KATHMANDU: Economic Digest offers a concise yet comprehensive overview of significant business happenings in Nepal, presented in easily digestible summaries.
The latest economic updates for Nepal reveal a mixture of stability, growth, and challenges.
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has decided to maintain its existing monetary policy in the first quarterly review for the fiscal year 2081/82, with an emphasis on inflation control, aiming to keep it around 5%.
Despite a slight rise in inflation to 4.82% in Ashwin 2081, mainly driven by higher food and beverage prices, the NRB’s cautious approach reflects its focus on balancing economic conditions, inflation trends, and foreign exchange reserves.
In other sectors, gold and silver prices saw notable increases. Gold rose by Rs. 1,600 per tola after a decline the previous day, reaching Rs. 150,900 per tola, while silver also became more expensive, rising to Rs. 1,845 per tola.
Meanwhile, the NEPSE Index saw a 2.52% increase this week, closing at 2,748.05, reflecting positive investor sentiment with a turnover of Rs. 39.38 billion.
In the insurance sector, SuryaJyoti Life Insurance proposed a 20% cash dividend for the fiscal year 2080/81, pending approval from the Nepal Insurance Authority and the company’s upcoming AGM.
The government also fixed the sugarcane price for the current fiscal year at Rs. 585 per quintal, though this price increase has sparked dissatisfaction among farmers, as it doesn’t fully align with the rise in overall commodity prices.
Additionally, Citizens Super 30 Mutual Fund released its NAV report for Kartik, showing a slight increase in its NAV to Rs. 11.25, supported by a well-balanced portfolio with investments in listed shares, fixed-return assets, debentures, and bank balances.
NRB maintains existing Monetary Policy in first quarterly review
Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has published its first quarterly review of the monetary policy for the fiscal year 2081/82, confirming the continuation of the current policy framework without any new changes.
The review underscores a cautious yet flexible approach to monetary management, driven by an assessment of prevailing economic conditions, inflation trends, and foreign exchange reserve levels.
The primary objective of the monetary policy is to maintain inflation around 5.0%. In the first quarter, the average consumer inflation was 4.26%. By Ashwin 2081, the annual point-to-point inflation had risen to 4.82%, largely influenced by a 7.18% increase in the food and beverage sector and a 3.49% rise in non-food items and services.
Gold price up by Rs 1,600 per tola
The prices of gold and silver have both increased on Friday, following a decline on Thursday, according to the Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Federation.
Gold, which fell by Rs 300 per tola on Thursday, has risen by Rs 1,600 per tola yesterday.
The price of gold was set at Rs 150,900 per tola, up from Rs 149,300 per tola on Thursday.
Earlier this week, gold prices saw significant drops: on Monday, the price fell by Rs 15,900 per tola, and on Tuesday, it dropped by another Rs 2,600.
Silver also become more expensive on Friday, with its price increasing by Rs 45 per tola.
The new price of silver was Rs 1,845 per tola, up from Rs 1,800 per tola the day before.
NEPSE rises 2.52 percent this week, closes at 2,748.05
The NEPSE Index ended the week with a 2.52 percent increase, closing at 2,748.05, up by 67.41 points.
Last week, the index had closed at 2,680.44, reflecting a 2.49 percent decline from the previous week.
Throughout this week, the index fluctuated between a high of 2,774.14 and a low of 2,661.21, showing a volatility of 112.93 points, slightly higher than last week’s volatility of 111.87 points.
The largest intraday gain was recorded on Wednesday, with a 39.70-point rise and a turnover of Rs 9.31 billion, while the total turnover for the week reached Rs 39.38 billion.
SuryaJyoti Life Insurance proposes 20% cash dividend
SuryaJyoti Life Insurance Company Limited (SJLIC) has proposed a 20% cash dividend for the fiscal year 2080/81.
This decision was made during the 386th board meeting, where the board agreed to distribute the dividend based on the paid-up capital of Rs. 5.01 billion.
The total proposed cash dividend, including for tax purposes, amounts to Rs. 1.00 billion.
The dividend will be finalized pending approval from the Nepal Insurance Authority and the endorsement of the company’s upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Govt fixes sugarcane price
The government has fixed the price of sugarcane for the current fiscal year 2081/82 BS.
The government on Thursday determined the new price of sugarcane for this year by adding Rs.20 per quintal.
With this, the new price has reached Rs 585 per quintal. Meanwhile, Sugarcane Farmers’ Association Mahottari said the rise in sugarcane price that has not been adjusted to the ratio of the increase in the price of the commodity in general, has increased frustration of the farmers.
Citizens Capital Mutual Fund releases NAV report
Citizens Super 30 Mutual Fund has released its Net Asset Value (NAV) report for the month of Kartik.
This closed-end fund, with a 10-year maturity period, reported an NAV of Rs. 11.25 in Kartik, up from Rs. 11.16 the previous month.
The fund’s total size is Rs. 75.07 Crores, with Rs. 57.84 crore invested in listed shares.
Additionally, the fund has allocated Rs. 6 crore to fixed-return assets, Rs. 3.19 crore in debentures, and Rs. 17.60 crore in bank balances.
(Prepared by Srija Khanal)
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