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The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 800 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 110, 600 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 108, 800 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 110, 050 per tola. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,425 per tola today.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 4. 27 points to close at 1,866.40 points on Tuesday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 1. 12 points to close at 357. 02 points. A total of 2,336,625-unit shares of 271 companies were traded for Rs 692 billion. Meanwhile, Aatmanirbhar Labhubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 8. 20 percent. Likewise, Swet-Ganga Hydropwer and Construction Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 4. 70 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 71 trillion.

The Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) has issued Letters of Intent (LOIs) for the license of securities traders (securities brokers and securities dealers) to 16 brokerage firms. According to Sebon Spokesperson Muktinath Shrestha, 16 of the 45 companies that applied for the license were issued LoIs as decided by the Sebon board meeting on Monday. “The board issued LoI to 16 firms after the completion of the evaluation of their applications,” said Shrestha. The firms that have received the LOI will get the license after they ready their infrastructure as prescribed by the Sebon. The board has issued LoI to subsidiary companies of seven commercial banks - Nabil Bank, Nepal Investment Mega Bank, Citizens Bank, Kumari Bank, NMB Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank and Sanima Bank to operate stock brokerage transactions. Among them, Nabil Bank has received an LOI in the name of Nabil Securities Limited to work as a securities dealer. Similarly, Himalayan Brokerage Company, Index Securities, Sun Securities, Capital Max Securities, Bhole Ganesh Securities, Infinity Securities, Akash Bhairav Securities, SPSS Securities and Elite Stock House have also been issued LoI for brokerage transactions. This is the first time in over a decade that Sebon is going to issue stock broking licenses. Meanwhile, Sebon has formed an evaluation committee for the issuance of licenses for commodities exchanges. The five-member committee is headed by Phanindra Gautam, Joint Secretary at Ministry of Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs and has Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Joint Secretary at Ministry of Finance, Mukunda Kumar Chhetri, Executive Director at Nepal Rastra Bank, Muktinath Shrestha, Executive Director at Sebon, and Deepa Dahal, Deputy Executive Director at Sebon as members. Sebon is preparing to evaluate the applications of four companies for commodities exchange licenses. Nepal Multi Commodities Exchange, Himalayan Commodities and Derivative Exchange, Multi Derivative Exchange, and Multi Assets and Derivative Exchange have applied for the license. Sebon plans to issue licenses for two commodities exchanges.  

While there has been improvement in the minimum wage compared to the past, still 15.30 percent of the workers still do not receive the prescribed minimum wage. The Labor Audit carried out by the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (Gefont) shows the issue of minimum wage still persists but compared to 2018, the number of workers who do not get the minimum wage has decreased. As per the Gefont Labor Audit, the trend of hiring trainee workers by industrial establishments is increasing. "Industrial establishments have been using 21 percent of trainee workers but they are not classified as the workers. This shows that a new form of labor exploitation is developing with more use of trainee workers," reads the report. Of the 145 industrial establishments included in the labor audit, 65 percent are registered at the contribution-based Social Security Fund. However, only 56 percent of them have been depositing money from their workers in the fund. The report also shows a rise in the number of Indian and other foreign workers in Nepal. According to the report, around 20 percent of industrial establishments have employed Indian and foreign workers. "Of them, 80 percent have not obtained official labor permits to employ foreign workers," said the report. When employing foreign nationals, a labor permit must be obtained from the Department of Labor and Occupational Safety. Even when Indian workers, who do not require labor permits to work in Nepal, are hired, they must be documented in the labor department. The report states that the companies did not follow the said policy. According to the report, the number of industrial establishments paying regular salaries has declined. Only 70.5 percent of industrial establishments are paying salaries within one month in 2022 compared to 83 percent in 2018. The report says the employers have not paid much attention to the medical insurance and accident insurance of their workers. According to the Labor Act, the employer has to provide medical treatment insurance of Rs 100,000 and accident insurance of Rs 700,000 for each worker. Of the industrial establishments included in the Labor Audit, only 44.75 percent of the industries have provided medical treatment insurance for workers and 40.45 percent have provided workers' accident insurance. While more industries are employing workers by signing formal labor contracts, the trend of using workers without labor contracts still continues. According to the report, 69.93 percent of establishments have labor contracts with workers. Only 55.93 percent of the companies used to employ workers through labor contracts in 2018. According to Gefont Vice President Ramesh Badal, the audit has highlighted that the overall implementation aspect of the service facilities provided to the workers as per the Labor Act is weak. "Workers have received minimum wages in the industries where there is a labor union," said Badal, adding, "Still 15.30 percent have not received the minimum wage which is sad."