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Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel has said that the startup work procedures and provision on project loans would be implemented soon. Addressing the Small and Medium Enterprises Conference organized by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) in Lalitpur on Monday, Poudel assured that he would take the initiative for preparing the Startup Work Procedures which has been pending for a long. "It is our weakness that the startup work procedures could not be drafted until now. The work procedures would be passed immediately. The project loans that the private sector has been demanding will also be implemented soon," he said. DPM Paudel urged the private sector to provide clear suggestions to the government regarding the problems of SMEs. Stating that the government would take the initiative for identifying the problems of the small, cottage, micro, and medium-scale enterprises and for resolving them, he said a right conclusion would be derived on the matter only after taking suggestions from the related sectors. "The government moves ahead only after taking the suggestions from the related sector while drafting the plan and policy of any sector. It is necessary that the private sector points out and clarifies the policy-level ambiguities in a particular sector," said Poudel, adding that the government has expected concrete and clear suggestions on how the procedural hassles could be minimized and the service delivery made prompt and convenient. Poudel said the private sector should also give suggestions as to how access to the SMEs could be increased in the financial sector. Stating that the interest rate is linked with inflation, Poudel said that the government will take steps to stop interest rates from going higher. He made it clear that the government had no policy to intervene in the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) affairs as it is an autonomous body, but the government would cooperate with it to address the existing issues. FNCCI President Shekhar Golchha described small and middle-scale enterprises as the basis for the national economy, but these businesses are surrounded by various issues. “The prices of raw materials have skyrocketed. The bank interest rate is high. Small entrepreneurs face challenges to get loans,” he said. According to Golchha, 309 large industries were registered in the last fiscal year whereas 65,069 SMEs were also registered. "This number can increase even more, and their production capacity can increase even more," he said, adding, "The capacity of all small and large industries has now decreased by about 60 percent. Expensive interest rates have not only made expansion of investment a challenge, but it has also become a challenge to sustain the enterprise. Our demand is that project-based loans should be provided to such entrepreneurs."  

The House of Representatives on Tuesday formed a 21-member committee to draft the Parliament regulations. During a meeting of the House of Representatives today, lawmaker Devendra Paudel floated a proposal to form a 21-member to draft the Parliament regulations. This committee will formulate regulations needed to operate the Parliament within 15 days. The proposal to form the Parliament Regulations Drafting Committee was endorsed unanimously after lawmakers Ram Krishna Yadav and Rishikesh Pokharel seconded the proposal.

Gandaki Province Chief Minister Khag Raj Adhikari called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at his official residence in Baluwatar on Tuesday. During the meeting, the duo discussed expansion of the Gandaki Province government and contemporary political issues. The Chief Minister is preparing to expand the provincial Cabinet. Before this, Lumbini Province Chief Amik Sherchan called on Prime Minister Dahal today. On the occasion, Province Chief Sherchan congratulated Dahal for being appointed as the Prime Minister for the third time, the PM's Secretariat said.

With non-performing assets (NPA) rising, the overall profit of commercial banks has taken a beating in the first half of the current fiscal year. The second quarter report of the 20 commercial banks shows their profit grew by 11.9 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year 2022/23. Of the 20 banks that have published their financial reports for the second quarter, 14 have reported an increase in their profits compared to the same period of the last fiscal year. Similarly, six banks have logged a decline in profit while one has reported loss. Sunrise Bank, Citizens Bank International, Siddhartha Bank, Prime Commercial Bank, Prabhu Bank, and Nepal Bank have reported a decline in their profits. The Agriculture Development Bank reported a loss of Rs 0.128 billion in the first half of the current fiscal. The banks' quarterly report shows two banks' profit has crossed the Rs 3 billion mark while two other banks earned above Rs 2 billion in profit in this fiscal. There are other banks whose profit has crossed the Rs 1 billion mark in the first half of FY 2022/23. Nabil Bank has topped the chart as the bank's profit grew by 56.67 percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year. The bank earned Rs 3.41 billion in profit in the first six months of the current fiscal year. NIC Asia Bank is second on the list with a profit of Rs 3.27 billion, an increment of 36 percent followed by the Global IME Bank which has reported a profit of Rs 2.78 billion. However, Global IME's profit grew by a meager 4.42 percent in this fiscal. In terms of percentage growth, Everest Bank has the highest profit growth of 89.49 percent. The bank recorded a profit of Rs 1.58 billion in the first half of this fiscal compared to Rs 0.83 billion in the last fiscal. Standard Chartered Bank's profit also grew by 61.36 percent to Rs 1.90 billion. Meanwhile, Agricultural Development Bank's profit has decreased by a whopping 109.06 percent in the first half of the current fiscal. The bank has incurred a loss of 0.128 billion in the first half of FY 2022/23 compared to a profit of 1.42 billion during the same period of FY 2021/22. The bank's profit decreased due to an increment in the impairment charges. The bank's NPA also increased from 2.08 percent to 4.52 percent in this fiscal. According to the bank, it has set aside Rs 2.17 billion for impairment charges, an increment of 250 percent compared to the last fiscal.  

The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 106, 300 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 105, 300 per tola on Monday. This is the highest ever recorded price in the domestic market. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 105, 800 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 15 and is being traded at Rs 1,365 per tola today.

When China announced the reopening of outbound travel for its citizens, travel trade entrepreneurs in Nepal were quite hopeful of welcoming a good number of Chinese guests in 2023. However, their hope has been dashed for the moment as China failed to include Nepal in its list of the countries where its citizens can travel starting from February 6. "From February 6, 2023, travel agencies and online companies across the country, on a pilot basis, are resuming the organization of outbound group tours and the air ticket plus hotel service for Chinese citizens to relevant countries," reads a press statement issued by the Chinese Ministry for Culture and Tourism on January 20. China has included 20 countries in the first phase where Chinese travelers can travel. The northern neighbor included Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Fiji, Cuba, and Argentina as an outbound destination for Chinese citizens to travel as the pilot destinations, as per the circular issued by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The disappearance of Nepal from the list, according to Nepali travel trade entrepreneurs, could affect the government's target of welcoming 1 million tourists in 2023. Before the pandemic-related travel restrictions began in early 2020 in Nepal and across the world, China was the second largest source market for Nepal after India as the country welcomed 169,543 tourists from the northern neighbor. A total of 1.19 million foreign tourists visited Nepal in 2019 before the pandemic disrupted global tourism. “We were expecting that Nepal would be included in China’s list of outbound destinations for Chinese citizens from the beginning which unfortunately could not happen,” said Bishwesh Shrestha, owner of C&K Travels which specializes in Chinese tourists. “We are also planning to launch a publicity campaign in China, but we will do it later once Nepal is also included in the list.” Travel trade entrepreneurs say Nepali authorities should proactively lobby with China to include Nepali in the list. "We should have taken a diplomatic approach as countries like Thailand have been requesting China to include their countries on the list," said a tour operator. Tour operators say they expect Nepal to be included in the next list of 'relevant countries' hopefully as early as possible. According to them, a significant contribution of Chinese tourists would be required if Nepal wants to meet the target of 1 million in 2023. Tour operators specializing in Chinese tourists say they are getting a lot of inquiries from the northern neighbor currently. "In fact, FITs (free independent travelers) have already started coming to Nepal," said Shrestha, adding, "But, group travelers from the northern neighbor have not happened yet." During its 24th anniversary, the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) announced to attract at least one million foreign tourists in 2023. In 2022, tourist arrivals reached over 600,000 without any significant contribution from China. Nepal welcomed only 9,595 Chinese tourists in 2022. Tour operators say they are receiving increasing inquiries from major source markets of late. Binayak Shah, First Vice President of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN), in early January had said that the initial trends in tourism are encouraging. “The inquiries we’ve been receiving from international visitors of late have given new hope,” said Shah. When it comes to Chinese tourists, besides China opening the door for its citizens to visit Nepal, their arrivals will also depend on how quickly flights between the two countries are normalized, according to tour operators. There is still some uncertainty as to when other Chinese airlines would resume their flights to Nepal. While China Southern and Air China are now operating their flights to Kathmandu, other airlines, namely China Eastern and Sichuan Air are yet to resume their Kathmandu flights. “With the normalization of flights with China, we can welcome at least 100,000 Chinese tourists in 2023,” said Shrestha. According to tour operators, the fact that many countries still have some kind of reservations about letting Chinese tourists enter their countries could bring a large number of Chinese tourists to Nepal. “If there will be normalization of flights from China as that of the pre-Covid period, we could welcome more than 100,000 Chinese tourists in 2023,” said Shrestha. With China reopening outbound travel for Chinese Citizens, Himalaya Airlines has recently resumed its Kathmandu-Beijing direct flight after a hiatus of 32 months. The Kathmandu-Beijing flight was suspended in March 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic swept the globe. Himalaya's Airbus 319 departed from Tribhuvan International Airport on January 17 to Beijing Daxing International Airport. According to the airliner, the January 17 flight was a reoperation flight and the regular flights will begin in February. The resumption of direct flights between Kathmandu and Beijing is expected to help increase the frequency of Chinese tourist arrivals in Nepal this year.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 13. 71 points to close at 2,165.10 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 2. 05 points to close at 413. 01 points. A total of 10,759,579 unit shares of 257 companies were traded for Rs 3. 86 billion. Meanwhile, Adarsha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10 percent. Likewise, Himalayam Hydropower Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 7. 79 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 12 trillion.