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With the government struggling to strike a balance between income and expenditure, the budget has widened further. The statistics of the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO) show the government’s federal budget is in deficit by Rs 422bn. 

The budget deficit has increased as revenue could not be collected as targeted while liabilities increased in areas of salary, pension, social security allowances, and domestic & external debts among others. 

According to the latest statistics of the Financial Comptroller General Office (FCGO), the government’s expenditure reached Rs 1383.55bn by July 11 while the income totaled Rs 960.83bn.

The government has been able to meet only 64.5 percent of the revenue target with only four days left to end the current fiscal year while the total expenditure has reached 77.13 percent of the annual target. 

According to Finance Ministry officials, the budget deficit may exceed Rs 5bn by the end of the fiscal year, and there is a possibility that the government treasury account will be negative by Rs 1.5bn. The government’s treasury account has already become negative by nearly Rs 1bn. According to Nepal Rastra Bank, the government's treasury account has become negative by Rs 98.85bn. 

Since the beginning of Ashad, the last month of the fiscal year, the government has stopped all large payments including Rs 80bn meant for public works. 

Such is the state that the government has used the resources allocated for capital expenditure to pay the interest on the loans. Rs 36bn was earmarked for development projects such as Budhigandaki Hydropower Project, Nijgadh International Airport, and Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway.

After the money collected from its revenue collection was not enough to pay for the salaries of the government employees and to cover the administrative expenses, the government has for the first time taken the money from the development budget and spent it to pay the interest on the loan. Rs 36bn earmarked for development projects including Budhigandaki, Nijgadh Airport, and Kathmandu-Nijgadh Fast has been transferred to pay the principal and interest of the loans.

Finance Ministry officials admitted that the amount was transferred from other titles to pay the principal and interest of the internal loans since the amount allocated for paying loans remained insufficient due to the surge in the interest rates this year. 

The dramatic decline in revenue forced the government to trim the federal budget of Rs 1.793trn by 14 percent to Rs 1.549trn through the mid-term review of the budget. 

The non-improvement in revenue collection has been a worrying factor for the government which is struggling to meet the expenses. As of July 11, revenue collection totaled Rs 940.90bn, of which Rs 818.52bn is tax revenue and Rs 86.46 is non-tax revenue.

The decline in imports has hit the revenue collection hard. According to the Department of Customs (DoC), revenue from imports has declined by 23 percent in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period of the last fiscal year. DoC collected revenue worth Rs 344.03bn till mid-June, which was Rs 446.79bn a year ago. 

The country’s total imports have declined by 16 percent in the review period. Nepal has imported goods worth Rs 1,480.98bn in the first 11 months of FY 2022/23 compared to Rs 1,763.22bn during the same period of FY 2021/22. 

Dhaniram Sharma, spokesperson of the Finance Ministry accepted that the budget deficit in this fiscal will be a bit bigger than in earlier years. It is seen that there will be a budget deficit this year. 

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 25.31 points to close at 2,097.55 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 3.28 points to close at 392. 15 points.

A total of 8,504,378-unit shares of 289 companies were traded for Rs 3. 18 billion.

Meanwhile, Shiva Shree Hydropower Ltd, CYC Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited and River Falls Power Limited were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 10. 00 percent. Similarly, Rawa Energy Development Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 10.00 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 08 trillion.

With the country’s banking system flushed with liquidity, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) is conducting a reverse repo worth Rs 20bn to mop up excess liquidity in the market.

A reverse repo is a monetary mechanism through which the central bank absorbs additional liquidity of the banking system by paying certain interest rates.

Issuing a notice, the NRB has said that it is going to mop up Rs 20bn for July 25 (for a period of 14 days). The central bank is conducting the reverse repo for the third time within Ashad.

With the end of the current fiscal approaching, there has been a huge surge in government payments, which ultimately comes to the banking system. With demands for loans drying up, investable capital has been piling up in the banking system in recent days. As of July 9,  investable capital worth Rs 440bn has been accumulated in banks and financial institutions (BFIs). The deposits of BFIs amounted to Rs 5,715bn, while loans totaled Rs 4,861bn.

Since Baisakh, the banking system has collected Rs 242bn in deposits. In the first three weeks of Ashad (the last month of the fiscal year), Rs 147bn in deposits have been added to the banking system.

With the liquidity position becoming easier, the interbank interest rate has also decreased. The interbank interest rate has come down from seven percent during the review period to 1.36 percent on July 9.

The BFIs that were experiencing a liquidity crunch until a few months ago are now facing problems of non-disbursement of loans. While liquidity is increasing, bankers say demands for loans have remained low.

While the commercial banks introduced a new home loan scheme by reducing the interest with the expectation that the construction sector will be energized, they are seeing no demand for loans.

As there is no demand for loans currently, the CD ratio of commercial banks has been continuously decreasing. The CD ratio which was 88.07 percent in mid-July, 2022, has fallen to 82.03 percent on July 24, 2023.

As per central bank regulatory norms, banks can disburse 90 percent of their deposits in loans. Banks have to maintain the credit-to-deposit ratio (CD ratio) at 90 percent.

As the government also spends in the last quarter massively, a large amount of cash is being deposited in banks in the period. BFIs generally make little lending during the last quarter of the fiscal year.

The credit expansion to the private sector in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year is far less than what the BFIs lent during the same period last fiscal year. Bankers say lending will not grow much in Ashad, the last month of the fiscal year, in which BFIs will be more focused on loan recovery.

According to bankers, the private sector has not sought bank loans with the deepening economic downturn. On the other hand, retail loans such as housing loans and auto loans have not grown with interest rates still remaining high. While the BFIs have been gradually lowering the loan interest rates, te demand for loans has not surged as expected. “The demands for loans have remained subdued due to the state of the economy and businesses,” said a banker.

Bankers say the other reason behind the sluggish lending is banks have become more cautious in loan disbursement due to a sharp rise in non-performing loans (NPLs).

A sales funnel is one of the most preferred and followed marketing strategies for selling goods and services online. We can understand the sales funnel as a visual representation of the customer journey’s from being a querier to a buyer. 

Sales funnel helps businesses observe and understand the customers’ purchasing behavior. By observing each part of the purchasing funnel, businesses can identify the flaws and strengths of their goods and services. They can track the buyer’s journey throughout the funnel process. Customer relationship management (CRM) technology enables businesses to streamline their sales processes, customer interactions and targeting the right audience. In this article, we will explore the benefits of using CRM technology for better sales, and find out how it can drive conversion and customer satisfaction.

In the current digital scenario where technology has accelerated so far ahead, every business is looking out for the best way to increase their sales conversions. CRM technology is considered the best strategy for efficient and effective customer relationship management. CRM systems let businesses visualize bigger goals and set strategic plans on the bases of the sales funnel process. Through the use of CRM, technology businesses can correctly segment the leads and purpose the action to optimize the sales funnel. 

Here are several benefits of using CRM technology for business to bolster sales: 

Prioritizing right leads

We all know that every lead will not convert into customers. But using a CRM funnel will help you identify which leads to pursue. It helps businesses save time and resources by identifying the leads that will never convert into customers. Through the use of CRM, funnel businesses can understand the prospect of the buyer and filter the leads. You can identify which leads require immediate attention and follow-ups.  

Increasing conversion rate 

Every business wants to convert more leads into sales. The use of a CRM funnel is the best possible way to improve your conversion rate. CRM helps streamline the entire sales funnel from awareness, interest, desire, and action of the buying process. Businesses can figure out the customers’ behavior and make their plans and strategies accordingly. Also, there is a fewer chance of missing the lead with a CRM technology. CRM can also be integrated with social media to stay connected with the customers, so that you can respond to their queries and information immediately.  

Tracking sales progress 

Every business wants its products and services to perform well in the market. Integration of CRM tools enhances productivity, as it helps to track the status and performance of the leads. CRM keeps a close eye on the sales funnel and assists businesses to supervise each stage of the sales process, while keeping you informed on what is working and what is not. The whole tracking process notifies businesses how their leads are performing and gives a deep understanding of customers and their buying cycle.   

Data-driven insights 

Businesses always need to understand the leads which they sell. Lead consists of data such as customer’s name, phone number, address, emails, etc. As we all know CRM is a real-time data-driven solution which helps businesses in decision-making, strategy planning, and launch data-driven marketing campaigns. CRM has become a top priority for businesses these days, as this tool simplifies the jobs of the sales team. 

Customer retention and loyalty

CRM technology plays an important role in customer retention and loyalty. With in-depth understanding of customers’ needs, preferences and purchase history, businesses can provide personalized and tailored offerings to the customers. CRM technology enables businesses to proactively engage with customers, anticipate their needs, and provide exceptional post sales service. By nurturing customer relationships, addressing concerns, and delivering on promises, businesses can build customer loyalty and foster long-term customer engagement and retention, resulting in possible chances for repeating sales and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

The aforementioned points show how CRM can be a crucial tool for businesses to scale up their sales. From identifying the right leads and increasing conversion rates to tracking sales progress and gaining data driven insights, a CRM system provides valuable tools for efficient customer relationship management. By leveraging CRM technology, business can enhance customer interactions, foster customer loyalty, and ensure data security for long term growth and success in the digital era. Thus Businesses need to start using CRM software that fits their requirements. Here are the few top choices of software for CRM solutions, HubSpot, Bitrix24 and Zoho.