VOL. 04, NO. 17, Feb 25 2011 (Falgun 23, 2067)

The efforts to finalize rules on credit rating have reached final stage. The Securities Exchange Board of Nepal (SEBON) had solicited suggestions on the rule from the Nepal Rastra Bank and Insurance Board recently. “Since they have sent their suggestions, our efforts to finalize the rules are nearly complete now,” said Niraj Giri, director at the SEBON. The rules will now be sent over to the Ministry of Finance for final approval before it is adopted. In the rules, the investment – between 25 to 75 percent shares – from a recognized foreign credit rating agency with at least five years of experience has been made mandatory for any credit rating agency to be allowed to operate here. “This is because we want the credibility of these agencies to be good,” said Mukti Nath Shrestha, deputy director at the Board.

Power Cuts Lead To 50 PC Drop In Ad

Due to long hours of load shedding, advertisements in electronic media have decreased by almost one half. The victims of this situation have been the FM radios and television channels. If the hours of load shedding increase from current 14 to 16 hours a day, the advertisements will drop by 60 percent, according to immediate past president of Advertisement Agencies Association of Nepal, Nirmal Raj Poudel. Ranjit Acharya, chief executive officer of Prisma Advertising, said that due to the load shedding, the agencies have reduced the ads to television by one half already. In total, the ad market is said to have shrunk by 30 to 35 percent.

Ashok Rana Is New NBA Prez

Ashok Rana, the Chief Executive Officer of Himalayan Bank Limited, has been elected as the 15th President of Nepal Bankers Association (NBA).  He defeated nearest rival Sashin Joshi, CEO of NIC Bank and immediate past president, by 21 votes to 11. Executive chiefs of 30 banks and three development banks who are members of the NBA voted to elect their president for a two-year term. Rana has been elected as the president of NBA at a time when banks are facing difficult challenges with the persistent liquidity crunch and spiralling interest rates.

Budhi Gandaki To Be Completed In Three Years

Amid deepening energy crisis, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is preparing to launch the Budhi Gandaki storage project of 600 MW strength. The project site is located around 68 km away from the capital valley. According to cost estimates, the project could cost around $ 1.5 billion. Earlier, the project was pipelined to start in eight years. The study of NEA indicated that 225 m tall dam needs to be constructed  near Benighat of Dhading district for this project.

Budget in Baisakh!

The officials of the Ministry of Finance are preparing to bring budget in Baisakh. The change in the fiscal year is being mulled in order to better spend the development expenditure. In the current fiscal timeframe, a new year starts in July. But this calendar was shown to have many weaknesses including the reduced spending.

Banks Lose Rs 280 M In Janamaitri Hospital

A number of banks are set to lose Rs 280 million they invested in the Janamaitri Hospital operated by people close to the Maoist party. Eleven commercial banks have invested Rs 280 million in this hospital in 2065. The hospital has paid only around Rs 7 million as principle and interest till date. The Nepal Rastra Bank has asked the banks to count their investment in the hospital as bad debts.