Internet, email costly outside capital

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Nov 18 – Access to internet and email, the most efficient means of global communication, outside the Kathmandu valley still remains unaffordable to the majority of people, mainly due to low availability and high charges of the services.

Private Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are reluctant to expand their services outside the capital city citing high cost of establishing offices and getting required bandwidth, while the state-run Nepal Telecommunic-ations Corporation (NTC) has also not been able to provide the services to the people outside the valley.

People of the major cities outside the capital say the NTC should expand its service, which they think would make the service easily available and bring down the fees being charged by private ISPs through competition.

After the NTC began providing Internet and email services to the customers of the Kathmandu Valley, it greatly helped to lower the tariffs of Internet and email in the capital, breaking the monopoly of the private sector.

Being the fastest means of mass communication and with added advantage like Internet telephony, the attraction towards Internet is growing among the potential users in the major cities outside the capital city, but unfortunately very few users have access to these services. In addition, they pay more than double the charges that users pay in Kathmandu.

General Secretary of Computer Association of Nepal (CAN), Atma Ram Ghimire says that NTC should expand its internet and email services to other major cities so that it would earn a good revenue and the potential users can benefit from it.

Due to a lack of such facility outside the valley, IT-enabled services like medical transcription and others are also confined to the capital, forcing a lot of youngsters coming to Kathmandu.

Shyam Kumar Agrawal, CEO of World Link Communications, a leading ISP, says they have to uplink the internet in Kathmandu with others outside the valley through NTC’s lease line and purchasing a bandwidth of 64 kilobyte that costs more than Rs 300 thousand. That’s why the service is more expensive there, he says.

Sudarshan Ranjitkar, a businessman from Pokhara, says they are even ready to pay double charge for internet and email compared to that of Kathmandu, but the fees are higher than that and the service is also not easily available.

Phewa Net, a branch office of Mercantile Communications System, charges Rs 4000 annually for email service only and similar is the rate of internet and other ISPs there.

According to our correspondent in Chitwan, Mercantile Communications charges Rs 1,320 for a CD, which allows a user to use it for 10 hours.

Our correspondent in Nepalgunj says that World Link charges Rs 3,000 monthly for unlimited Internet use. In Biratnagar, one has to pay Rs 1,200 for a CD that allows a user to use it for 10 hours, according to a user there. However, the number of Internet and email users is still very low.

Handicraft export ‘satisfactory’

KATHMANDU, Nov 18 (PR) - Despite a decline in the exports of Nepalese handicrafts in last fiscal year by over four per cent, the handicraft producers, looking into current world-wide economic trend, say: it is satisfactory.

Entrepreneurs of handicraft industry say that four per cent decline in handicraft export is normal at the current slowdown in overall economic activities. "We are lucky that the handicraft industry has been able to survive even at the current crisis that has resulted the slowdown of business activities," says Bikash R Dhakhwa, General Secretary at Handicraft Association of Nepal (HAN).

"Also, despite the decline in the exports in the last year, there is a preliminary estimate that it has increased in first three months of this fiscal year," he adds. Talking to The Kathmandu Post, he pointed out the sharp downfall in tourism industries and said that handicraft business remained almost unaffected and more or less, maintained its transactions.

Handicraft business has employed more than 1 million Nepalese and has been proved sustainable and dynamic industry than others. However, the entrepreneurs complain that the government is not promoting handicraft industries.

According to the statistics compiled by the HAN, Nepalese handicrafts worth Rs 7 million were exported to different countries of Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America and Australia. Among which, the Asian countries occupied more than 50 percent of the Nepalese handicraft exports. Europe and North America occupy more than 23 percent of market each.

In a country-wise export, India topped the list with 25 percent of the export that amounts to Rs 1.7 million. Similarly, USA, Japan and UK registered the exports of 21.10, 17.78 and 7 percent respectively.

In an item-wise analysis of the data, the highest increase in export was recorded 22.88 percent and it was in ceramic products whereas, the export of woollen goods fell sharply by 58.94 percent. "We still have to work hard to produce quality products of woollen goods," says Dhakhwa commenting over the decline in the export of woollen products.

Economy, finance and market

By Supa Upadhyay

Domestic Money Market :

Despite, the banking sector being very tight for rupee on the eve of festivals, the Average Weighted Discount Rate (AWDR) of 91-day Treasury Bills (TBs) rose by 06 basis point to 4.97 compared to previous week. The rupee was traded higher at NPR 98.78 and lower at NPR 98.77 for 91-day TBs. The NRB had received 23 bids worth NPR 1095 million against the notified amount NPR 700 million for 91-day TBs. The Repo rates for member banks and institutions have been quoted at 5.9678 for the trading days 13 to 19 November 2001. The outright purchase facility for bank, institutions and other on TBs is also available. In the regular weekly auction, the NRB is going to issue 91-day TBs worth NPR 1260 million on November 20, 2001.

Domestic capital market :

The stock market closed encouragingly before Tihar festival. The NEPSE Index-100 opened higher at 298.19 improved sharply to 300.15 at the closing netting a handsome gain of 2.96 points in only two working days. This week, trading was estimated at 22584 shares valued NPR 2.25 million compared to 172263 shares valued NPR 33.3 million of previous week. This week, Commercial banks, Finance/Insurance and Hotel Sector improved while Production Sector and Other Sector lost. Business Sector remained unchanged. Out of twenty-eight traded companies, eleven companies improved, four companies lost and eleven traded companies remain unchanged at their previous prices. Alpic Everest Finance and Nepal Bangladesh & Finance opened at NPR 264 and NPR167 respectively. Oriental Hotel, Alpic Everest Finance, and Bank of Kathmandu registered the first, the second and the third most traded companies trading 12510, 1250 and 1930 shares respectively. Shares of Nabil Bank, Nepal Indosuez Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Himalayan Bank, Nepal B’desh Bank, Everest Bank, Bank of Kathmandu, Nepal Film Development, NEFINSCO, Oriental Hotel, Lumbini Finance, Nepal Merchant Bank & Finance and Siddhartha Finance were able to trade in all two working days.

Forex round-up:

The USD rebounded across-the board, as report came that the American Airlines crash in New York was an isolated accident. In the absence of key economic data, the greenback plunged dramatically against the major currencies in response to report of a plane crash that evoked fears of possible terrorist activity. The EUR was unable to leverage encouraging comments from ECB Economist Issing that the central bank believed the Eurozone economy would improve next year because of the monetary policy steps taken. Issing also explained that last week’s rate cut was implemented on the expectation that inflation will fall clearly below 2% in 2002. The USD maintained strong support above 122 following warnings from Japanese government officials about a new round of forex intervention after the yen climbed to a high of 120. The sterling also lost against the dollar over the week. Worrying dealers was the MPC’s citing of a further deterioration in UK business and consumer confidence. The INR lost on corporate demand for dollar while the NPR remain unchanged over the week.

Fierce competition between Chinese and Indian bikes

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Nov 18 - Competition between Chinese and Indian motorcycles is becoming fierce in the capital as Chinese motorcycle companies have flooded the Nepalese market with stylish and cheaper bikes of various models.

Though Indian bikes are known for their fuel efficiency, durability and easy availability of spare parts, Chinese bikes are gradually replacing the Indian ones, which has resulted in a fierce competition recently.

Chinese companies are producing the exact models of the best selling Indian bikes like Eliminator of Kawasaki Bajaj. Loncin Motorbike, a Chinese manufacturer of motorbikes has recently launched Terminator, with a view to beating its Indian counterpart.

"While Slimmer came from China to compete with its Indian rival - Yamaha YBX 125, the latest Terminator is a strong competitor against Eliminator," said Anuj Gartaula, Marketing Executive at the Pioneer Marketing, a dealer of Loncin Motorbikes.

Within a span of one and a half month, about 24 units of Terminator have been sold, according to its dealer.

But the Indian companies are also in the front line of the battle. They are sending scores of stylish and comfortable and mostly fuel-efficient bikes with reasonable price tags to the Nepalese market.

According to the dealers, there are some 15 Chinese motorbike companies whose products are competing with the Indian bikes in Nepal.

Chongqing North Jianshe Import and Export Trade Company Limited, produces an estimated 200,000 motorcycles a year in collaboration with Japanese Yamaha Motor Company Limited.

We sold 104 new models of Jianshe motorcycles during the last four months, said Neerab Pudasaini, Sales Officer at the Apex International, Thapathali.

"We have ordered another 125 units of free models from China due to their increasing demand", he added.