December 27, Kathmandu. 

Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE)’s much awaited new feature that allows the investors to see the ‘market depth’ online will be implemented from Sunday.

It will enable the investors to get knowledge about the position of buying and selling orders of listed companies in the NEPSE. “They need not to depend on the securities brokers to know about the transactions of shares of any companies,” said Sita Ram Thapaliya, general manager of NEPSE.

Only the securities brokers had been enjoying the facility so far.

According to Thapaliya, NEPSE introduced the feature with the objective of allowing the investors to have more information about the market and make the securities market more transparent.

Market depth refers to the number of open buy and sell orders for a security or currency at different prices with real time updates.

According to Investopedia, an online dictionary, the depth of market measure provides an indication of the liquidity and depth for the respective securities.

 NEPSE has completed all preparations to introduce the market depth by Saturday evening.

The investors now can get the information about the buy and sell orders, set price, and net demand and supply of shares of companies they would like to buy.

All these information will be available online at the NEPSE website.

Investors in most of the countries can see the market depth. However, NEPSE introduced this facility to the Nepalese investors after about two decades of its establishment. 

CIAA to investigate into 'Transformer Explosion'

December 27, Kathmandu.

The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has started to investigate into the cases of blast of transformers.

It has formed a special team to look into the explosion of transformers and electronic wires after the corruption watchdog received hundreds of complaints from common people that they couldn’t even prepare their food because of weeklong power outage in their area.

Krishna Hari Pushkar, spokesperson of the CIAA, confirmed that the anti-graft body had received complaints from various locations and said that the special team would try to look into them.

According to the CIAA, the team would try to find out the causes behind the transformers' explosion and load-shedding of electricity in the places where it was supposed to be supplied as per the NEA's schedule.

The special team includes CIAA officers, engineers, lawyers, procurement specialists, security personnel and representatives from other concerned agencies.

People lodged their complaints at the CIAA after the Hello Sarkar, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Ministry of Energy and local bodies turned a dead ear to their woes.

‘Hello Sarkar’ is a special cell at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers which hears the grievances of the people and directs the concerned authorities to take necessary actions to address them.

Initially, the investigation team will probe into the cases in the valley and explore the cases in other cities as well, if required.

More than 500 transformers exploded in the past three months.

The demand of electricity has surged to 1,850 megawatt from 1,200 mw after the shortage of petroleum oil and cooking gas following the Indian blockade on Indo-Nepal border.

NEA, the electricity monopoly in the country, has extended the blackout to 77 hours per week from this week. 

Nepal-China signed oil trade deal

December 26, Kathmandu.

Nepal and China Friday signed an agreement to promote a long-term trade of petroleum oil and cooking gas.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, in a bilateral meeting in Beijing Friday afternoon, signed on an agreement to that effect.

According to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), China has expressed its willingness to seriously examine Nepal's proposals for importation of petroleum products from China and has advised the respective companies of the two countries to jointly examine the matters relating to price, transportation and other logistics.

“As a friendly gesture, China will make available additional fuel to northern areas of Nepal bordering Tibet Autonomous Region,” read the statement.

Signing an eight-point agreement with its southern neighbour, China agreed to hold discussions with the Nepal government to find the long term solution of the current energy crisis.

The two sides agreed to expand and consolidate bilateral cooperation focusing mainly on trade, transit, investment, energy, tourism, and infrastructure development.

According to the MoFA, Nepal and China agreed to upgrade and operationalize the existing border points to promote connectivity between the two countries.

The Chinese side has agreed to give priority to the reopening of the Tatopani-Zhangmu border point, which has been disrupted after the devastating earthquake in April 25.

The northern neighbour said that it would provide additional facilities for the cross-border trade of Nepalese goods, and also consented to assist Nepal to tap the possibilities in the international trade. 

Both of the countries have agreed to task the inter-governmental mechanisms to advance negotiations on the proposals on free trade area, transit and Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (BIPPA) which were discussed during the meeting.

Similarly, China has lifted the travel advisories issued in the context of earthquake in Nepal immediately after the meeting.

In response, DPM Thapa announced that Nepal would waive visa fees for Chinese tourists.

Likewise, the northern neighbour said that it would soon take up the agreed projects for post-disaster reconstruction as per its pledged assistance during the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction.

“China has announced its willingness to support Nepal’s industrialization process through reconstruction,” read the press statement.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi and Chinese Vice Minister for Commerce Zhang Xiangchen, signed the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation under which China would make available 900 million RMB as grant assistance for the implementation of the projects of repair and maintenance of Araniko Highway and other projects.

The assistance was announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his meeting with the then Nepalese President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav in March 2015 in Boao, Hainan.

The Chinese Foreign Minister expressed China’s strong desire to see a peaceful, stable and prosperous Nepal and promised for continuous assistance to Nepal to support its development endeavours, informed MoFA.

Meanwhile, China extended an invitation to the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to visit China at an early date. According to the MoFA, there will be a high-level visit from China to Nepal as well next year.

DPM Thapa is in Beijing for a 6-day official visit on Wang’s invitation.

He is the first senior cabinet member to pay an official visit to China after the formation of new government following the promulgation of constitution.

He is leading a 9-member delegation that includes Minister for Law and Justice Agni Kharel and secretaries from MoFA, Ministry of Commerce and Supplies and Ministry of Finance. 

Oil deal with China at any cost: Minister Pun

December 23, Kathmandu.

Minister for Commerce and Supplies Ganesh Man Pun Tuesday said that the government would ink an oil trade deal with China at any cost.

Speaking to the journalists at the Ministry, Pun informed that the government had observed oil refinery, port, road and border transit of the northern neighbour in the past two months. "The process was delayed because it demanded talks at the government level."

According to Minister Pun, Nepal has urged China to operate the Tatopani-Khasa border at the earliest. "Even during the sideline meeting with the Chinese minister at the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s Ministerial Meeting in Nairobi, we specially urged to bring Tatopani border to operation."

Updating the journalists about his recent participation in the 10^th WTO Ministerial Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, he claimed that the government used the global forum to internationalize the issue of Indian blockade and short supply of essential goods including fuel and cooking gas.

"Many Landlocked and Least Developed Countries (LLDCs) like Nepal still find it difficult to enjoy even the fundamental rights of transit and free access to sea. Periodic hardships and hassles in the utilization of transit transport facilities come to their misery under one or the other pretext. As any disruption in transit transport is tantamount to cutting the vital lifeline of an LLDC economy, we stress that there must be a guarantee of unobstructed transit transport connectivity for all landlocked countries at all times," read the Minister's statement presented at the summit.

"Even the Indian minister and government officials realized the troubles that Nepalese people are currently going through. As a landlocked nation, we discussed the issue with all the LLDCs," he said.

Minister Pun led a Nepalese delegation to the meeting which included secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya and other government officials.

Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya, secretary at the MoCS, said that the government was committed to curbing the black marketing and ease the supply of fuel and other essential goods.