Govt Businesses Post Higher Losses

Among 39 state enterprises 21 made a net profit of nearly Rs. 4 billion in fiscal year 1999/2000 but most of that was gobbled up by nearly 1.6 billion net loss sustained by the rest of the enterprises, according to the Finance Ministry.

An annual document released by the Ministry projects reduced profit of Rs. 2.8 billion in fiscal year 2000-01 that ended on mid-July 2001 while the losses are set to rise to nearly 2.6 billion.

The figures, however, do not include the information about four other enterprises- Hetauda Textile, Nepal Transport Corporation, Rastriya Beema Sansthan and Bhaktapur Bricks. There are altogether 43 enterprises owned by the government about which the Ministry used to provide information annually in the past.

While looking at the information provided this year, it seems that trading, finance and communication sector are most profitable ones. However, the finance sector PEs as a whole suffered 43.6% of net capital employed as operating loss in Fiscal Year 1999/2000 due to over a billion rupees operating loss of Rastriya Banijya Bank. In trading sector, the profit was almost entirely due to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and National Trading Ltd. But for 2000-01, NOC is projected to incur a loss of over one billion rupees.

Among the manufacturing sector PEs, there were two units (Hetauda Cement and Royal Drugs) that posted profits in 1998/99, but both of them incurred losses in the following year and their losses are projected to be even higher in 2000-01.

In 1998/99, the government received Rs. 357.8 million as dividend from PEs and that comes to be 1.99% of the share capital invested in them by the government, according to the Finance Ministry’s report.

Profitable PEs ?

(Net Profit or loss in Rs. hundred thousand)

Source: Finance Ministry

StanChart Nepal Formalized

Nepal Grindlays Bank Ltd. (NGBL), the Nepali subsidiary of Grindlays Bank, changed its name to Standrad Chartered Bank Nepal Ltd. (SCBN), after nearly one year of its principal being acquired by Standard Chartered Bank Group, whose core businesses are consumer and wholesale banking.

The relevant resolution to change the name was adopted at the 14th AGM of the bank held in June. Scheduled initially to be held in March 2001, the AGM was disrupted over the proposed dividend. The reconvened AGM has approved the 100% dividend proposed by the Board.

The bank is also to experience yet another change from July 26 when CEO RJ Cox leaves at the completion of his tenure handing over the mantle to Rajeev Kulkarni.

More With ISO

Nepal-Germany joint venture company, Nepal Bayern Electric (NBE), has received ISO 9002 and ISO 14001 certificates related respectively to quality and environment.

Established in 1993 as a joint venture between Nepal’s Naryani Group (of Hotel Narayani) and Germany’s Wust GMBH, NBE exports electronic components used in satellite, automobiles and others to Europe. According to German ambassador Rudiger Lemp, Nepal’s exports of electronic parts to Germany exceed one million US dollars per year.

Meanwhile, Swadeshi Cable Industries (P) Ltd. producers of the brand Janta Cable, has received ISO 9002:1994 certificate related to quality management system.

Similarly, Hulas Steel Industries (P) Ltd. also has joined the club of ISO certified Nepali industrial units not falling much behind some of its competitors in receiving the global quality accreditation.

According to the company sources, the ISO 9001:2000 related to quality management systems is awarded to its structure and pole division for design, manufacture, supply and installation of steel structure and poles.

By New Business Age Reporter

Business Community Selects New Leadership

Keeping the understanding reached two years ago, the Nepali business community unanimously accepted Ravi Bhakta Shrestha as the president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the apex chamber of the country. Still, the threat of disunity in the community is not dissipated, as indicated by the failure to reach similar consensus in electing the four vice-presidents. Voting that had to be resorted to in electing the VPs is likely to make it more difficult to the new President to pursue his agenda of unity, it is pointed out.

However, as the president as well as all the vice-presidents come from the younger generation (the princes of the business houses, as one of the former Presidents of FNCCI calls them), and each has already garnered sufficient experiences in various capacities within FNCCI in the past, the community is still hopeful and expects that the committees to be formed under the Federation will help to take care of possible grumblings.

The New President of FNCCI has reiterated his commitment towards team spirit and to set up separate units to look after district and local chambers and commodity associations.

That the FNCCI was too much oriented towards district and local chambers, has been the major point raised by a section of business community that was speeding up, just before the FNCCI election, with its own plan to form a separate national level Chamber of Nepalese Industries (CNI). But there have been no further developments reported in that exercise.

Similarly, the binational chambers also have formed an ad hoc committee to set up their own separate federation, and interestingly, the Chairman of this ad hoc committee, Narendra Basnyat, is among those who lost the election for FNCCI Vice-President.

Others who lost the election included Diwakar Golchha (who was second Vice-President in the last Executive Committee) and Krishna Prasad Tamrakar (who comes from district chamber background).

Dr. Gopal Prasad Shrestha (another loser in the VP election) represents United Insurance, a unit in which new President Shrestha is the Chairman of the Board and shares business interest with Binod Kumar Chaudhary, who is leading the rebel group that is forming the CNI. However, Chandi Dhakal, one of Chaudhary’s long-time friends, has managed to be elected the third Vice-President.

FNCCI VPs are elected from among the executive committee members who in turn are elected from their respective constituencies of district/local chambers, commodity associations, associate members (large corporate bodies) and binational chambers.

New Leadership in FNCCI Ravi Bhakta Shrestha, (President) : Firm in his commitment, Patient. Comes with background in manufacturing, trading, tourism, banking and insurance among others.
Binod Bahadur Shrestha, (1st Vice-President) : Was one of the Vice-Presidents in the previous executive committee. Has business interest in trading, airlines, finance, carpets, housing and the like.
Rajendra Kumar Khetan (2nd Vice-President) : Specialist in labour relations as Chairman of the Employers Council in the Previous Executive Committee. Is to look after Revenue Affairs in the new Executive Committee. Comes from Khetan Group, a business house involved in banking, finance, insurance, brewery, instant noodles and trading.
Chandi Raj Dhakal (3rd Vice President) : Specialist in labour relations as former Chairman of the Employers Council. Comes from export sector (readymade garments).
Suraj Vaidya, (Chairman, Employers’ Council, and Ex-Officio Vice-President) : Specialist in agri-business. Comes from a business house involved in vehicles trading and agri-businesses among others.

Business news | Legal side | I-Tech | Corporate | Cover Feature | HR Focus | Economy & Policy | Editorial | Personality | Showbiz | Interview | Last Word | Sectoral | Marketing | World Trends | Stock Taking | No Laugh | Poll | Tourism | Main | Past |

Send your feedback to the editor: bizline@mos.com.np 1999 © Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd. P.O. Box 876, Durbar Marg, Kathmandu, NEPAL. Tel : 977 1 220 773, 243 566 . Fax: 977 1 225 407. Reproduction in any form is prohibited without prior permission. No part of the articles which appear in the internet version on NEW BUSINESSAGE may be reproduced without the permission of Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd. For reprinting rights, please write to us.  Send us your feedback:contact us . This site is best viewed at : 800 X 600 resolution