Kedar Koirala of Mountain TV were also honoured. Tourism entrepreneur Bikram Pandey was awarded with NATTA Bhaskar Award 2013. (PR).

Source:ekantipur.com, Jan 10th 2014
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Strawberry Farming expanding well in Nepal VDCs

NUWAKOT, JAN 10 -

Industry Minister Shankar Koirala has lauded the hard work and success achieved by strawberry farmers in Kakani, Nuwakot. Speaking at an interaction programme during a visit to the strawberry fields, Koirala praised the entrepreneurs for diversifying their products and exporting them to India.
Strawberry farming is being promoted by Micro Enterprise Development Programme (MEDEP) to support low-income families to grow the high value crop and improve their livelihoods.

Entrepreneurs say they produce strawberry worth Rs 50 million annually. In 2013, farmers of Okharpauwa and Hilevitta VDCs in Nuwakot grew 1.57 million kg of strawberries and earned Rs 15 million from exports to India.

Their products including fresh fruit, jam and jelly are being used by five-star hotels and are sold from outlets ranging from supermarkets to footpath stalls in Kathmandu. Door-to-door vendors in the capital also sell the products. In addition to sales of strawberry , sales of jam, jelly and candy made from the fruit amounted to Rs 1.4 million in 2013. Minister Koirala said this was an example of product diversification and market exploration at different levels. He added that the government had identified a few fruits in which Nepal could be self-sufficient this year. He added that next year’s budget was expected to identify strawberry as one such product.

“You have been selling your products across the border and contributing to the government’s efforts to reduce the trade deficit with India. We are trying to resolve issues of cross-border trade that will enable strawberries to be easily exported to India,” he told the entrepreneurs.

Likewise, Industry Secretary Krishna Gyawali said that strawberry was a very promising and profitable crop as it has a high return on investment of 80 percent and a very low breakeven point of 14 percent. He added that he would attempt to include strawberry in the One Village, One Product campaign.

 Gyawali said: “As strawberry farming has been expanded to six other districts with MEDEP support, it brings bo-th challenges and opportunities to the farmers of Kakani, and you should continuously focus on improving quality”.

Source: ekantipur.com, Jan 10th 2014
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Century Commercial Bank Launches IPO

KATHMANDU, JAN 10 -

Century Commercial Bank launched initial public offering (IPO) worth Rs 920 million on Thursday. The bank has issued 9,200,000 primary shares priced at Rs 100 apiece.

The bank has estimated to have received applications for the primary shares worth Rs 500 million on the first day. “Based on the first day’s estimated demand, there could be an over-subscription of 5-10 times,” said Century CEO Ganesh Kumar Shrestha.

Century said it has allocated 460,000 shares for the bank’s staff, while another 460,000 units have been separated for institutional investors. Century is the latest private commercial bank to do IPO.

Except for state-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank, all commercial banks in Nepal have gone public.
Century has appointed Citizen Investment Trust, Growmore Merchant Banker, NIDC Capital Markets, Nabil Capital and Civil Capital as sales and issue managers. It has been collecting applications from 44 outlets. These include the bank’s 31 branch offices, 11 merchant banks and two finance companies, including Guheswori Merchant Banking and Finance and Sagarmatha Merchant Banking and Finance. Established two years ago, Century has 568 promoter shareholders from 43 districts.

Source:ekantipur.com, Jan 10th 2014
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Free Wi-Fi now available in Kantipur Deluxe Buses

KATHMANDU, JAN 09 -
If you have an advanced mobile set or a tablet or laptop with wireless connectivity, you can now be online as you travel to your destination in a public bus as well.


This has been made possible through free Wi-Fi internet service now available in the Kantipur Deluxe buses that travel on the Nepalgunj-Kathmandu-Nepalgunj route.


With this service, passengers can use all kinds of internet facilities inside the bus itself, said Govinda Poudel, Vice-president of Namaste Nepal that operates the bus.


We hope that the free internet service can help the passengers pass away the boredom of the 540 kilometers long journey from here to the capital or vice-versa, adds Poudel.


Namaste Nepal runs a total of 13 buses and free Wi-Fi will available in all of them. RSS.

Source:ekantipur.com, Jan 9th 2014
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Internet Protocol Television Service to be launched for the first time in Nepal

 

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Internet Protocol Television Service to be Launched for the first time in Nepal

KATHMANDU, JAN 05 -

 

Two companies — Orient Digital Media and Subisu Cable Net — are planning to launch Internet Protocol Television ( IPTV ) service for the first time in the country. 

 

Orient has already received the licence, while Subisu has applied for the permission from the Ministry of Information and Communications.

 

Through IPTV , television contents are delivered to viewers through internet instead of traditional terrestrial broadcast, satellite signal or cable television formats. Subscriber of IPTV can watch TV even in smartphones and tablets. 

 

Subisu, one of the leading internet service providers of the country, has said it will start the service by March with 15 channels. “We are hopeful to get the government permission within a week,” said Subisu CEO Sudhir Parajuli, adding the company is currently working on the packages to be offered.

Although Orient acquired the licence about eight months ago, it is yet to launch the service. “Orient Digital has not started the service, and Subisu is yet to complete the application procedure,” said Shailaja Regmi, chief of Audio-Visual and Broadcasting Section of the Communications Ministry. She said after receiving the permission, companies get a maximum of 18 months to start the service, and if they fail to do so within the time frame, their licence will be scrapped. 

 

The Communications Ministry has fixed the licence fee at Rs 25,000 per channel and the annual renewal fee at 10 percent of licence fee. 

 

Besides the two companies, state-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) too has expressed interest in operating IPTV service. “Although the service is in our plan, no concrete decision has been made so far,” said Guna Keshari Pradhan, spokesperson for NT. 

 

Based on local companies’ interest to provide the IPTV service, the government about two years ago had opened the licence. 

 

Sources at the Communications Ministry said Orient, which has investment from non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs), is facing legal hurdles, delaying the service launch. 

“We have heard the company is facing legal complication over the repatriation of earning made from here,” the source said. “The company has been permitted for 

36 channels.”

 

Source:ekantipur.com, Jan 5th 2014

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Gold Price Increases while Nepalese Rupee falls

KATHMANDU, Jan 3: Nepali rupee weakened by 65 paisa this week as the Indian currency, with which rupee is pegged, shed value against the greenback. Price of gold, on the other hand, increased by Rs 860 per 10 grams over the week in line with the price movement in international bullion market.

CURRENCY
Nepali rupee dropped to 99.92 against US dollar, losing 65 paisa over the week. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central monetary authority, opened currency trading on Sunday with exchange rate of US dollar fixed at Rs 99.27.

Rupee remained unchanged on Monday but lost 9 paisa on Tuesday to settle at 99.36. The local currency, however, rallied, gaining 17paisa to close at 99.19 on Wednesday. Rupee dropped 16 paisa against US dollar on Thursday to settle at 99.35 after Indian currency weakened against the greenback.

According to Reuters, the Indian currency fell to a one-month low on Friday, extending losses for a third consecutive session, as the dollar strengthened against emerging Asian currencies and as a bout of risk aversion hit local stocks.

Rupee shed 57 paisa on Friday - the last trading day of the week - to close at 99.92.
The local currency gained 48 paisa against Euro but lost a whopping Rs 1.32 against British Pound over the week. A Euro was valued at Rs 136.79 on Friday, while the Pound Sterling was exchanged at Rs 165.29.

BULLION

Gold glittered this week as its price went up by Rs 860 per 10 grams over the week.

The Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Associations opened bullion trading on Sunday with price of gold fixed at Rs 44,580 per 10 grams. Though gold price remained unchanged but on Tuesday, it went down by Rs 340 per 10 grams to Rs 44,240. The price remained unchanged on Wednesday.

Gold price, however, went up by Rs 640 per 10 grams to Rs 44,880 on Thursday. Price of the precious metal increased further by Rs 560 per 10 grams to close the week at Rs 45,440.
Price of silver also increased by Rs 4 per 10 grams to close at Rs 741.5 this week.

Source:myrepublica.com, Jan 4th 2014
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Load Shedding in Nepal to be 12 hours per day from January 5th

KATHMANDU: Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has said the current load- shedding hours would be increased from 11 to 12 hours round the clock to be effective from January 5.

Issuing a press release on Thursday, the NEA said with the increased load-shedding, there will be 80 hours of darkness a week.

However, the industries run by the private sectors will have 14 hours power outage while it will be just nine hours for the industries run by the government.

Source:myrepublica.com, Jan 5th 2014
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