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’s fuel consumption falls 10% as coronavirus eviscerates energy demand
The fuel consumption has decreased sharply to 10 percent of the total demand for the normal time following the enforcement of nationwide lockdown.
The daily sales of petroleum products stood at 1,250 KL across the country at present which is around 10 percent of the total sales of the normal period, Binitmani Upadhyay, Spokesperson of the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) said.
Currently, around 243 KL of petrol, 1,034 KL of diesel, and 18 KL aviation fuel is being sold daily across the country.
Govt to bring self-employment programs worth over Rs 10 bln
With the COVID-19 rendering millions of people jobless globally, the Nepal government is preparing to bring a special package to create job opportunities in the country.
The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security has said the government is preparing to introduce self-employment programs worth over Rs 10 billion through the upcoming budget.
The programs will address both the growing demand for new jobs and those rendered jobless caused by the novel virus, said Suman Ghimire, spokesperson of the Ministry of Labor.
Nepal Bank Limited (NBL) gets ‘A-Class’ rating
Nepal Bank Limited (NBL), the country’s first bank, has been rated as the ‘A-Class Bank’ by ICRA Nepal Limited, NBL spokesman Prakash Kumar Adhikari stated in a press release on Friday.
Adhikari said that this ranking from the world-famous rating company, Moody’s, has enhanced NBL’s image further.
The bank has been providing its services from its all branches across the country by mobilizing a limited number of employees adopting full safety measures even in the present adverse situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the press release states.
Nepal to lose over US$1.2 billion in remittances this year
Authorities expect that remittances from Nepal decrease by 14% this year, amid the economic crisis derived from the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
The fall in remittances resulted in a loss of about US$1.2 billion, according to a recent report by the World Bank. Nepalese migrant workers sent US$8.6 million to their homes in 2019, becoming one of the largest receivers of remittances in the world.
Remittances to the entire South Asian region are forecast to decline by 22%, US$109 billion, due to the global economic slowdown caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the fall in oil prices.
Nepal Airlines cuts domestic pilots salary by 33%
Nepal Airlines has decided to cut the salaries of domestic and foreign pilots for the second time.
According to Archana Khadka, spokesperson of Nepal Airlines, the company has cut the salaries of foreign pilots by 50% and domestic pilots by 33%.
“We have decided to immediately cut the salaries of the highest-paid employees as the lockdown is not likely to open immediately,” Khadka said.
The airlines took the decision to this effect in view of the lockdown continuing for a long time.
(Compiled and prepared by Swastik Aryal 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’s popular news portal — have joined hands to disseminate news from Nepal in the form of Economic Digest.
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