KATHMANDU: Economic Digest offers a concise yet comprehensive overview of significant business happenings in Nepal, presented in easily digestible summaries.
SEBON introduces regulations for SMEs to issue IPOs
The Securities and Exchange Board of Nepal (SEBON) has issued the Securities Issuance and Transaction Regulations for Small and Medium Enterprises, 2025, allowing companies with a capital of up to Rs 250 million to issue ordinary shares (IPOs) to the general public.
The new regulations will come into effect starting Thursday, confirmed SEBON spokesperson Niranjay Ghimire.
He added that provisions have been made to establish a separate transaction channel for small companies issuing IPOs.
Jhapa collects more revenue this year
Revenue collection from the Inland Revenue Office, Bhadrapur, has increased 12.37 percent year-on-year in the first six months of the current fiscal year.
The Office said that it collected more than Rs 1.51 billion in revenue by the month of Paush of this fiscal year against the collection of Rs 1.35 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.
Revenue Officer at the Office, Gyanendra Rai, said that the Office has set the target of Rs 4 billion revenue collection in this fiscal year.
However, the Office could not meet the target of Rs 1.88 billion in the first six months.
In the review period, income tax contributed the highest with Rs 663.1 million and Rs 520 million from VAT while Rs 265 million was collected from excise duty.
Revenue Officer Rai said regular market monitoring and vigilance have been upped to meet the target of revenue collection.
Supreme Court denies Bechan Jha’s release
The Supreme Court has denied the release of Bechan Jha, who is currently in prison for his involvement as a mediator in the fake Bhutanese refugee case.
Jha had filed a writ of habeas corpus seeking his release, but the court refused to grant his petition and asked the government to provide reasons for his detention.
Jha, who is presently being kept at the Jagannath Dewal Prison, had previously approached the Patan High Court after the Kathmandu District Court remanded him for trial.
Over Rs 4 billion budget ensured to upgrade Bheri Corridor
Finance Ministry has ensured Rs 4.20 billion budget for upgrading Bheri Corridor section, the important project of Karnali Province.
The ministry guaranteed such amount of budget to upgrade the corridor from Tallu of Nalgad municipality-12 to Tripurakot of Dolpa.
A member of House of Representatives and former Urban Development Minister, Dhan Bahadur Budha, shared that the Finance Ministry ensured the budget at the request of Ministry of Physical Infrastructures and Urban Development.
He said the construction activities of the 217-kilometer Bheri corridor, which were halted following budget crunch since long, would now take pace. Upgrading the 62-kilometer section from Jajarkot to Tallu is underway.
Career counseling pavilion for students at Birat Expo
The eighth edition of the Birat Expo, set to take place in the last week of January at Degree Campus Ground in Biratnagar, will feature a Career Counseling Pavilion for students.
The pavilion is being organized by the Morang Industrial Association to encourage industrial and vocationally skilled individuals, as well as students preparing for overseas employment, to explore domestic opportunities and contribute to the creation of employment within Nepal.
NEPSE index drops by seven points
The NEPSE index, which measures stock trading activity, declined by 7.33 points today, settling at 2,588.62.
During the trading session, 117.49 million shares of 296 companies were traded across 70,634 transactions, amounting to a turnover of NPR 5.93 billion.
Of the 13 subgroups traded today, indices for hydropower, manufacturing and processing, mutual funds, trading, and others rose, while the rest declined.
Ordinance issued to revitalize the economy, clarifies leader Shrestha
Nepali Congress Treasurer Umesh Shrestha clarified that the government issued the ordinance to revitalize the economy. Speaking to journalists on Thursday, he argued that issuing ordinances during a parliamentary recess to address urgent legislative requirements is justified.
“The ordinance was introduced to energize the economy and transform business pessimism into optimism,” he stated.
He added that some constraints in existing laws necessitated the ordinance. On a different note, he remarked that the current political alliance would not change simply at someone’s wish.
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