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The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 22.65 points to close at 1,949.06 points on Monday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 2.95 points to close at 366. 21 points. A total of 5,255,086 unit shares of 258 companies were traded for Rs 1. 29 billion. Meanwhile, Unique Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 81 trillion.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Saturday directed the chiefs of security agencies to pay attention to the security of employees of the banks and financial institutions (BFIs). With cases of BFIs employees getting attacked and manhandled on the rise in recent days as some people have been inciting anti-banking activities,  PM Dahal instructed the security chiefs to arrange proper security for BFIs and their staff. Of late, financial institutions are in the news for the wrong reasons. While there have been protests against microfinance institutions (MFIs) for their alleged cases of exploitation of borrowers, BFIs are also in the line of fire for higher interest rates. The controversial businessman and medical college owner Durga Prasain has  launched a loan waiver campaign and has openly called his followers not to repay their debts and attack BFIs' staff if they come for loan recovery. Addressing a public rally in Jhapa in late February, Prasain called for a smear campaign on the CEOs and employees of BFIs. Subsequently, incidents of physical attacks against the employees of BFIs and MFIs were reported in various parts of the country. The BFIs' staff in Jajarkot, Mawakanpur, Myagdi, Sunsari, Udayapur, Kapilvastu, Rupandehi, and Kaski districts, among others, have been physically attacked and assaulted in past two weeks. This has forced the umbrella organizations of BFIs to issue strongly worded statements in which they have warned that they would be forced to discontinue the banking service if such activities continue. In a joint statement on Friday, the Nepal Bankers’ Association, Development Bankers’ Association of Nepal, Nepal Financial Institutions Association, and Nepal Microfinance Bankers Association said their employees have been physically assaulted, and offices padlocked and ransacked in more than half a dozen districts. Condemning such acts, these associations also called for legal action against those responsible for instigating such attacks, indicating Prasain. They also warned of discontinuing the banking service for the safety of their staff. As Prasain called for a smear campaign against bank employees, bankers said that it has created an environment of fear among the bank employees. A banker said that the bank employees have been terrified by the campaign. “That’s why we had demanded the security be provided to our offices and staff,” said the banker. Confederation of Banks and Financial Institutions Nepal, a grouping of bank promoters also condemned the obstructive activities to provide banking services and asked the government to ensure law and order. According to a senior official of the Home Ministry, after the bankers submitted a memorandum demanding security for their offices and staff, the Ministry issued a circular in the name of District Administration Offices to enhance vigilance and security around the offices of BFIs. But the official also said that only maintaining law and order would not solve the current rage against the banking sector.  “This is the result of the economic problems that the country is going through. So, it is necessary for the Nepal Rastra Bank and other regulatory agencies to address the genuine concerns of the bank customers,” he said. Nepal's economy is facing deeper troubles since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. The country’s economy sank to negative growth of 2.4 percent in the fiscal year 2019/20 because of Covid-related restrictions. Even though there was a slight recovery after the easing of restrictions later on, the economy has been facing a series of problems. In FY 2021/22, problems of depleting foreign exchange reserves, and widening balance of payment (BoP) gave way to a liquidity crunch in the banking sector. As a result, bank loans started to become costlier which affected the borrowers’ repayment capacity badly. “Not only in Nepal, but we have also seen protests across the world against the economic woes,” said the Home Ministry official, adding, “Agencies under the Home Ministry will look to maintain law and order. Since the problem is multifaceted, our efforts alone may not be adequate.” In Sri Lanka, the once powerful ruling Rajapaksha family was removed from power from street protests last year after an economic crisis engulfed the South Asian Island country. Nepal’s economy is also performing badly as both consumer and business demand have dwindled sharply over the past year. As a result, the government’s revenue collection has dropped dramatically, which is being called the lowest in over 50 years, in the current fiscal year and the government is struggling even to manage the budget for recurrent expenditure. “So, it is necessary to address not only the issue of the law and order but also the economic problems plaguing the country,” the Home Ministry official said.  

After getting hard hit for nearly two years with the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, foreign employment has bounced back strongly. The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) data shows labor permit approval has surged by 33.51 percent in the first eight months of the fiscal year 2022/23. The department has issued 540,675 labor permits from mid-July to mid-March in this fiscal year compared to 404,963 permits during the same period of the last fiscal year. There has been a huge increment in the new labor permit approval in the current fiscal year. The department has issued 348,285 new approvals in the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to 226,701 during the same period of the last fiscal year. The departure of Nepali workers for foreign employment started to recover from FY 2021/22 with normalcy resuming in international travel as many countries begin to lift travel restrictions. Similarly, the sharp decline in industrial and business activities causing a reduction in job opportunities in the country has also forced many Nepalis to go abroad for employment. The number of Nepali workers going abroad for foreign employment declined sharply in FY 2019/20 and FY 2020/21 as major labor destination countries enforced lockdowns to control the pandemic as well as restriction on international traveling. When the first wave of Covid-19 hit the labor destinations in March 2020, the government halted labor migration barring Nepalis from flying abroad for work in Gulf countries, Malaysia, and South Korea, among others. The outbound labor migration approval slumped to a new low in FY 2020/21. The country recorded a drop of 54.75 percent in labor permit issuance in 2020/21 compared to 2019/20. While the government approves labor permits for 111 countries that have officially been recognized as labor destinations and allow migrant workers to go there through recruitment agencies, Nepalis have been also allowed to go to other countries after obtaining individual labor approvals. In FY 2022/23, Nepalis migrated to 100 countries with approval from the DoFE. The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) along with the ASEAN country Malaysia host a vast majority of Nepali migrant workers. These seven countries have consistently been providing employment to more than 80 percent of Nepali migrant workers since 2013/14 and have also remained as nations with the highest demand for Nepali workers. In FY 2022/23, Malaysia again became the number 1 labor destination for Nepali migrant workers. The department's data shows 202,674 labor permits have been issued for the east Asian country. The top five labor destinations in this fiscal year are Malaysia, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. The DoFE data shows labor approvals for European countries such as Romania, and Croatia increasing along with Cyprus and Malta. Similarly, more labor approvals have been issued in this fiscal for Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. Outbound Labor migration has reached a five-year high in FY 2021/22 after three straight years of decline with the DoFE issuing a total of 630,089 labor approvals in the last fiscal year. Between 2008/09 and 2021/22, more than 4.7 million new labor approvals were issued to Nepali migrants seeking to work abroad. These numbers increased consistently, reaching a peak in 2013/14 when more than half a million new approvals were issued. Growth in remittance  With healthy growth in labor migration, the remittance inflow has also surged by 27.1 percent in the first seven months of the current fiscal year. According to Nepal Rastra Bank, Nepal received remittances worth Rs 689.88bn till mid-February, 2023 compared to a decrease of 4.4 percent in the same period of the last fiscal year. In US dollar terms, remittance inflows increased by 16.4 percent to $5.30bn in the review period against a decrease of 5.3 percent in the same period of the previous year. Labor permit approval (First eight months)

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 700 per tola in the domestic market on Monday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 109, 300 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 110, 000 per tola on Sunday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 108, 800 per tola. It was traded at Rs 109, 500. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 15 and is being traded at Rs 1,345 per tola today.