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The price of gold has dropped by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 100, 900 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 92, 101, 100 per tola on Wednesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 100, 400 per tola today. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1, 380 per tola.

The agitating business community members have halted their protest programs after the newly appointed Minister for Finance Bishnu Poudel assured them to address their demands by the end of Poush. On Wednesday, Minister Poudel held a discussion with the agitating businesspersons at the ministry where he told them that the government will take necessary steps to resolve the issues in the economy. Bhawani Rana, former president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), who led the delegation of the businesspersons, said that various trade associations across the country have agreed to halt their protests with the finance minister's assurances. "The minister has committed that he will take decisions only after discussing with experts," she said. According to Navin Rizal, President of the Morang Merchant Association, businesspersons of Morang and other districts have stopped their protests for the time being as they believe that the new government will address their demands. Industrialists and businesspersons from Biratnagar, Birgunj, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj and other cities have been demanding the postponement of guidelines on working capital loans and to bring down the persistently high interest rates. They took to the streets with demands including bringing the bank interest rates to a single digit, postponement of the implementation of the guidelines on working capital by at least two years and revision of tax rates, among others. Against the free market norms? In what is seen as against the norms of the free market, the newly appointed Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has promised to address the demand of the private sector to reduce borrowing interest rates. Just two days after assuming the office, Paudel, who took charge of the Ministry for the third time, has assured the private sector to reduce interest rates and reschedule and restructure concessional loans provided during the Covid-19 pandemic. While businesspersons have been accused of investing the money they took as refinancing and working capital loans in real estate and the stock market, the finance minister's assurances to the agitating business community to fulfill their demands will not solve the problems in the economy, say observers. One of their key demands is the postponement of the implementation of the guidelines on working capital loans and the other is the bringing down of high borrowing interest rates. According to a banker, interest rates are determined by the market and not by the government. “And in a free market economy like Nepal, it is the central bank that looks at the issue, not the finance ministry. In such a crisis, how the banking sector can sustain a reduction in interest rates? And as the pandemic is already over, why does the private sector want to reschedule loans? They have already invested the loans in the unproductive sector,” said the CEO of a commercial bank on condition of anonymity. He further added that the private sector just wants to extort the government and the central bank.        

Hard hit by the persistently high interest rates, a prolonged liquidity crunch, and a sharp slowdown in business activities, the country's private sector bodies have swung into action to get their voice heard by the new dispensation in the Singhadurbar. On the top of their agenda is the postponement of the guidelines on working capital loans introduced by Nepal Rastra Bank. The two leading private sector organizations - The Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Nepalese Industry (CNI)- separately met Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at his residence on Tuesday morning. The FNCCI and CNI delegations also met Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel later in the afternoon. The FNCCI delegation led by its President Shekhar Golchha apprised the PM about the difficulties faced by the private sector as well as the current state of the country's economy. During the meeting, Golchha raised the issue of postponement of the guideline on working capital loans and stressed the need for interest rate stability. The private sector has been lobbying hard for the postponement of the working capital loans guidelines by at least two years. PM Dahal assured FNCCI delegates saying that he is also studying the past suggestions of FNCCI and that initiatives will be taken to resolve the problems soon with the cooperation between the Finance Ministry, Nepal Rastra Bank, and the private sector. The CNI team led by its President Vishnu Agrawal presented a concept note on 'Rebooting Nepalese Economy' along with the clear steps to be initiated immediately in order to revive the country's economy. CNI has also suggested measures that can be taken immediately by prioritizing the financial sector (liquidity crisis and high-interest rates), industrial promotion, infrastructure, tourism, energy, and information technology sectors to give momentum to the Nepali economy. "We have prioritized the economic recovery from the very first meeting of the Council of Ministers. We will be moving ahead in collaboration with the private sector," remarked PM Dahal meeting with the CNI team. CNI office bearers also met finance minister Paudel and suggested that the government take steps to bring down bank interest rates by 2 percent and defer the guidelines on working capital by two years to raise the confidence of the private sector. CNI President Agrawal urged the finance minister to implement the six unimplemented industrial zones on the model of India's Rudrapur Industrial Zone as soon as possible through the public-private partnership to encourage import-substituting industries. Govt will take all possible measures: FinMin Poudel Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel has assured the private sector that the new government has started working to resolve the problems of the economy. Poudel made such a remark during his meetings with the representatives of the FNCCI and CNI on Tuesday. Stating that the economy has not gone out of control, Poudel pledged that the government would take all possible measures to bring it back on track. “The very first meeting of the newly formed cabinet of ministers decided to take various steps to improve the economy,” said Poudel. Urging the private sector to work with high morale, he promised to extend all sorts of possible support to the private sector.  

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 11. 81 points to close at 1,972.15 points on Wednesday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 4. 72 points to close at 381. 32 points. A total of 6,530,415 unit shares of 257 companies were traded for Rs 2. 15 billion. Meanwhile, Central Finance Co. Ltd, Prabhu Life Insurance Limited and Dhaulagiri Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited were the top gainers today with their price surging by 10 percent. Likewise, Mahuli Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 5. 20 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 85 trillion.