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Nepal Economic Digest (Sept 22, 2020)

Khabarhub

September 22, 2020

8 MIN READ

Nepal Economic Digest (Sept 22, 2020)

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

Per capita debt of Nepal reaches Rs 45,753

The per capita debt of Nepal has now reached Rs 45,753 with an addition of a loan liability of Rs 861 per head during mid July-mid August.

According to the Ministry of Finance, as of mid-August, the outstanding debt of the federal government stood at Rs 1.37 trillion.

During the first month of the current fiscal year, the government received foreign loans worth Rs 2.48 billion.

Of the total public borrowing, foreign loans amount to Rs 759.38 billion, which makes 55 percent of the total volume.

The government took the rest of Rs 613.21 billion in loan from the domestic sector.

With the slow growth in revenue collection, the government is increasingly depending on the loan amount to meet its financial liabilities.

At a time when the government is struggling to spend the funds allocated for the construction of infrastructure, the inability to check the unproductive government spending has been blamed for the soaring public borrowing.

Nepalis can now send remittances via digital wallets

Nepalis working abroad now can send remittances through digital wallets. Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has directed the remittance companies to start the service in association with the digital wallet operators.

With the directive from NRB, Nepalis living abroad will now be able to send remittances directly through digital payment.

After the implementation of this provision, Nepalis living abroad will not have to physically attend a bank or remittance company to send the money.

Mobile banking, internet banking, electronic card, digital wallet etc. can be used to send money to Nepal.

However, NRB has set some provisions in addition to the previous conditions of Nepal Rastra Bank Remittance Regulations, 2067 BS.

50 containers of Dates stranded in Birgunj Dry Port

A total of 50 containers of dates have been stranded at the Birgunj Dry Port after the government on April 29 had banned the import of dates, pepper, peas and betel nuts, citing increasing pressure on foreign exchange reserves.

The dates have been started rotting because they have been held at the customs points for a long time.

Similarly, 1,000 containers of peas, pepper and betel nuts, were stopped at various entry points because they were imported without the prior approval of the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control.

A cabinet meeting held on August 29 had decided to allow the entry of peas and pepper for once.

Earlier, the cabinet had also decided to release the betel nuts stopped at the checkpoints.

Contact me in case of power cut: Minister Pun

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has said people can contact Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barshaman Pun in case their line goes out.

NEA Lagankhel Distribution Center  informed  that their will be a power-cut in areas including Paudel Gaun, Kitini, Leninthok, View Bhrikuti from 8 to 10 am and and 11 to 1 pm on Sunday due to the preventive maintenance works on the 11 kV transmission line stretched through these areas.

Minister Pun’s press aide Dayanidhi Bhatta said people can contact the minister’s secretariat or the the central office of the NEA in  case  the power goes out without pre-information.

“This information has been released due to confusion among some customers,” said Bhatta. He said the customers can contact the secretariat’s hotline 1151 throughout the day or at 9851109835 in case of power-cut.

COVID-19 incurs loss of Rs 60 bln in tourism sector: Minister Bhattarai

Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai said the coronavirus pandemic has incurred a loss of Rs 60 billion in the tourism sector.

Speaking at a virtual interaction on the resumption of the tourism sector organized by Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), Minister Bhattarai said it has been a challenging task to restore the loss incurred by travel bans and other steps taken by the Nepal government to stem the coronavirus pandemic.

“It has been a daunting task to restore the lost economy as the coronavirus pandemic incurred a loss of Rs 60 billion in the tourism sector,” said Minister Bhattarai.

He said his ministry is constantly taking updates from the Ministry of Finance and Nepal Rastra Bank regarding the economic package for the restoration of the tourism sector.

Nabil Bank launches ‘Nabil Fone Loan Service’

Nabil Bank has launched ‘Nabil Fone Loan service’. Nabil Fone Loan is an innovative digital lending service which provides small short term pre-approved loans to individual customers instantly through bank’s mobile banking platform and by use of Virtual Credit Card.

The solution is designed on existing mobile banking platform of the bank backed by virtual credit card.

With this service, eligible customers can instantly apply for virtual credit card loan using banks’ mobile banking and will be available short term loan up to Rs 1,00,000 within few minutes.

Bank has partnered with F1 Soft International Pvt. Ltd. for the technology.

In the first phase; this service shall be extended to those customers who are maintaining salary/payroll account with Bank. In the future, bank plans to extend the service to other segments of customers as well.

Benefits to Customers

Contact-less Digital Lending Experience: Entire lending process happens through mobile banking; No bank visit, No paper work, no hassle of conventional credit application process.

Instant (pre-approved) Loan: All process of loan application, approval and disbursement is done instantly on real time, within few minutes.

Collateral Free Loan: Lending based on analytical study of customer’s banking transactions, no additional collateral required.

Micro Loans: Can apply even for small loan amounts up to NPR 1,00,000.

Melamchi drinking water project to excavate tunnel through new technology

Preparation has begun to devise a new technology to excavate tunnel to bring Yangri and Larke rivulets water to Kathmandu under the second phase of the much-awaited Melamchi Drinking Water Project.

The diversion tunnel was excavated by Drilling, Blasting and Mucking (DBM) technology to divert raw water from Melamchi rivulet to Sundarijal outlet in the first phase.

As this method was more time-consuming with change in contractors, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Melamchi Drinking Water Development Committee have mooted the new technology.

A cost estimation was also made to expedite the excavation work through DBM method to divert water from Yangri and Larke to the valley.

There was a preliminary estimate that it would cost Rs 10 billion for the excavation of around 11-km tunnel through this method.

Since excavation seems delay while working through the DBM method, the Melamchi Drinking Water Project has made revision in a way to apply a new technology.

Melamchi Project’s Deputy Executive Director Kamal Raj Shrestha told RSS that preparation was in the final stage to work in the tunnel through Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) method.

The TBM technology was also applied in the construction of Bheri-Babai project.

Compiled and prepared by 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.

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