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Digital payments that have been gradually declining every month since the start of this fiscal year have plunged to the lowest in Magh (mid-January to mid-February). According to the latest data of the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), electronic transactions worth Rs 3,653.871 billion took place in the month of Magh. After five straight months of decline, digital payment had increased in Poush (mid-December to mid-January) by 12 percent. However, the growth failed to sustain as electronic payments declined by 11.86 percent in Magh. With the sharp slowdown in economic activities in the last one year, digital payments have also taken a beating in this fiscal year. The latest statistics of NRB show digital payments have been continuously shrinking from mid-July to mid-February on a month-over-month basis. Digital transactions in Nepal took a giant leap after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 which forced people to stay inside their homes during the lockdowns. Backed by the increasing use of smartphones, consumers were fast to adopt digital modes of payments and online shopping to buy daily essential items. The monthly digit payments reached an all-time high of Rs 6,227.648 billion in the last month of FY 2021/22. However, electronic transactions have been on a decline every month in this fiscal year. The NRB data shows digital payments worth Rs 5,688.626 billion took place in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August), Rs 4,926.715 billion in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September), Rs 4,605.316 billion in Ashoj (mid-September to mid-October), Rs 3.946.194 billion in Kartik (mid-October to mid-November) and Rs 3,697.658 billion in Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December). It increased to Rs 4145.904 billion in Poush (mid-December to mid-January) and then decreased to Rs 3653.871 billion in Magh (mid-January to mid-February). Similarly, the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) shrank to Rs 2,295.804 billion in Magh (mid-January to mid-February) from Rs 4,349 billion in Ashar (mid-June to mid-July). In the meantime, cash withdrawals from automated teller machines (ATMs) declined to Rs 77.041 billion during the review period from Rs 79.459 billion in Ashar. Transactions made through the point of sales (POS) also decreased to Rs 3.88 billion from Rs 5.183 billion earlier. However, mobile banking transactions increased to Rs 172.119 billion from Rs 162.255 billion. Similarly, Quick Response (QR) payments increased to Rs 17.765 billion from Rs 14.526 billion. Digital payments were on an increasing trend till the last fiscal year. This trend has reversed in the current fiscal year. Bankers and experts point out the current economic slowdown for this. According to them, the spending capacity of consumers has been hard hit by rising inflation resulting in a decline in digital payments. Guru Prasad Paudel, Chief of the Payment System Department at NRB says the decline in digital payments is a reflection of the contraction in economic activities. "The decline in payments through RTGS has led to a decrease in overall digital transactions," said Paudel. Electronic Payment Transactions

Xiaomi Nepal has announced the pre-booking of the flagship smartphone, Xiaomi 13 Pro. The Xiaomi 13 Pro is the Pro variant of the Xiaomi 13 series that was launched globally on February 26, 2023. Xiaomi 13 Pro is co-engineered with Leica camera for creating masterpiece in every environment. The phone offers master-level photography with pro-grade Leica lenses. Equipped with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, the Xiaomi 13 Pro is a premium flagship phone flaunting a minimalistic design and best-in-class display. Equipped with 120W Hyper Charge and a 4,820mAh battery, the smartphone is able to charge to 100 percent in just 19 minutes. The Xiaomi 13 Pro has a 6.73-inch 10-bit QHD+ AMOLED display with a 3200 x 1440 resolution. The phone has an aluminum frame and a curved ceramic glass back. It comes up with a square camera module to house three cameras, a flash, and Leica branding. The phone is rated IP68 for water and dust resistance. One of the major features of the phone is a triple camera setup jointly developed with German camera company Leica. The primary camera has a large 1-inch 50MP Sony IMX98 sensor with OIS and a 23mm ƒ/1.9 Leica lens. The 50MP telephoto camera has a 75mm equivalent focal length (3x zoom), ƒ/2.0 aperture, and OIS. The phone has a 4820mAh single-cell battery. The phone supports 120W Xiaomi HyperCharge fast charging technology and 50W wireless charging. As a bundle offer, Xiaomi Nepal is offering a Xiaomi 50W wireless charging stand with the pre-booking of Xiaomi 13 Pro. The pre-booking starts from March 23 to April 3, 2023. “We believe our success is a result of the love that we received from our Xiaomi fans. This offer is only a step to thank our Xiaomi and encourage them to keep loving our Xiaomi products," said Amit Kumar Panda, the Country General Manager of Xiaomi Nepal. Customers can buy Xiaomi 13 Pro at 0 percent EMI offer from Nabil Bank. The Xiaomi 13 Pro will be available in 12+256GB variant in two color options- Ceramic White and Ceramic Black. One can pre-book Xiaomi 13 Pro in just Rs5000. The price of Xiaomi 13 Pro is Rs. 1,29,999 and will be available in all Mi stores across the country soon.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 18. 15 points to close at 1,915.14 points on Thursday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 2. 90 points to close at 361. 01 points. A total of 4,340,270 unit shares of 259 companies were traded for Rs 1. 41 billion. Meanwhile, Maya Khola Hydropower Company Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Unique Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 7. 46 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 77 trillion.

Two months after the government lifted the import restrictions, the country's imports have again started to surge. The latest foreign trade statistics released by the Department of Customs show Nepal imported goods worth Rs 139.22 billion in Falgun (mid-February to mid-March), an increase of 10 percent compared to Magh (mid-January to mid-February). The country's import bill in Falgun is the second highest on a month-to-month basis in FY 2022/23. Nepal had imported goods worth Rs 142.31 billion in Bhadra (mid-August-mid-September). However, the country's total imports in the first eight months of the current fiscal year are lower than the last fiscal year. According to the Department of Customs, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 1,058.38 billion in the current fiscal year compared to Rs 1,308.73 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year. The imports during the first eight months of this fiscal have declined by 19.13 percent. After lifting eight months-long import restrictions on automobiles, alcohol, and high-end mobiles in mid-December last year, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) also removed the provision of cash margin in imports in January this year. The country's overall imports were on the lower side from the start of the current fiscal year compared to the last fiscal year. The country's import bill in Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August) stood at Rs 131.30 billion. It increased to Rs 142.30 billion in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) before going down to Rs 127.40 billion in Ashoj (mid-September to mid-October). The imports increased to Rs 131.70 billion in Kartik (mid-October to mid-November) and Rs 132.10 billion in Mangsir (mid-November to mid-December) before declining to Rs 127.90 billion in Poush (mid-December to mid-January). While the imports have started to surge, the country's exports are yet to grow like in the last fiscal year. Nepal's exports reached an all-time high of Rs 200 billion in FY 2021/22. According to DoC, the country's exports crossed the Rs 100 billion mark in the eighth month of the current fiscal year. The department’s data shows Nepal exported goods worth Rs 104.79 billion till Falgun compared to Rs 147.74 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year.