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The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 29. 08 points to close at 1,934.47 points on Thursday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 29. 07 points to close at 1,934.47 points. A total of 4,913,702-unit shares of 270 companies were traded for Rs 1. 65 billion. Meanwhile, Adarsha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited, Kalinchowk Darshan Limited and Molung Hydropower Company Limited are the top gainers today with their price surging by 10.00 percent. Likewise, Siddharatha Investment Growth Scheme is the top loser with its price dropped by 5. 50 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 81 trillion.

Two years after it exited from Nepal, IHG Hotels & Resorts, the British multinational hospitality company, is again entering the country with a larger presence. This time, IHG has tied up with Shangri-La Hotel and Resort Group, one of Nepal's leading hospitality groups, with a management agreement to develop four new hotel properties in Nepal. Earlier, IHG was in a management partnership with the five-star Soaltee Hotel that ended in May 2021. The new hotels under the partnership with Shangri-La Group are InterContinental Kathmandu, Lazimpat, Hotel Indigo Pokhara, Gharipatan, InterContinental Resort Pokhara, Begnas Lake, and InterContinental Resort Chitwan, Meghauli. The agreement will see IHG adding close to 500 rooms to its portfolio in Nepal. Two of IHG's global brands, InterContinental and Hotel Indigo will also make their debut in the Nepali market. Currently under construction, the new hotels are scheduled to open in the next 1-4 years. According to Sudeep Jain, Managing Director, South West Asia, IHG Hotels & Resorts, the strategic location of all four hotels in different key tourism destinations of Nepal provides IHG with a great opportunity to offer world-class hospitality. “We are delighted to introduce two of our leading brands from the luxury and lifestyle portfolio, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts and Hotel Indigo, to Nepal," said Jain. Prasidha B. Panday, Chairman of Shangri-La Hotel & Resort Group said that partnership with IHG to open four new hotels will help to offer world-class hospitality to guests at a time when travel to Nepal has increased exponentially. "All new hotels will be located in top tourism hubs, and we expect to benefit from the strength and scale of IHG’s global systems, technology, and a strong loyalty program,” said Panday. InterContinental Kathmandu Lazimpat will be redeveloped on the same site as Shangri-la Kathmandu Hotel, which is one of the iconic hotels of Nepal. The Hotel Indigo Pokhara is located in Pokhara’s Gharipatan area and features 100-rooms The InterContinental Pokhara Begnas Lake is an 80 rooms hotel. Similarly, the InterContinental Resort Chitwan is located in the popular tourist destination of Mehgauli. The resort will feature 80 rooms. Of late, the IHG Group is expanding its presence in Nepal. In March 2021, the group signed a management agreement with the Swornim Hotel Pokhara Pvt. Ltd. to develop the Holiday Inn Express Pokhara Lakeside.

The inquiry commission formed by the government to probe the issues of loan shark victims is preparing the necessary paperwork to start the field study. A Cabinet meeting on April 3 had formed the commission under the leadership of the former Chairman of the Special Court, Gauri Bahadur Karki. Former Assistant Inspector General of Nepal Police Uttam Bahadur Subedi and former Deputy Attorney General Ganesh Babu Aryal are the other members of the commission. The cabinet meeting also decided to establish the office of the high-level commission in Janakpur, the capital of Madhesh Province, as it will be easier for the victims to share their problems. Most of the loan shark victims are from districts of the Terai region. “We are preparing the complaint form to be filled by the loan shark victims,” said a member of the commission. “We will soon open the office in Janakpur and start receiving complaints.” The commission member also said that during the investigation, the money lenders would also be given the right to provide their explanations regarding the complaints of the victims. “In order to take complaints, we also have plans to open complaint desks in different districts as well,” the member said. The commission has been given a three-month deadline to prepare a concrete and practical report and recommend solutions to resolve the problems of loan shark victims. The government’s decision came two days after it reached a five-point agreement with a group of loan shark victims on April 1. The two sides also reached an agreement to expedite the process to amend the laws to criminalize unscrupulous lending. They also agreed to recommend to the government the formation of a district-level coordination/facilitation committee led by the chief district officer to address complaints related to loan sharking. A senior official of the Home Ministry said that the Law Ministry is drafting an amendment law that would criminalize loan sharking, a promise that the government made to the agitators. Currently, loan sharking is essentially categorized as an offense under the civil code. In this condition, the victims have to fight the deep-pocketed loan sharks alone. However, the acts of blackmailing, extortion, and other exploitations in the guise of loan sharking fall under criminal offenses. A report prepared by a task force formed by the government last year after a similar agitation launched by loan shark victims pointed out how the case filed by the loan sharks against the borrowers put the borrowers at a disadvantage. According to the report, loan sharks tend to file court cases based on the documents borrowers signed on terms dictated by loan sharks. As the loan sharks seek to recover the loans legally, the victims are often denied access to the court process. Even though the state has guaranteed people’s access to legal services for free by introducing a law, the loan shark victims are unaware of such provisions, according to the report. While a group of the loan shark victims returned home after signing an agreement, another group of victims hit the streets of Kathmandu. The government is negotiating with them too to address their demands.  

Commercial banks have decided to reduce the interest rate on fixed deposits to single digits. A meeting of the Nepal Bankers' Association (NBA) on Wednesday decided to lower the deposit interest rate effective from April 14, the Nepali new year 2080 BS. Over the past year, interest rates have been a subject of much debate and controversy with the business community, in particular, blaming high borrowing as one of the main reasons for the current economic slowdown in the country. In March, NBA fixed the interest rate on fixed deposits for individual depositors at 11 percent. Under huge pressure from the private sector, the association of bank CEOs has decided to reduce it to 9.99 percent for individual depositors effective from the new year. Similarly, the interest rate for institutional deposits will come down to 7.99 percent from the current 9 percent. The NBA has decided to reduce the interest rate of institutional and individual term deposits by 1.01 percentage points. Similarly, interest rates on savings account deposits have been set at a minimum of 5.40 percent to a maximum of 7.40 percent. Currently, the interest rate for savings account deposits ranges from a minimum of 6 percent to a maximum of 8 percent. Likewise, the interest rate on call deposits has been lowered to 2.7 percent from 3 percent at present. With this decision of the bankers, the interest rates on deposits will come to single digits after 11 months. The deposit interest rate was 9.96 percent in May last year which increased to 10.12 percent in June. The interest rate on deposits kept on increasing until January this year. Since January, banks have been lowering deposit interest rates for each month except for March. Considering the severe shortage of investment-grade liquidity in the financial system seen since last year, interest rates on both deposits and lending kept on rising. With the liquidity situation easing in the past 5-6 months, banks are in a better position in terms of liquidity management. The high interest rate has increased the cost of funds for banks. In addition, the demand for loans declined sharply as economic activities slowed dramatically. Currently, banks have around Rs 200 billion of investible funds. Lending rate also to decrease The lending rate is also expected to come down after NBA slashed interest rates on deposits. The cost of funds banks is high due to the interest rate of deposits. In that case, if the cost comes down, the base rate will also be reduced, and thus, the lending rate will decrease automatically. However, it may take some time before the lending rate comes down. Bankers say the lending rate will be set according to the previously reduced deposit interest rate for now. Banks have been calculating the base rate on a quarterly basis. and the last quarter of the current fiscal year starts from Baisakh. This way, the effect of the interest rate cut in Baisakh will be seen in Shrawan (July-August). The banks will also have to reduce the spread rate to 4 percent by the end of Ashad (mid-July) which is currently 4.4 percent. The Nepal Rastra Bank has instructed the banks to lower the spread rate to 4.2 percent by the end of Chaitra (mid-April) and 4 percent by the end of Ashad. As a result, bankers say that the lending rate will decrease. The private sector has been demanding to slash the interest rate. In response, the government has said that the demand of the business community will be met. Speaking at the 57th General Assembly of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Saran Mahat also assured to reduce the interest rate. However, on the same day, NRB Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari said in a press meet that the interest rate will be determined by the market and not by the central bank.

The gold is being traded at Rs 110, 800 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 110, 250 per tola. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,450 per tola today.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said that the decision on the appointment of the chief justice will be made soon. He said so during a meeting with the officer bearers of Nepal Bar Association. Nepal Bar Association office bearers, former office bearers, various Bar chairperson of the Valley and office bearers were present in the meeting. On the occasion, Prime Minister Dahal lauded the role played by the Bar to protect democracy and constitution and to bring reforms in the justice system. During the meeting, the Bar office bearers drew the attention of the Prime Minister to appoint the chief justice by summoning a meeting of the Constitutional Council immediately. In reply, Prime Minister Dahal expressed his commitment to take an initiative to make a necessary decision on the issue. Earlier, the Bar had drawn the attention of the Prime Minister to take a decision on the chief justice within 10 days.  

The Ministry of Health and Population reported 121 new cases of coronavirus from across the country on Wednesday (April 12), against 106 cases on April 11, 124 on April 10 and 55 on April 9. Per the latest report of the ministry, 11 people are under treatment at intensive care units of hospitals in the country, whereas three are under ventilator support. The number of active coronavirus infections has reached 445, the ministry said on Wednesday, adding that one patient had died in the past 24 hours, making it the second consecutive 24-hour period that saw a coronavirus death. Keeping in view a steady rise in the number of coronavirus infections of late, ApEx talked to Dr Sher Bahadur Pun, chief of the Clinical Research Unit at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku about. Excerpts: Why do you think coronavirus is increasing lately? With the restrictions put in place across the world lifted, people are traveling. This has increased the number of infections. People have stopped wearing masks and taking other safety measures. Amid this, a new Omicron variant of coronavirus—XBB.1.16—has been spreading in India. Uninterrupted cross-border movement has been attributed to the rise in cases in Nepal. The XBB.1.16 sub-variant was confirmed in 10 of 24 swab samples of the infected on which whole-genome sequencing was carried out in Nepal recently. People having Covid-19 symptoms are not testing and isolating themselves. Election campaigns and rallies and religious festivals are being held in many places. All these are responsible for the increasing number of cases. How infectious is this variant? The new variant is comparatively less lethal. It spreads quickly but does not cause serious complications. However, people with underlying health conditions, the elderly population and individuals with respiratory conditions are prone to the infection and its severity. Runny nose, fever, sore throat, loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort and headaches are some of the symptoms of the XBB.1.16 variant. The hospital however has not seen a large number of cases. Though there are cases in the community, they have not reached the hospitals. Had there been severe infection, people would have visited the hospitals. Who could be under risk? Various reports suggest that this variant can evade immunity gained through vaccination. Patients with comorbidities such as elderly population, or with cardiac conditions, previous pulmonary issues such as asthma, tuberculosis, diabetic and chronic kidney disease patients are at high-risk of infection. There is no need to panic. We have had a mass vaccination program. Despite this, many have contracted the virus. However, one must continue to follow the Covid-19 appropriate behavior such as hand hygiene and masking. High risk population segments should take more precautions. What should be done to prevent infection? One must isolate themselves if s/he has symptoms of the disease and see the physician at the earliest to avoid any complications. It has been proved that vaccination prevents the severity of the infection. People must take booster doses of the vaccines apart from coronavirus appropriate precautions. People with comorbidities should take additional precautions. People should avoid congested, poorly ventilated spaces. They must wear masks. Those who have not received the vaccine should take the vaccine. What should be an individual and government’s role in controlling the infection? Precautions like handwashing, respiratory hygiene, proper ventilation at home and the workplace, and masking up in crowded places are crucial. An individual must practice them. These precautions will also shield individuals from the flu and other viruses. Caution should be taken while touching nose and mouth, and afterward. Those with symptoms of coronavirus must isolate themselves from others. The government must justify the importance of vaccines and vaccinate people.

Nepal reported 121 new Covid-19 cases and one death on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 620 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 58 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 757 people underwent antigen tests, of which 63 were tested positive. The Ministry said that 81 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 445 active cases in the country.