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The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 32. 21 points to close at 2,719. 20 points on Tuesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 3. 28 points to close at 456. 47 points.

A total of 15,559,683-unit shares of 303 companies were traded for Rs 8. 39 billion.

Meanwhile, Mahalaxmi Bikas Bank Ltd. (MLBL) was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 98 percent. Likewise, NESDO Sambridha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (NESDO) was the top loser as its price fell by 6. 69 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 4. 51 trillion.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 500 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow metal is being traded at Rs 169, 900 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 170, 400 per tola on Monday.

Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 15 and is being traded at Rs 1,970 per tola today.

The Mustang Customs Office in Lomanthang-2, Nechung, located in the northern Korala region of Mustang bordering China, has faced significant challenges in revenue collection due to a lack of infrastructure and human resource.

The customs office has seven sanctioned posts, including one branch officer. However, only one non-gazetted officer, one accountant, and one office assistant are currently in place. A computer operator has recently been recruited on a contract basis. Although the Customs Department has assigned a customs officer as the office head, he has not been present in the work area. This shortage of personnel has severely impacted the office's ability to perform its duties effectively.

There is an urgent need to restore the previously sanctioned posts to ensure smooth operations. Due to limited manpower, customs work has been severely hindered, creating major operational challenges.

The Nepal-China Korala border crossing was opened year-round in October of last year to facilitate trade and the supply of daily necessities for residents of Upper Mustang. However, despite being operational for over a year and a half, the Customs Department has yet to build the necessary infrastructure and deploy adequate human resources.

Eight months after the border crossing was officially opened, the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs established an immigration office in the Dasgaja area of Korala in October last year. The office was inaugurated by Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, yet no staff has been deployed there either.

Even after one and a half years, legal complications and the lack of physical infrastructure have hampered revenue collection at the Mustang Customs Office. Current office head Hom Bahadur Bista stated that the absence of essential infrastructure such as food quarantine, animal quarantine, and beverage inspection quarantine facilities in Nechung has further impeded revenue collection from imported goods.

The Mustang Customs Office currently has only a planned quarantine facility in Nechung. The office also has a liaison branch in Jomsom, but preparations are underway to consolidate all staff in Nechung by abolishing the Jomsom branch.

From November to July of the current fiscal year, the customs office collected only Rs 198,000 in revenue. In contrast, Rs 874,000 was collected from November to July in the last fiscal year. According to Bista, revenue collection for the current fiscal year has been significantly lower, with figures standing at Rs 49,849 in August, Rs 40,755 in September, Rs 1,746 in October, Rs 34,934 in November, and Rs 71,629 in December. Only 22.79 percent of the previous fiscal year’s revenue has been collected in the first seven months of the current fiscal year.

Customs revenue in Korala is collected under various categories, including tax on sole proprietorships and personal income, excise duty on imports, customs duty on imports, other customs-related fees, proceeds from the sale of government property, administrative service fees, excise duty, and value-added tax (VAT) on imports.

Residents of Upper Mustang continue to import goods from Tibet’s Liji Bazaar in Korala, China. However, despite the border reopening, no revenue has been collected on the Nepal side, according to Bista.

Since the reopening of the border, approximately 3,000 residents of Upper Mustang have obtained Korala border passes. The District Administration Office, Mustang, has also started issuing Korala departure permits to some residents of Lower Mustang based on local government recommendations.

Net profit of commercial banks has gone up by a marginal 1.62 percent over the first seven months of fiscal year 2024-25. According to Nepal Rastra Bank, 20 commercial banks reported a combined net profit of Rs 36.06bn in the review period (mid-July 2024 to mid-Feb 2025). The combined net profit of 20 commercial banks was Rs 35.49bn in the review period of the previous fiscal year.

Nabil Bank has reported the highest net profit of Rs 4.01bn in the first seven months of 2024-25. Following closely are Global IME Bank Ltd and Nepal Investment Mega Ltd with net profits of Rs 3.89bn and Rs 3.43bn, respectively. Nepal Bank Ltd saw its net profit grow by a whopping 156.31 percent, rising to Rs 2.45bn in mid-February from Rs 959.17m in mid-February last year. Prabhu Bank Ltd also reported a 97.78 percent growth in its net profit to Rs 1,834.67bn in mid-February 2025. 

While net profit of most of the commercial banks have crossed the billion-rupee mark, a handful of banks are still not close to the one-billion-rupee threshold. NIC Asia Bank recorded the lowest net profit of Rs 464.7m in the seven-month period, followed by Kumari Bank (Rs 738.6m) and Agricultural Development Bank Ltd (Rs 799.9m). Siddhartha Bank (Rs 855.1bn), Citizens Bank (Rs 902.6bn) and Machhapuchchhre Bank (Rs 869.1m) have also reported net profits below Rs 1bn.

In contrast, only four commercial banks had reported net profit below one billion rupees in mid-February last year. Out of 20 commercial banks in the country, 11 managed to increase their net profit in mid-February compared to last year, while nine saw their net profit drop.  NIC Asia reported the biggest drop of 78.31 percent in its net profit, with the bank’s net profit dropping from Rs 2.14bn in mid-February last year to Rs 464.73m in mid-February. Next is Rastriya Banijya Bank Ltd, which saw a 53.83 percent drop in its report to Rs 1.23bn. Agricultural Development Bank Ltd and Siddhartha Bank also saw net profit drops of 49.16 percent and 39.7 percent to Rs 799.95m and
Rs 855.19m, respectively.

Low-interest income and the need to allocate substantial provisions for non-performing loans (NPLs) have significantly impacted the profitability of commercial banks. Despite a strong showing of
Rs 36.06bn in collective net profits in seven months, banks are grappling with a dual burden: diminished revenue from lending and rising costs to cover bad debts.

The banking system is currently awash with liquidity, with deposits rising amid slow credit disbursement. Nepal’s post-pandemic recovery has faltered because of global inflationary pressures and domestic issues like political instability and infrastructure delays, which have resulted in a slowdown in business expansion and consumer spending. As a result, banks have struggled to disburse credit effectively, leaving large pools of funds idle. This low credit off-take has directly affected interest income of banks. 

Meanwhile, the economic slowdown has affected borrowers’ ability to repay loans and pushed non-profit loan (NPL) levels higher. The surge in bad loans has forced banks to set aside sizable provisions to cushion potential losses which has eroded profitability of banks.