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With the year 2079 coming to an end, Nepal's private sector is fully engrossed in the election fever to elect a new leadership of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI). As per the FNCCI statute, the senior vice president automatically becomes the president for the next term. This has made the election of senior vice president a battle royale. Unlike past elections, a tripartite contest has emerged this time with Anjan Shrestha, Ram Chandra Sanghai, and Umesh Lal Shrestha vying for the senior vice president post and forming their panels. With nominations completed and one week left for the election, the candidates are making last-ditch efforts to ensure their victory. The effort for a consensus candidate for the senior vice president post, initiated by the current Senior Vice President Chandra Prasad Dhakal, who will lead the FNCCI after the 57th General Assembly, has failed to yield the desired result. As per the statute of FNCCI, there will be one president, one senior vice president, three vice presidents, and one treasurer. There will be 19 members from the association, 18 from the district/municipal, and 12 from the commodity association in the FNCCI executive committee. In addition to this, 14 members will also be chosen, two from each province. As in the past, business houses, former FNCCI presidents, and political parties all are involved in the FNCCI election, making it a high-stakes contest. As the Nepali private sector's apex organization, the FNCCI election has always been a prestige issue for the private sector. And, this time also, it is no different. All three candidates for the senior VP post claim their candidacy is natural pointing out their contributions to the organization. Anjan Shrestha, Executive Director of Laxmi Group said that the problems of the private sector should be given priority when the economy is in a state of turmoil and that FNCCI should be made accessible to all businesspersons at all levels. In Shrestha's panel, Arunraj Sumargi is contesting for the district/municipal vice president post, Manish Lal Pradhan for the commodity vice president, and Bharat Raj Acharya for the associate vice president. Ramchandra Sanghai of Triveni Group represents the Marwari business community. From his panel, Sur Krishna Vaidya is vying for the district/municipal vice president post, Sakuntalal Hirachan for the commodity vice president, and Jyotsana Shrestha for the associate vice president. Umesh Lal Shrestha, Managing Director of Quest Pharmaceuticals, is also confident to win the race. In Shrestha's panel, Dinesh Shrestha is contesting for the district/municipal vice president, Hemraj Dhakal for the commodity vice president, and Bharat Raj Acharya for the associate vice president. Acharya is the common candidate of Anjan and Umesh Lal panels. The election is scheduled for April 12. In voting, the district/municipal association has higher weightage than associate members and commodity associations. And, more than 50 percent of the total votes are needed to win the senior VP post.

Xiaomi Nepal has launched Redmi 12C. The Redmi 12C is a budget-friendly smartphone Powered by Mediatek Helio G85 processor. The phone delivers best-in-class performance and a smooth experience in gaming, imaging, or everyday use. With up to 6+5GB extended RAM and 1TB storage extension, the Redmi 12 C offers quick and responsive feedback when opening apps. The large 5,000mAh battery of Redmi 12C provides enough power to last for a full day of calling, gaming, and video playback. With a rear fingerprint sensor that blends harmoniously into its minimalist design, unlocking your phone is quick, easy, and safe. The phone has a large 6.71-inch HD+ display and its vibrant screen enables a better viewing experience with its sleek 20.6:9 aspect ratio. In addition, the reading mode feature of the device ensures the protection of the eyes. Equipped with a 50MP main camera, the Redmi 12 C offers greater details and greater light-capturing capabilities, allowing phone users to record memorable moments in any light conditions. The customers will get a Rs 500 flat discount on the purchase of any variant of Redmi 12 C between April 6-30. The discount will avail on Daraz and at all the authorized Mi stores across the country. Price  3GB+32GB Rs 13,499 4GB+64GB Rs 14,499 6GB+128GB             Rs 16,999

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Friday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 110, 000 per tola today.

The World Bank has made a downward revision in Nepal’s economic growth prospect in the current fiscal year pointing out that downside risk continues to prevail because of concerns over political stability in the country. In the Nepal Development Update, a biannual country update of Nepal's economy, which was released on Tuesday, the Washington DC-based agency estimated that Nepal’s economy would grow by 4.1 percent in the fiscal year 2022/23 ending mid-July. In October, the bank projected Nepal’s economy to grow by 5.1 percent in the current fiscal year. The latest GDP growth projection of the World Bank for the current fiscal year is the same as the Asian Development Bank. According to the World Bank, slower than the previous forecast was made due to the impacts of import restrictions, monetary policy tightening, higher inflation, and shrinking government expenditure reflecting lower government revenue. Even now, the risks to the outlook are tilted to the downside as no new shocks have been included while making the current forecast of growth considering the increasing frequency of shocks in recent years. The report said that there is a downside risk because of the concerns over political stability in the country. “Local elections in May 2022 and national and provincial elections in November 2022 were followed by successive changes in administration, the most recent being the collapse of the ruling coalition in March 2023,” reads the report. “Political stability remains important to manage the economy and ensure the continued pursuit of development priorities. Political stability may not be achieved in the forecast period.” Besides concern over political stability, higher-than-expected inflation, which will dampen consumption and growth, the possible impacts of likely rotations in government officials, and rising inequality from reduced investments in human capital, especially amongst those yet to recover from unemployment following the pandemic are other factors that could drag the growth down, according to the World Bank. Speaking at an interaction program organized in Kathmandu on Wednesday, Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka said Nepal’s government’s move to adopt fiscal prudence such as import restrictions to address the challenges of the external sector came at a cost. “It has come at the cost of investment to advance the development agenda,” he said, adding, “This is a very delicate balance to strike which is not easy and there are trade-offs." He also talked about tightening monetary policy by hiking the policy rates which slowed credit growth. Though the move was taken to fight inflation, the high-interest rate caused by a raise in policy rate also sowed the investments. Thus, there has been a trade-off,” he said. Post Covid, Nepal had adopted an expansive fiscal and monetary policy that has resulted in a massive trade deficit and a sharp depletion of foreign exchange reserves. In order to stabilize the external sector, the government introduced import control measures and the central bank also hiked policy rates that resulted in higher interest rates for the borrowers. As a result, Nepal’s fiscal revenue and expenditure both decreased. “Amid measures taken to address pressures on the external sector, the Nepali economy has faced the unintended consequences of a slowdown in economic growth and lower fiscal revenue,” said Zervos. According to the World Bank, the import control policy resulted in a steep drop in fiscal revenues and slower growth in the first half of FY 2022/23 as goods imports fell, according to the World Bank. Nepal relies heavily on imports as a tax base, which contributes about half of total tax revenues through VAT, excise, and import duties. “For the first time in five years, Nepal’s fiscal balance was negative in the first half of FY23 at -0.3 percent of GDP as revenues fell across the board while expenditures remained flat,” the report said. “The downturn in revenue growth reflects not only lower imports but more sluggish economic activity as well.” Speaking on the occasion, Finance Secretary Toyam Raya said the situation has been improving along with easing pressure on the external sector of the economy. “Now, we hope revenue collection will gradually improve. There are also positive developments in the economy in this fiscal year in terms of international tourist arrivals, remittance, agriculture production, and hydropower production too,” he said.