KATHMANDU: Economic Digest, a daily morning email digest, is basically a relatable summation of important business news from Nepal into easy-to-understand summaries.

Nepal to ‘export’ power to Bangladesh after five years

Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali has said it will take at least five years for his country to supply electricity to Bangladesh.

Gyawali, speaking to media after a meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart AK Abdul Momen during his Dhaka visit recently, said he discussed issues including energy cooperation with his Bangladeshi counterpart.

Bangladesh had signed a memorandum of understanding with Nepal and an Indian company, GMR Energy, to import 500MW power through a cross-country grid.

Minister Gyawali said it would take at least five years for GMR to complete the hydropower project since it was relatively a big one. The two foreign ministers said they also discussed connectivity, trade, tourism and ways to tackle the effects of climate change.

Ad agencies want cards worth up to $5,000 to pay for social media posts

Advertising agencies have asked Nepal Rastra Bank to provide them with international cards worth $5,000 to pay for advertisements on social media through a formal banking channel.

As social media ads cannot be paid for using domestic credit and debit cards, Nepali advertisers are currently using informal channels.

India’s Tea Board pushes for quality check of brew from Nepal

Amid concerns that CTC variety from Nepal was being sold as Darjeeling tea to consumers, the Tea Board of India has asked the Commissioner of Customs, Kolkata (Land) to check the quality of brew arriving from that country at FSSAI-accredited laboratories.

Arun Kumar Ray, Deputy Chairman of Tea Board, said the agency has sought help from a laboratory in Mumbai, which can differentiate between Darjeeling and Nepal teas. “We have asked the Customs authorities to discard tea coming from Nepal if it does not comply with the FSSAI norms,” Ray said.

Bangladesh’s PM offers Nepal use of airport, seaport

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she wants Nepal to avail Bangladesh’s airport and seaport facilities as part of Dhaka’s push for regional connectivity for common prosperity.

The PM said this while speaking to visiting Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradip Kumar Gyawali, as he called upon the premier at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“Bangladesh prioritizes neighbors when it comes to cooperation,” the premier’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim quoted her as saying at a briefing after the meeting.

Sheikh Hasina told Gyawali that her government was developing Saidpur airport (in Nilphamari) as an international aviation facility, expecting it to be a center for regional connectivity, the PMO spokesperson said.

Nepal is safe for tourists: Minister Bhattarai

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Yogesh Bhattarai has said that Nepal is free from coronavirus, thus tourists are welcome in Nepal.

He also added that precautionary measures are being taken at Tribhuvan International Airport.

(Compiled and prepared by Swastik Aryal, Akash and Nitish Lal Shrestha)

Nepal Economic Digest is a daily morning email digest, basically relatable summations of the most important business news, happenings from Nepal into easy-to-understand summaries. The Institute for Strategic and Socio-Economic Research (ISSR), Nepal’s independent think tank, and Khabarhub — Nepal popular news portal — have joined hands to disseminate news from Nepal in the form of Economic Digest.