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Vol.
2 :: No. 09 |
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Business News |
| Touchstone Sales and Service Pvt. Ltd. (TSS), the
authorized agent of Sharp brand of Japanese electronic goods in Nepal, has announced that
it would present two separate annual awards on technology as Sharp Product Excellence in
Science and Sharp Mind Excellence in Technology, from this year. It was announced on the
occasion of the inauguration of the Sharp show room in Lalitpur – after about a month
of the formal launching of the brand in Nepal. According to Bijen Jonchhe, the Managing Director of TSS, the Sharp Product Excellence in Science will be presented for an invention made in Nepal and the Sharp Mind Excellence in Technology to an exceptional talent and personality. Both the awards will also carry a purse of Rs. 100,000 and a citation each. "The awards are in line with Sharp’s practice of honouring technologists, scientists and inventors. And with these awards we hope to contribute to stop the brain-drain that is being experienced as a national concern", says Jonchhe. |
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Sharp has its assembling and manufacturing facilities located at 16 countries and Jonchhe says his company targets to make Sharp the top brand in electronics in Nepal within three years as a step towards making Nepal the 17th country to produce Sharp brand of products.
Transavia Airlines (TA) is to increase its scheduled flights between Kathmandu and Amsterdam from one to two flights every week from mid-September.
According to a release issued by the Dutch carrier, it will operate a Boeing 757 on Monday and Thursday each week with a stopover at Sharjah, UAE.
Many of the additional 430 weekly seats, view company services, will be taken up by travellers going to and from other parts of Europe and USA connecting to the service at Amsterdam.
TA is 80 percent owned by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and mainly operates charter flights and scheduled services from Amsterdam and Rotterdam to some 70 destination in and around the Mediterranean.
Judging by the recent reaction of various employees associations, everybody’s conclusion would be that the privatization policy of the government is totally faulty. Ironically, the associations that have slammed the government like this, are all affiliated to the Nepali Congress party, which was responsible in bringing about the privatization policy in 2048 B.S. At a program organized jointly by the Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC), Nepal Inter-Corporation Employees’ Union (NICEU) and Nepal Financial Institutions’ Employees' Union (NFIEU), employees of various public enterprises presented papers against the latest decision of the government to make adjustments in fringe benefits enjoyed by the employees.
The leaders of the unions cited examples like employees being made redundant, inability of the government to create fresh employment, misuse of finances provided by government banks, and privatized companies showing dwindling productivity to point out that the policy of privatization had, at least in Nepal’s context, not been fruitful. Amrit Mani Poudel, an officer with Nepal Bank Ltd. (NBL) and also the President of NFIEU, stated that this opinion is plainly exemplified by the fact that while NBL boasted of operating profit of about Rs. 200 million during its pre-privatization days, it is now suffering operating loss of an incredible Rs. 3 billion per year. The President of NICEU, Shishir Kumar Jha, however, says that the union leaders are not against the principles of privatization as such but they are against the manner in which the government has been taking decisions on privatization. According to him, prior to enrolling any enterprise into the privatization process, the government’s responsibility is to adequately train the employees of the organization, clarify them about the company’s financial position, conduct timely assessments of the company’s assets, prepare package programs for the benefit of the employees, create competitive environment and carry out the process of privatization in a fair and transparent manner. "Only this will make privatization successful", he added.
The decision of the Ministry of Finance to make adjustments in the fringe benefits earned by employees of various corporation has resulted in a revolt from the employees’ unions since the adjustment would mean a downslide in the cash-in-hand of the employee. So, they are now against the readjustments in salary and have demanded that the number of grades they are entitled to be maintained. They have also demanded for scrapping the policy of privatization and dissolution of corporation, nullification of the tax imposed on the retirement benefits of employees, as well as creation of new posts to accommodate temporary staff serving in different corporations.
And after about a week-long strike which saw almost all public enterprises shut down, the government finally gave in and promised to fulfil the demands put forth by the unions in two months time, subject to recommendations of a five-member committee. The unions in their turn have called off the strike which brought to halt all economic activities in the country. The shut down of especially service sector PEs - banks, Nepal Electricity Authority, Nepal Telecommunication Corporation, Nepal Water Supply Corporation - had accounted for great inconveniences to the general public.
The unions have also warned the government that if their demands are not fulfilled as promised within the stipulated time period, they will again begin their protest programmes.
The BOT (build, operate and transfer) system does seem to have gained favour of the Nepali government in recent times. After handing over responsibilities of developing hydroelectricity projects and construction of airports to the private sector under BOT, HMG has now also decided to entrust the private sector with the task of constructing residential quarters for parliamentarians.
Regarding this latest development, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs with Shradha Shree Trading International (P) Ltd. and Sunita Shrestha and Company (P) Ltd. According to the information availed by the Ministry, the residential area – to be built at a cost of some Rs. 900 million – is to house 230 MPs apart from accommodating secretariats for the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chairman of the National Assembly, leader of the main opposition party as well as the Whips of both the ruling and opposition parties.
The project is targeted to be completed within two years. The residential area so developed will have 80 buildings, each two-storeyed and with 4 flats.
The government, it is informed, will have to invest nothing in the project. After the completion of the project and it being handed over to HMG, the government will stop paying house rent allowance to MPs and the money will be paid to the joint venture. It is learnt that the government will complete paying for the property in between 27 and 37 years, of which the first two years are taken as the grace period. The rate of interest for such deferred payment is taken to be 3% per annum.
The Ministry of Law informs that since the government is required to make payments to the joint-venture in rupees, the depreciation of rupee will not have any effect on the payment scheme. Also, the private party will be responsible for putting together the essential finances. In this context, it is learnt that a company affiliated to London-based Sahara Petroleum is to assume the responsibility of making available the required funds for the project.
The proposed residential area, to be built in a compound spreading over 123 ropanis of land, is to have all modern facilities such as built-in furniture (bed, cupboards, kitchen cabinet), school, children’s playground, recreational centre, open air green park, swimming pool, health club, convention hall, super markets, library, health clinic and so on, thus making all kinds of facilities available within the same compound.
The understanding also provides HMG the right to have a say in the project design, demand full transparency regarding investment and other issues as well as to conduct quality investigation on construction of the project through related authorities.
According to Udaya Nepali Shrestha, Secretary in the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, the final agreement will be reached within three months after which the construction activities will begin.
With the purpose of safeguarding rights related to patent, design and trade mark and also to create awareness among the general public about the issue, Nepali industrialists have constituted an eleven member Nepal Trade Mark Owner’s Association (NTMOA) Ad-hoc Committee.
It was made known in a press meet that while Ajad Shrestha is the Chairman of the committee, Mahesh Jaju and Pradeep Regmi hold the position of Vice-chairman and Secretary respectively. Other members of the committee are Rabindra Shrestha, Subodh Gautam, Basanta Chaudhary, Vijaya Dugar, Prakash Sharma, Shiva Ratan Sharda, Rajendra Dhakal and Kumud Dugar.
Nepal Electrical Association will be organizing Electro Tech 2000 – the third international Electric – Electrical Exhibition and Symposium – from November 29 to December 3, at Bhrikuti Mandap.
It was informed at a press meet that the exhibition, with the theme 'Prosperity through Electricity', would be participated in by over 15,000 technicians, engineers, consultants and businessmen. The five-day event is also expected to attract in excess of 125 thousand visitors.
It was also made known at the meet that Nepal Bangladesh Bank, Alliance Insurance Company Ltd., Eastern Clearing Agency, Newa Travels and Tours Pvt. Ltd., Kantipur Publications Pvt. Ltd., and Unlimited Numedia are the official agencies of the show. Nepal Electricity Authority, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Nepal Chamber of Commerce have pledged support to the event.
Nepal has been declared by the government of the People’s Republic of China as its ninth international outbound tourists destination. This means that Nepal is the first such destination in the whole of South Asia where Chinese can go as tourists.
A press release issued by the Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture, however, states that the concerned authorities of the two countries will have to agree on the modality of Chinese tourists coming into Nepal, thus indicating that it will be sometime before the Chinese actually begin visiting Nepal as tourists.
Meanwhile, several tourism related organizations including Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), Nepal Association of Travel Agents (NATA), and Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) have welcomed the latest development.
Nepali and British trade associations and authorities are trying to promote Nepali carpets in British market which at present accounts for a mere 2.1% of Nepal’s total carpet exports.
In a joint effort from Nepal-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NBCCI), the British Embassy in Nepal, Central Carpet Industries Association (CCIA) of Nepal and British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB), 24 Nepali carpets made with British and Tibetan Wool are being displayed in Harrogate Floor Coverings and Furnishing Fair being held during September 5-7 in Harrogate, UK.
The new development is a result of proposals from BWMB, which had recently sent a delegation to Nepal to promote the use of British wool in Nepali carpets. The British agency is now using its good offices to promote Nepali carpets among the British buyers. For this, the Board has provided a stall in the fair free of cost for the display of Nepali carpets.
According to information revealed at a press conference in Kathmandu to announce the mission, a number of Nepali carpet manufacturers are to visit the Harrogate Fair. They will be accompanied by AG Sherpa, President of CCIA, Andrew Mitchell, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Nepal, Purna Man Shakya, Vice-President of CCIA, Sulo Shah of Formation Carpets and Ashish Sengupta of NBCCI.
It was also informed on the occasion that 200 personal letters of invitation are sent to British importers and retailers requesting them to visit the Nepali stand at Harrogate.
According to Rajendra Khetan, President of NBCCI, out of the total value of US$ 142 million generated from carpet exports from Nepal in the fiscal year 1999-2000, only US$ 52,000 was from exports to Britain.
Under the current project, BWMB donated 400 Kg of British wool to Nepal which was distributed to different carpet manufacturers to make carpets blending it with Tibetan wool in various proportions.
In this connection, a website (nepalcarpets.uk.com) has been developed by EverestNet free of cost, it is learnt.
Lok Manya Golchha has been selected Chairman of Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).
The 24th AGM of the association held recently has selected Rohini Thapaliya as its first Vice-Chairman, Purushottam Niraula the second Vice-Chairman, Jahasingh Kothari the General Secretary and Bhai Raja Shrestha the Treasurer.
The other members of the association’s new executive committee are Ashok Upreti, Sunil Khetan, Bindu Ratna Tuladhar, Navin Bir Singh, Siddharth Sumsher JBR and Motilal Dugar.
Guaranteeing a 10 percent dividend to the shareholders of Nepal Coal Ltd. (NCL) every year, Salt Trading Corporation Limited (STCL) has taken over the management of NCL.
NCL is one of the sick and dying second generation public sector corporations. The government does not have direct stake in NCL whose major shareholders are other public corporations like STCL.
In all, STCL has some 8,500 shares in NCL. One of the few public sector corporations running on profit, STCL also has controlling stakes or management responsibilities in Nepal Vegetable Ghee Industry Ltd., Gorakhkali Rubber Industry Ltd., Morang Sugar Mills Ltd., and Nepal Yarn Industry, among others.
Due to various reasons including the Maoist insurgency, the security threat for business in Nepal has been growing steadily and has reached the ‘medium level’, according to an international expert.
| Delivering a talk to over 60 eminent persons representing
diplomatic community, security services and business, Daniel P Huntington, a Security and
Risk Management Expert from Neil Young Associates, a British Company specializing in
Crisis Management, warned that Nepal is fast losing its previous distinction of being a
peaceful country. The program was organized by Group 4 Securitas Nepal (P) Ltd. On the occasion, Huntington shed light on the need for assessment of threat level and use of observation, alertness and security awareness in detecting it and adopting security measures accordingly. |
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The Nepal Banker’s Association has elected D.C. Khanna, the Managing Director of Nepal Arab Bank as its Chairman. According to a release issued by the association, the Managing Director of Nepal Bangladesh Bank, Narendra Bhattarai has been chosen as the association’s Vice Chairman while other members are Nepal Development Bank Chairman Uttam Pun, Rastriya Banijya Bank Executive Chairman Punya Prasad Dahal, General Manager of Nepal Grindlays Bank R. J. Cox, General Manager of Nepal Bank Ltd. Bhavani Devi Sharma, and Executive Vice Chairman of Bank of Kathmandu Manoj Goyal.
Kathmandu Utsav-2000
| Kathmandu Utsav, one of the few national level
consumer fairs of Nepal, is to shift its venue from the traditional and congested Bhrikuti
Mandap to spacious and centrally located Tundikhel this year. According to Everest Exhibitions, the organizers of the event, exhibitors from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Japan will be displaying their products in this first consumer fair of this year being held before the Dashain and Tihar festivals, when the Nepalis are in the best shopping mood of the year. The days of the event (11-17 September) are timed in such a way that there are three government holidays during the period and it is just when the government employees get Dashain bonus. |
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However, the Kathmandu Utsav-2000 is not going to be only a consumer fair limited to festival buys. Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar, Managing Director of Everest Exhibitions, says the items on the exhibition will range from ‘gift items to automobile products and from fashion accessories to electronic equipment".
A wide range of Indian handicraft will be put on display under the banner of "Discover India". The other significant representation in the exhibition will be from Japanese electronic company SHARP, which launched its products in Nepal only recently.
By moving to Tundikhel from Bhrikuti Mandap, where the event used to be held annually for the last five years, Kathmandu Utsav gains valuable space (100,000 square feet in Tundikhel against 35,000 square feet in Bhrikuti Mandap). But, the company has to bear the extra cost for putting up a covered hall in the open Tundikhel grounds. By this step, the organizers have also tried to indicate that the scale of the event has really expanded now in comparison to the previous years.
The organizers are targeting to attract 200,000 plus visitors to visit 130 stalls of the fair. The turnout of visitors in the last year’s Kathmandu Utsav had crossed 100,000 mark. The recreational events included in this year’s fair are the same as in the previous year, but "involvement of reputed professionals in these events will make them more popular this year", as Rajkarnikar says.
The cabinet meeting has decided to make an increment by over a 100 percent in the salary of ministers, MPs, Judges of the Supreme Court and office bearers of the constitutional bodies.
The increase will see the Prime Minister draw monthly salary of Rs. 22,000, Deputy Prime Minister Rs. 18,000, Ministers Rs. 17,000, State Ministers Rs. 16,500 and Assistant Ministers Rs. 16,000. Similarly, the Supreme Court Chief Justice will now receive Rs. 21,000 and other judges Rs. 17,000.
Also, while the monthly pay of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the National Assembly have been fixed at Rs. 19,000, that of the Deputy Speaker and Vice Chairman have been fixed at Rs. 16,000. Moreover, the leader of the main opposition party in the House of Representatives, the National Assembly’s ruling party leader, opposition leaders, and Chief Whips will now be drawing Rs. 17,000 each month.
While the monthly pay of Whips, Chairman of parliamentary committees and parliamentarians has reached Rs. 15,200, their housing allowance has been fixed at Rs. 6,500. Including all facilities, an MP’s cash-in-hand will now amount to Rs. 30,000 every month.
As per the new adjustment, heads of constitutional bodies will now be receiving Rs. 16,000 each month while other officials will be drawing Rs. 15,000.
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