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The dividend capacity of commercial banks has reduced despite a 1.4 percent growth in net profit over the first nine months of fiscal year 2024/25. The third-quarter data of banks and financial institutions released by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) shows the average Return On Equity (RoE) of commercial banks dropped to 7.73 percent over the review period, down from 8.34 percent in the same period of the previous fiscal year. The average RoE was 13.17 percent in the third quarter of 2022/23.

RoE refers to the return that investors receive on their total capital. An average RoE of 7.73 percent means investors received a return of Rs 7.73 for every Rs 100 invested. A lower RoE can indicate that the company is struggling to earn a high return on the capital raised from investors. Twelve out of 20 commercial banks in the country saw their RoE drop in the review period, while eight managed to increase it. Only six banks—Everest Bank, Standard Chartered, NMB, Sanima, Nepal Bank, and Nabil Bank—have RoE in double digits. Everest Bank recorded the highest RoE of 15.82 percent in the third quarter ending mid-April, while NIC Asia has the lowest at just 0.71 percent.

Data shows Nabil Bank, Global IME Bank, Nepal Investment Mega Bank, Everest Bank, NMB Bank, Sanima Bank, Machhapuchhre Bank, and Nepal Bank managed to increase their RoE in the review period, while Prime Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Himalayan Bank, Prabhu Bank, Laxmi Sunrise Bank, Agricultural Development Bank, Nepal SBI Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Citizens Bank, Siddhartha Bank, Kumari Bank, and NIC Asia Bank saw their RoE drop.

Distributable profits plummet

The distributable profits of commercial banks have also turned negative. The combined distributable profit of 20 commercial banks as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2024/25 is negative by Rs 1.67bn. In the same quarter of 2022/23, these banks had distributable profits exceeding Rs 15.28bn. Specifically, the distributable profits of Kumari Bank, Himalayan Bank, NIC Asia Bank, Prabhu Bank, Nepal Investment Mega Bank and Rastriya Banijya Bank are collectively negative by more than Rs 22bn. As a result, even though 14 other banks have positive distributable profits, the overall figure for the banking sector remains negative.

By the end of the third quarter, six banks have negative distributable profits. Four others have distributable profits below three percent, which means they are highly unlikely to pay dividends to their shareholders. Among the 20 commercial banks in the country, Everest Bank has the highest dividend-paying capacity at 34.09 percent, followed by Standard Chartered Bank at 19.35 percent and Sanima Bank at 18.92 percent. Only eight banks have a dividend capacity exceeding 10 percent.

Standing on the base of the world's tallest peak, Sagarmatha (Mt Everest), Qatari princess Asma Al Thani expressed her serious concern over the impact of climate change in the Himalayan region. Princess Asma has also climbed Mt Everest in 2019.

Addressing the Summiteer’s Summit in Thame—a Sherpa village already devastated by glacial floods—Princess Al Thani described the status of the mountains as “lifeless” compared to her first visit in 2019.

The Summiteer's Summit was organized by an organization called Sathsathai on the occasion of the International Earth Day on April 22.

She said, "The melting of snow on mountains like Everest is a threat not only to Nepal, but to the entire global community."

“I climbed Everest in 2019 and was exhilarated by its beauty and vitality. But now, I return to find bare rocks where snow once lay, blackened cliffs, and a silence that speaks of loss. There is no life in these mountains anymore.”

In her experience, the weather in the Himalayas has changed and all these changes are very serious.

She pointed out that the natural disaster of 2023, a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), wreaked havoc here, displacing dozens of families, destroying power lines, and severing road links.

“These are not isolated disasters,” Princess Al Thani said, adding that they are symptoms of a much larger, man-made emergency. "And it’s not something Nepal can or should bear alone.”

She also showed concern about perishing snow in the snow-covered Himalayas.

“Everest is no longer the white peak we remember from photos,” said a local climber. “It’s a fragile mountain now, and it needs protection, not just admiration.”

Settlements such as Thame are facing the biggest impact of the changes in the Himalayan environment.

The princess stressed the need to install early warning systems to prevent disasters such as floods, landslides, glacial lake eruptions and avalanches.

"The mountainous regions are sensitive. If there is such a system here, life can be saved by disseminating information in time. Technology needs to be used,” the Qatari Princess suggested.

Princess Al Thani mentioned that Sagarmatha is the shared asset of all humans, not only of Nepal.

"Climbers like us don't just think it a matter of pride to climb the Sagarmatha. We also think it is a duty to protect it. Existence of mountains should be kept as the first priority in every development plan. Otherwise, Sagarmatha will be limited to photos only in coming days", she warned.

Supporting the Princess' statement, other participants – environmentalists, climbers and local representatives pointed out the need for collaboration of the world for the protection of mountains.

During the event, emphasis was laid on collaboration among the government, local bodies, NGOs and foreign mountaineering community.

As per the details presented in the conference, the temperature of Sagarmatha area is increasing every decade which is making a direct impact on glaciers.

The warning, experience and sentimental appeal of Princess Thani had made deep impacts in the conference. She shared, " We will lose the future of earth if there will be no snow in the mountains.  It is a shared responsibility of us to save Sagarmatha."

On the occasion, a message sent by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on the occasion of the summit was unveiled.

He expressed the belief that the conference would support the informal preparation of Sagarmatha Sambaad.

Prime Minister Oli mentioned that it was necessary to spread awareness about environmental risk.

The Summit organized by an organization, Sathsathai, in coordination with all three-tier governments is taken as the pre-event of Sagarmatha Sambaad to be organized by the government from May 16-18.

Dlytica has launched the country’s First AI-powered Big Data Platform, named “DataNature”.

This platform is aimed to revolutionize how businesses can leverage and create Data Warehouse & Artificial intelligence (AI) to drive growth, improve decision-making, and enhance customer experiences.

At a time when AI has been dominating the business operations worldwide, Dlytica is positioning itself as the vanguard of this transformation in Nepal by providing foundation to all AI including Agentic AI.

During the platform launching program, Ashis Parajuli, CEO of Dlytica, said: “Our investment in Nepal is driven by the invaluable learning and experiences we have gained from the global market,” adding, “With this knowledge, we aim to uplift our innovation and take it to the global stage, helping Nepal emerge as a hub for AI excellence,” reads a statement issued by Dlytica.

A key element of Dlytica’s strategy is collaboration, and the company has already secured significant partnerships to expand its reach. One of the partners is Ncell, Nepal's leading telecommunications provider, which recently launched the country’s First Data Center and Cloud Service Provider.

Parajuli went on to say that Dlytica’s focus on data governance ensures that companies are not only collecting data but doing so in a way that allows them to extract meaningful insights for better decision-making.

Dlytica’s AI360 platform, built on the DataNature Big Data platform, offers businesses the ability to segment customers effectively, improve decision-making processes, and personalize marketing strategies in real time, the statement further reads.

South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission found DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, guilty of sending user data and AI prompt content without consent, Reuters reported.

During its first launch in January, the company allegedly transferred personal information to companies in China and the United States, including Beijing Volcano Engine Technology Co. Ltd., without user consent.

The commission uncovered DeepSeek also shared device, network, and app information, which violated local data protection standards. Although the company later stated that the transfers were designed to improve the user experience, it discontinued sharing prompt content on April 10, according to Reuters.

As a result, the agency issued an appropriate recommendation, directing DeepSeek to remove previously exported AI prompt data and provide a legal framework for future cross-border data transfers.

Global funding cuts, led by the United States, have impacted the child immunization efforts almost as severely as the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN said Thursday.

According to Reuters, measles, meningitis, and yellow fever outbreaks are on the rise, and more than half of 108 low-income nations have reported vaccine delays due to aid shortages, citing the WHO.

In a joint appeal with UNICEF and Gavi, the vaccine alliance WHO requested donors to sustain financing ahead of Gavi's June pledge round, which requires $9bn for 2026-2030.

CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has urged the government to address the genuine demands of teachers.

He also asked parliamentarians of his party to participate actively to pass the bills including the Civil Service from the Parliament.

In the Parliamentary Party meeting of the party held on Thursday, Dahal urged the government to resolve the problems, saying that he has also been holding discussions with teachers, doctors and microfinance victims, according to Dahal's private secretariat. 

He stressed that all lawmakers should be active to pass the important bills including Federal Civil Service and School Education. 

On a different note, mentioning that the CPN (Maoist Center) is getting people's trust through Tarai-Madhes Awareness Campaign, Chair Dahal added that the campaign has also made party organization stronger.

During the meeting, various issues including present political development, government's style of working, party's role and people's expectation were discussed.

The High-Level Committee of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) is holding its historic Unity General Convention in Kathmandu on May 3 to 5.

A total of 3, 181 people had submitted applications in the stipulated time to become delegates. The process of certifying the applications is going on, reads a statement issued by the NRNA.

While the Election Committee has already begun the work, the delegates have started coming to Kathmandu to take part in the Unity General Convention.

“In this situation, some elements are trying to spread rumors, we urge everyone not to  believe misleading information,” the statement further reads.

The Unity General Convention will be held on the slated time and all the preparations for the same have already been completed.

WhatsApp is facing criticism for introducing a new AI chatbot feature that cannot be removed from the app. Though described as “optional,” the Meta AI icon now permanently appears on the chats screen, frustrating users who find it intrusive, BBC reported.

Meta compared the tool to other fixed features like ‘Channels’ and ‘Status’, stating users aren’t required to interact with it and that user feedback is being considered.

The move echoes prior criticism of Microsoft's Recall function, which was later made optional. The update comes as Meta tests AI on Instagram to detect underage users who fake their age, as stated by BBC.