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Nepali Taekwondo referee Dipendra Dhakal has been promoted to the second class international referee in the Kyorugi category. The referee committee of the World Taekwondo promoted Dhakal. He is the Tribhuvan Army Club referee.   It took him four years to get the promotion. Dhakal has moved up a level based on the points he got for participating in the taekwondo ranking competition and refresher course. At least eight points is required to move from the third level to the second level. Dhakal participated in eight World ranking competitions and two refresher courses and scored 10 points. He had obtained the referee license from the 104th international taekwondo referee seminar in China. Dhakal was declared as the West Judge in the Royal Spanish International Open Taekwondo Tournament 2022.

Chandra Prasad Dhakal is the senior vice president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). Dhakal, who will be elevated to the President of the FNCCI in April 2023, is also the Chairman of IME Group which has interests in banking, remittance, IT, tourism, automobile, energy, insurance, infotainment, and communications sectors. The Annapurna Express caught up with Dhakal to talk about the current business environment, issues being faced by the private sector, and IME Group's investment plans. Excerpts: Nepal’s economy is currently going through a deep slowdown. How is the business of IME Group at present? Nepal's economy began to face external sector pressure and liquidity problems in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. This pushed both the government and private sector into a big crisis. The current situation is worse than what was experienced during the 2015 earthquake and Covid-19 pandemic. Businesses are not getting enough funds to finance their investments and expand their business, which has directly affected their confidence which is detrimental to the economic growth of the country. In such a situation, the IME Group is performing fairly. Since our investments and businesses are expanded over different sectors, a shock could be cushioned by other businesses. However, this time every sector of business is affected. Yet, our drive to expand the investments and contribute to the local and national economy has continued even during the hard times. Currently, we are expanding our investments to tourism infrastructure projects such as cable cars, resorts, and the manufacturing sector. How is the Nepali business community facing current macroeconomic challenges? What are the major challenges at present? The first impact of the current economic challenges is the shortage of funds on the domestic front and various restrictions on imports on the external front. Although macroeconomic indicators like the foreign exchange reserves, the balance of payment, and bank rates are being corrected gradually, challenges like poor government expenditure, higher inflation, external sector pressure, high-interest rates, and financial sector vulnerability persist which are affecting the private sector. Likewise, the guidelines on working capital loans have also created new problems for the private sector. Although some of our demands regarding the guidelines have been addressed, many are yet to be incorporated in the amendment. The cost of doing business has gone up significantly and most industries have stalled their new investment plans while many industries are running at a very limited capacity which also has repercussions on revenue and employment. This situation demands collaborative efforts from the public and private stakeholders whereas the government and regulatory bodies like Nepal Rastra Bank should exhibit flexibility to provide relief to the private sector. What should be the priority of the new government to bring the economy back on track? What are your expectations from the new government? The government should facilitate the private sector by creating a business-friendly environment. It should help promote domestic businesses and facilitate to bring foreign direct investment. One of the biggest maladies of our economic progress is low capital expenditure which has affected the manufacturers of construction materials, contractors, and employees in the sector at the same time. The new government should work to clear all legal and policy-related barriers and bottlenecks to create a business-friendly environment in the country. The country cannot be developed without proper mobilization and development of the private sector, which has more than 75 percent contribution in employment generation and revenue collection. The private sector is the creator and adopter of new technologies, and it is the only one that can supply services at a price that is both reasonable and competitive. Therefore, the government should ensure the active participation of the private sector in all policy-level works and move ahead taking the private sector into confidence. The FNCCI leadership met with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. How serious are they to resolve the issues being faced by the private sector? I found Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel very serious and concerned in terms of addressing the present economic challenges. They are open to listen to the problems that we are facing and discuss possible solutions. As the business community looks up to the government for relief and facilitation during the crisis time, they have duly assured us to bring things back to normal. Meanwhile, there is a need to provide support to the private sector businesses affected by the economic slowdown and increasing interest rates. What long-term policy measures the private sector wants from the new government to make doing business in Nepal easier? There are several issues that the government needs to improve to create an investment-friendly environment in the country. The most pertinent issues are land, labor, infrastructure, resource, tax, and local issues. There are many issues related to these topics. The government should work hand in hand with the private sector to resolve all the issues and create a business environment in the country. The merger of Global IME Bank and Bank of Kathmandu has been completed. Now, how do you see Global IME Bank in the future? The Global IME Bank has become the largest bank in the country. We want to create a strong and resilient financial institution in the country that could not only run everyday banking facilities but also support investors and business persons to finance their business ventures. We recently merged the Bank of Kathmandu with the GIBL which has made the institution stronger. However, it is just a part of our journey. In the future, the bank aims to expand its banking and other services to other countries. We currently have representative offices in Australia, the United Kingdom, and India. We have reached almost the final stage in opening our branch in South Korea. We have given great importance to the digital financial system as promoted by the Nepal Rastra Bank and currently working on infrastructure development for digital security. With the acquisition of two hotels in Kathmandu and Pokhara as well as taking forward two new cable car projects, your group seems to be investing in a big way in the tourism sector. What are the new plans of IME Group in the tourism sector? Yes, you are right. The IME Group wants to test its mettle in the tourism business as well since it is the sector that will boom once the current economic hurdles are resolved. Nepal has a high potential of attracting 2.5 million tourists in the next 3-5 years while the middle and upper middle class in the country has developed a culture of visiting new places in and out of the country. In such a situation, we need to create better and more reliable tourism infrastructure in the current as well as potential destinations. The Chandragiri Hills project has transformed the entire Chandragiri area and is attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. Likewise, another cable car project in Rupandehi connecting a hill station in Palpa, and another in Gaindakot of Nawalparasi East are near completion and will come into operation shortly. Similarly, we have plans to construct cable car projects in all seven provinces of the country. In the next few months, you will be the president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI). What plans have you envisioned as the new president of the country's apex business body? I was elected as the senior vice-president in the election of the FNCCI as per the statute of the organization, so I will be elevated to leadership for the next three years after the annual general meeting in April this year. My general priorities would be the promotion of the interest of all members of the FNCCI, the promotion of the private sector and policy lobbying, and maintaining the trust of the government at various levels, political parties, and other stakeholders. Meanwhile, I will try to change the perception towards the private sector since there is still a feeling that the private sector only earns profits and shy away from fulfilling its responsibilities to society. We have long failed to tell people and society about the importance of the private sector as the engine of economic growth and employment. As the president of the FNCCI, I will also coordinate with public and private organizations to boost the economy, create jobs, and increase domestic production. The capacity of the district and municipal chambers will also be enhanced according to their potential and opportunities in the local economy.

With Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) struggling to import sufficient electricity from India, industrial corridors across the country are now experiencing six hours of daily power cuts. NEA has been enforcing load shedding of three hours each in the peak hours of morning and evening in the industrial areas across the country. According to industrialists, such power cut has been happening now from 6-9 am in the morning and 5-8 pm in the evening. Industries in major industrial hubs such as Biratnagar, Birgunj, Hetauda, and Bhairahawa have been hard hit by the latest power cut. Although Nepal has started exporting surplus electricity to India during the wet season, it has to import electricity in the dry season to meet the power demand. It is because almost all of the power production in the country is based on run-of-the-river hydropower plants. The dry season runs from December to April while the wet season lasts from May to November. According to NEA, the run-of-the-river type hydropower projects usually produce less than 40 percent of their installed capacity as water levels in the rivers decrease significantly during the dry season. Currently, the total installed capacity of hydropower plants in Nepal is 2,300-2,400 MW. However, the current electricity generation is around 1,100 MW, whereas the demand during peak hours is 1,600-1,700 MW. According to the NEA, 500-600 MW of electricity is needed to meet the demand of peak hours. As production capacity drops to 40 percent during the dry season, NEA has to manage the electricity supply by importing from India. The current power cuts, according to NEA are due to lower imports of power from India. According to NEA Spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai, the state-owned power utility has to resort to power cuts as electricity import from India has not happened as demanded by the NEA. "There is a power cut in industrial corridors and large industries during peak hours," said Bhattarai, "Such power cut is especially in big industries and industrial hubs." Bhattarai said that the NEA has been in touch with Indian authorities to resolve the current crisis. Suyesh Pyakurel, President of the Chamber of Industries Morang, said that industries in Sunsari-Morang Industrial Corridor have been forced to close the industries due to the power cut. "While the NEA has been giving prior information about the power cut, industries have been suffering due to disruption in power supply," he said. Power cuts at manufacturing plants have caused a drop in production besides damaging expensive equipment, say industrialists. They demand that NEA needs to announce load shedding formally as the power utility has failed to maintain an adequate supply of electricity in the country. As Nepal is likely to face power shortage for some more years, especially during the dry season, the NEA should formally announce the load shedding by setting a routine, they say. "We all know, there is a power shortage every winter. We cannot ask for electricity in such a scenario. It would be better if NEA announces load shedding formally during the winter season, said Pyakurel, adding, "While we have been given prior information about the power cuts for the next day. But there is also no guarantee that there will be a power supply after that. If that is guaranteed, we would have made our schedule accordingly to operate industries."  

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli held a meeting in Baluwatar on Thursday. During the meeting, they discussed contemporary political issues. A Baluatar source said that the duo discussed election of President and Vice-President, expansion of Cabinet in provinces and by-election of National Assembly among others. Kumar Dasaudi and Madhav Prasad Achaya of the UML and the Nepali Congress have filed their candidacies for the by-election of National Assembly respectively.  

The export of gold jewelry, which had increased in the past few years, has decreased significantly in the current fiscal year. The latest foreign trade statistics of the Department of Customs (DoC) show the export of gold jewelry declined by a whopping 70 percent in the first six months of FY 2022/23. According to DoC data, Nepal exported gold jewelry worth Rs 105.1 million in the first half of the current fiscal year compared to Rs 344.9 million in the same period of the last fiscal year. Nepali traders have been exporting gold ornaments to the US, Australia and Hong Kong in recent years. A total of 38 kg of gold jewelry worth Rs 387.1 million were exported in FY 2020/21. It increased to 61 kg in FY 2021/22 when Nepal exported gold jewelry worth Rs 532.7 million. In this fiscal, Nepal has exported gold jewelry worth Rs 84.1 million to the US and Rs 20.9 million to Australia. According to Manik Ratna Shakya, President of Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers Association, the export of jewelry has been affected especially due to the shortage of raw gold in the country. With forex reserves depleting, the Nepal Rastra Bank in the last fiscal year resorted to slashing the gold import limits from daily 20 kg to 10 kg. Bullion traders, however, said that 10 kg of gold is not enough to meet the domestic demand. "There is not enough gold available in the market to produce jewelry for export purposes," said Shakya. According to Shakya, when the import limit was reduced, importers of precious metals were told that jewelry exporters would be allowed to import gold separately or special arrangements would be made for them. " However, no such arrangement was made," said Shakya, adding, "As a result, the export of gold jewelry has been badly affected." Bullion traders said the demand for gold jewelry is huge among Nepalis living abroad. "The demand for original jewelry from Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs) has been increasing. However, the demand could not be fulfilled due to a lack of gold," said Shakya. "If the export of gold jewelry is increased, the country's foreign exchange income would also increase." Gold imports down by 50 percent With the central bank reducing the import limit, the overall import of yellow metal has also decreased by 50 percent. Nepal has imported gold worth Rs 10.95 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year. Such import during the same period of the last fiscal was Rs 22.03 billion. According to Customs Department data, a total of 1,516 kgs of gold has been imported in this fiscal compared to 3,188 kgs in the last fiscal year.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 700 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 106, 900 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 106, 200 per tola on Wednesday. This is the highest ever recorded price in the domestic market. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 106, 400 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 15 and is being traded at Rs 1,380 per tola today.

National Indigenous Women’s Federation (NIWF) was among the 46 national organizations that received accreditation from the Election Commission to observe Nov 20 parliamentary polls. NIWF appointed 163 indigenous and non-indigenous participants from all seven provinces for this.  NIWF launched a report on the experience of observers, amid an event. In the event, Anthropologist and Researcher, Amit Tamang, talked about the issue of lack of citizenship and therefore, voting cards of  Chepangs Indigenous Communities in Ichhyakamana Municipality, Chitwan. Nanu Thami, who previously represented as a candidate from the Indigenous quota representation, shared her personal experiences of feeling discriminated against and excluded in the party and political matters. She expressed that the quota elected representatives are not given permits to enter the election centers which clearly depicts that proportionally elected ones are not given the right validation and acknowledgment as it is given to others. Similarly, Joint Secretary of the Election Commission of  Nepal, Shaligram Sharma Poudel expressed his reservation about the report and claimed not to accept it. With a somewhat authoritative tone, he commented on how the Election Commission asked for a general report, not centered on Indigenous Women. “Indigenous Women is a small chapter and we should be focusing on more important issues like booth capturing or corruption during the Elections.”

Police have arrested a man in possession of 35.5 kg hashish. The detainee has been identified as Bir Bahadur Tamang (32) of Gajuri-8, Dhading. A team deployed from the Metropolitan Police Circle, Koteshwor nabbed Tamang acting on a tip-off. The market price of the seized hashish is Rs 862, 500, DSP Yogendra Kumar Khadka said.