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The price of gold has increased by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 103, 400 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 103, 200 per tola on Wednesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 102, 900 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,360 per tola today.

Ajod Insurance and United Insurance have signed a merger agreement on Wednesday. The Ajod-United merger initiative has come after Ajod's unsuccessful merger attempt with Prabhu Insurance. United Insurance Director Ravindra Raj Pant and Ajod Director Chiranjeevi Dwa signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on behalf of their respective organizations. It has been agreed that the swap ratio between United and Ajod will be 100:90 and the name of the entity formed after the merger will be United Ajod Insurance. Earlier, Ajod and Prabhu Insurance had signed a merger agreement in the last week of July 2022. However, the proposed merger did not materialize as both companies could not agree on the swap ratio. Ajod entered into a merger agreement with United after the regulatory body Nepal Insurance Authority agreed to end the merger process with Prabhu Insurance. During the signing of the agreement, both companies had agreed to merge with a swap ratio of 100:70. But, later Prabhu proposed a 100:60 swap ratio. The merger momentum in the Nepali insurance sector has intensified in the last one year after the Nepal Insurance Authority increased the minimum paid-up capital requirements of both life-insurance companies and non-life insurance companies. The authority has increased the paid-up capital of non-life insurance companies to Rs 2 billion while it is Rs 5 billion for life insurance companies. The authority has been pushing for consolidation in the Nepali insurance sector since the new chairman Surya Silwal took charge of the authority. There have been two successful mergers in the non-life insurance business in 2022. In July, Himalayan General Insurance and Everest Insurance merged to form Himalayan Everest Insurance Co. Ltd. Similarly, in October, Sanima General Insurance and General Insurance Company merged to form Sanima GIC Insurance Ltd. And, the first merger in the Nepali life insurance sector took place on December 22 with Surya Life Insurance and Jyoti Life Insurance starting an integrated business as Suryajyoti Life Insurance Company. This is the first merger among the life insurance companies in the country. While other life insurance companies have also signed merger agreements, they are yet to complete the merger process.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 21. 34 points to close at 2,190. 42 points on Wednesday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 0. 77 points to close at 419. 14 points. A total of 20,843,952 unit shares of 254 companies were traded for Rs 7. 65 billion. Meanwhile, Barahi Hydropower Public Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 99 percent. Likewise, Taragaon Regency Hotel Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 8. 74 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 16 trillion.

In what could be described as the 'week of consolidation' in Nepali banking, one more acquisition has taken a logical conclusion on Tuesday. Prabhu Bank on Monday completed its acquisition of Century Commercial Bank to commence the integrated business. Prabhu's acquisition of Century is the first acquisition in the banking sector this year. The last was Nabil Bank's acquisition of the Nepal Bangladesh Bank in 2022. Prabhu Bank started the integrated business five months after signing an acquisition agreement with Century. Both banks signed the acquisition agreement on August 25, 2022, agreeing on a share swap ratio of 1:1. Post-acquisition, the paid-up capital of Prabhu Bank has reached Rs 30 billion while deposits and extension of loans stand at Rs 285 billion and Rs 255 billion. The bank now has a base of three million customers. Addressing a function held to mark the start of integrated business, Prabhu Bank CEO Ashok Sherchan said that the bank has written a new chapter in the Nepali banking sector with this acquisition. Sherchan also promised to further strengthen the new and digital business after acquiring Century Bank. According to him, the bank post-acquisition is in the sixth position in terms of total assets. "In terms of lending, the bank is in the seventh position while in deposit mobilization, the bank is in the sixth position," said Sherchan. Post-acquisition, Prabhu Bank has a seven-member board, of which four are from Prabhu Bank and three from Century Bank. Sherchan has been appointed as the CEO of Prabhu Bank, while Manoj Neupane, CEO of Century Bank, has become the Senior Deputy CEO. Laxmi Bank, Sunrise Bank ink merger deal Laxmi Bank and Sunrise Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a merger with a swap ratio of 1:1. The MoU was signed by the Chairman of Laxmi Bank, Raman Nepal, and the Chairman of Sunrise Bank, Motilal Dugar on Monday. A merger committee, comprising four members (two each from both banks) has been formed to finalize the merger. The committee includes Dr. Manish Thapa and Swati Rungata from Laxmi Bank, and Sarda Sharma and Deepak Nepal from Sunrise Bank. The merged entity will be named "Laxmi Sunrise Bank", and the swap ratio may change after the due diligence audit (DDA) is completed. Both banks are open to discussions regarding the chief executive officer and board chair of the merged entity. According to the latest financial details, Laxmi Bank has a paid-up capital of Rs 11.55 billion, while Sunrise Bank's paid-up capital is Rs 10.11 billion. Laxmi Bank has also floated a loan of Rs 129 billion, while Sunrise Bank has floated a loan of Rs 119 billion. The deposit collection of Laxmi Bank stands at Rs 140 billion, while that of Sunrise Bank is at Rs 125 billion. The merger committee has stated that both banks are preparing to complete the merger process within this fiscal year and will begin the formal process following a green signal from the central bank. Raman Nepal, the chairman of Laxmi Bank, confirmed that the name of the merged entity will be "Laxmi Sunrise Bank" and that the swap ratio will be fixed only after the DDA is completed.