551 Nepalis reach safe locations from Ukraine

Kathmandu, Mar. 4

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) informed on Friday evening that 551 Nepali nationals have reached neighbouring countries from Ukraine which is under war following an invasion from Russia.

Of them, 403 have reached Poland, 71 Slovakia, 27 Romania, 6 Hungary and 4 Moldova, the ministry said in a statement. "Considering the security situation in Ukraine, facilitation work is ongoing to take Nepalis to safer locations. Most of the Nepalis in the country have been transferred to safe places," said the MoFA.

Nepali Embassy in Berlin, Germany which is accredited to Ukraine, and Nepali Embassy in Moscow have been mobilised to rescue Nepali people from the east European nation. Embassy in Berlin in cooperation with Non-Resident Nepali Association and Nepali diaspora is helping Nepalis in getting out from Ukraine.

"Nepalis remaining in Ukraine are moving to the west part of the country which is considered comparatively safer while some are in the process to reaching the neighbouring nations," read the statement.

Nepal government has requested the governments in Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland to support in rescuing its citizens from Ukraine. According to the MoFA, those countries have extended the necessary support to the rescue work.

 A committee chaired by Nepali Ambassador and comprising vice-president of the NRNA is active in the rescue work. Nepali community is managing food, lodging and primary health care for Nepalis in various locations, said the ministry.

Ram Kaji Khadka, Nepal's Ambassador to Germany and Ukraine has reached Poland to help in the rescue work.

Meanwhile, India has responded positively to the government's call to bring Nepalis back home via air service the former is operating to rescue its citizens in Ukraine. Nepali Embassy in Berlin is coordinating with the Indian Embassy there for the same while Romania has pledged necessary help to allow Nepalis to reach to the aircraft.

Likewise, the government is trying to get help from the International Organization for Migration in facilitating Nepalis to get back to their home, MoFA said in the statement. 

Nepalis who got out from Ukraine and are taken refuge in various countries across Europe can contact Sahara Chaulagain in Berlin Embassy at +491709808063 and eonberlin@mofa.gov.np.

Meanwhile, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Narayan Khadka received a telephone call from Lord Ahmad, State Minister of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingom, Friday afternoon.

During the telephone conversation, various matters relating to Nepal-UK bilateral relations and cooperation were discussed, said the Ministry.

The two sides exchanged views on cooperation in regional and multilateral forums, including in the area of climate change.

  Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 5 March 2022.  

NEPSE ready for IPO

Kathmandu, Mar. 4

Chief Executive Officer of the Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) Krishna Bahadur Karki said that if the government allowed, the company was ready to advance for the Initial Public Offering (IPO).

"NEPSE should be able to cater to the need of the market and develop its technological and administrative structure as per the requirement. If required, it can go for an IPO," he said while speaking with journalists at an interaction on capital market organised by NEPSE in cooperation with Nepal Association of Financial Journalists (NAFIJ).

The newly appointed chief of the NEPSE said that the new stock exchange should be established with due consideration of the Nepali capital market. He also maintained that for the time being, NEPSE should be able to cater to the need of the market.

Stating that he has accorded priority to the policy and legal reforms for the development of capital market, Karki said that the company should be technologically sound to cater its services to the growing number of investors.

He said that NEPSE will facilitate the expansion of share markets to the rural levels with the development of new and efficient software infrastructure.

Acting Manager of NEPSE Niranjan Phuyal said that Pakistan had integrated three different stock exchanges into one and invited foreign strategic partner in the company. Bangladesh has also invited a Chinese company as a partner in its national stock exchange.

He said that NEPSE and CDS and Clearing Limited could be strengthened in the same way with the support from the foreign strategic partners.

According to Phuyal, the restructuring and strengthening of the brokerage industry, minimising their risk, and adding services to their job portfolio should be the priority. Likewise, intra-day trading, auction market, derivative market and index fund are the other areas that need attention.

Chief Executive Officer of CDSC Purna Prasad Acharya said that the last one and a half years had witnessed an exponential growth in the capital market with demat account reaching 5 million from earlier about 1.5 million and opening of 4.1 million Mero Share accounts.

"Attraction is still growing and we have technological challenge to meet the demand. Hence, we are developing an efficient application to facilitate the investors in their transactions," he said.

He said that revenue collection from the share market has been increased in recent years. The government had collected Rs.14.14 billion revenue from share market last year, and it has collected Rs. 8.9 billion by the end of the first seven months of the current fiscal year. 

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 5 March 2022.  

MCC interpretative announcement - Full Text

 Expressing concern also about the potential impact of the conflict on increased food insecurity globally, as Ukraine and the region are one of the world’s most important areas for grain and agricultural exports, when millions of people are facing famine or the immediate risk of famine or are experiencing severe food insecurity in several regions of the world, as well as on energy security,

Welcoming the continued efforts by the Secretary-General and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and other international and regional organizations to support de-escalation of the situation with respect to Ukraine, and encouraging continued dialogue,

1. Reaffirms its commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters;

2. Deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine in violation of Article 2 (4) of the Charter;

3. Demands that the Russian Federation immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine and to refrain from any further unlawful threat or use of force against any Member State;

4. Also demands that the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders;

5.  Deplores the 21 February 2022 decision by the Russian Federation related to the status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine as a violation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and inconsistent with the principles of the Charter;

6. Demands that the Russian Federation immediately and unconditionally reverse the decision related to the status of certain areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine;

7. Calls upon the Russian Federation to abide by the principles set forth in the Charter and the Declaration on Friendly Relations; 1

8. Calls upon the parties to abide by the Minsk agreements and to work constructively in relevant international frameworks, including in the Normandy format and Trilateral Contact Group, towards their full implementation;

9. Demands all parties to allow safe and unfettered passage to destinations outside of Ukraine and to facilitate the rapid, safe and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance for those in need in Ukraine, to protect civilians, including humanitarian personnel and persons in vulnerable situations, including women, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, migrants and children, and to respect human rights;

10. Deplores the involvement of Belarus in this unlawful use of force against Ukraine, and calls upon it to abide by its international obligations;

11. Condemns all violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, and calls upon all parties to respect strictly the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Additional Protocol I thereto of 1977, 3 as applicable, and to respect international human rights law, and in this regard further demands that all parties ensure respect for and the protection of all medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities;

12. Demands that all parties fully comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law to spare the civilian population, and civilian objects, refraining from attacking, destroying, removing or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, and respecting and protecting humanitarian personnel and consignments used for humanitarian relief operations;

13. Requests the Emergency Relief Coordinator to provide, 30 days after the adoption of the present resolution, a report on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and on the humanitarian response;

14. Urges the immediate peaceful resolution of the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine through political dialogue, negotiations, mediation and other peaceful means;

15. Welcomes and urges the continued efforts by the Secretary-General, Member States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and other international and regional organizations to support the de-escalation of the current situation, as well as the efforts of the United Nations, including of the United Nations Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine, and humanitarian organizations to respond to the humanitarian and refugee crisis that the aggression by the Russian Federation has created;

16. Decides to adjourn the eleventh emergency special session of the General Assembly temporarily and to authorize the President of the General Assembly to resume its meetings upon request from Member States.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 March 2022.  

NCC seeks Nepali goods’ market in Botswana

Kathmandu, Mar. 3

Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has proposed a partnership in bilateral trade and investment with Botswana, a country in southern Africa.

In a meeting with Botswana Ambassador to Nepal Gilbert Shimane Mangole at the NCC Secretariat in the Capital on Thursday, President Rajendra Malla proposed the trade partnership.

According to Malla, Nepali producers and traders want to export handicraft products, pashmina, herbs and tea to Botswana. “Nepal can also be a good destination of tourism and investment for Botswana people,” he said.

He urged the visiting ambassador, who is residential envoy in New Delhi, India, to promote investment in Nepal’s hydropower in Botswana. He said that many countries are investing in hydroelectricity, physical infrastructure and service sector in Nepal so Botswana businesspeople can look for the possibility of investment in those areas.

He also urged to make initiatives for trade facilitation and high level exchanges between the two countries.

Malla said that Nepal can import raw diamond from Botswana and export them after processing here locally. Botswana is famous for products like diamonds and copper. “We can boost trade and investment ties overcoming the geographical distance,” he said.

Ambassador Mangole said that he would take initiatives to find investment and trade opportunities in Nepal. “I will take initiatives for trade facilitation between the two countries. I will talk with our private sector to find markets of Nepali goods in Botswana,” he said.

Nepal and Botswana had established diplomatic ties in 2009.

Meanwhile, President of Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association Manik Ratna Shakya is nominated for the working committee of the NCC. The chamber has nominated Shakya as the representative from the commodity associations. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 March 2022.  

Finance Ministry issues 11-pont directives to SEBON, NEPSE

Kathmandu, Mar. 2

The Ministry of Finance has directed the newly appointed chairman of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON) and chief executive officer of Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (NEPSE) to create environment where the manufacturing and infrastructure sector companies could raise money for their investment.

Issuing an 11-point directives to Chairman of SEBON, Ramesh Hamal and CEO of NEPSE, Krishna Bahadur Karki, Minister for Finance Janardan Sharma asked them not to work under the pressure or influence of any.

“People are investing in the capital market. Now the SEBON and NEPSE should pay attention to channelising the money to the large projects. The current need is to manage investment for the national pride projects,” he said.

The Minister also urged not to do any politics in the capital market and let it run independently. He directed them to discourage the malpractices in the market.

“No one informed me about the circular transaction, pump and dump and insider trading in the share market while I joined the office, however, I have tried to bring them into the legal jurisdiction. I hope there won’t be such malpractices in the market from now on,” he said.

The Ministry’s directive includes the issues of the entry of small investors in the capital market, protecting the small investors active in the market, giving priority to the OTC market, enhancing mutual cooperation between the SEBON and NEPSE, facilitating new companies to be listed in the stock market, increasing the capacity of the brokers, and increasing the capacity of the software.

Likewise, opening the capital market for the small companies and start-ups, developing SME and OTC market, reforming the system to allow intra-day transaction and short selling, launching automation auction, and preparing ‘sub-broker’ model are included in the directives.

The ministry also wants large cap index, mid cap index and small cap index in the share market.

Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini expressed his hope that the new leadership would lead the capital market on the path of positive development. Revenue Secretary Krishna Hari Pushkar said that the Nepal’s capital market should be competitive with the international markets.

Hamal said that he would implement programmes of financial literacy so that the investors wouldn’t be influenced by the rumours in the market. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 3 March 2022. 

MCC acknowledges decision to ratify grant support

 Kathmandu, Mar. 2

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has acknowledged Nepal’s decision to ratify the MCC Compact of US$500 million grant from the parliament.

The Federal Parliament has decided to ratify the agreement on February 27.

“The decision to ratify the Nepal Compact has always rested with the Government of Nepal as a sovereign democratic nation. Ratification of the compact enables work to continue towards implementing the five-year programme, which will create the conditions for a more reliable supply of electricity, lower transportation costs, and help create more jobs for the Nepali people,” the MCC said in a statement on Wednesday.

Nepal had signed the MCC grant in 2017 after determining its goals to modernise Nepal’s energy and transportation sectors.

This year marks the 75th year of diplomatic relations between Nepal and the United States.

“MCC and the American people have stood with Nepal through these changes and supported the country with development aid, disaster response and preparedness assistance, health and education programmes, and more,” read the statement.

The United States’ relationship with Nepal is broader than one agreement, and we will continue to support the country, its democratic values, and its long-term economic prosperity.

Meanwhile, Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) has urged for the effective implementation of the MCC project.

“The transmission line will support the energy trade thus attract investment in the energy sector while the upgradation of the road will facilitate in easy trade,” it said in a statement.

NCC President Rajendra Malla said that the 400KV transmission line from Shankharapur-Ratamte-Damauli-Butwal and substations can be a milestone for the cross-border energy trade.

“This project will help create employment and economic growth. Therefore, all stakeholders should join hands to make it a success. In the same line, environment should be created to complete the national pride projects in time,” he said. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 3 March 2022. 

NIBL celebrates 36th anniversary

Kathmandu, Feb. 27

Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) has completed its 36 years in service.

The bank celebrated its 36^th year in operation by conducting a series of social, sports and financial awareness programmes, it said in a statement on Sunday.

A blood donation programme was organised on Sunday at the bank’s head office.

“Likewise, a 36^th anniversary special fixed deposit scheme titled “Gajjab Chha Fixed Deposit” which multiplies the deposited amount by 6 in 20 years was launched with the intention of promoting financial stability and saving habits amongst our clients,” read the statement.

On the occasion, the bank also launched its fourth comic book titled “Bachat garne kaida, digital banking ko faida”. This comic is part of a series and in line with the previous three comics; "Hamro sukha dukha ka sathi, bank kati jaati”, “A Visit to the Zoo” and “Bank Sangako Naata, Mero Aafnai Bachat Khata” promoting financial literacy throughout.

The bank has 88 branches, 131 ATMs, 21 extension counters, 10 revenue collection counters and 58 branchless banking counters.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 28 February 2022.