R&D_NewsBrief_26thAug

R&D Economic Research & Business

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Date: August 26, 2009

Highlights

• After meeting Sujata, the Nepali Congress Parliamentary members who until the other day were demanding her resignation as the Foreign Minister of the country have begun saying that the party would be better positioned only if the Sujata’s Diarrhea Drama was shelved for good.

• China has expressed its deep concern over the exponential growth in anti-China activities in Nepal that is aimed at creating unrest in Tibet. The Chinese Security Personnel in their meet with Nepali counterparts at a bilateral meeting held in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, beginning August 15, 2009 had expressed the serious Chinese concerns.

• A House meeting was postponed to Wednesday due to the obstruction on Tuesday by lawmakers of the single largest opposition party, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).

• A task force formed by the Unified CPN (Maoist) Central Committee to probe on the lifestyle and involvement in economic activities of its central leaders and heads of sister organisations has received over 200 complaints, five days before the deadline for submitting the complaints ends, Kantipur daily reported.

• It has been disclosed that the Ministry for Tourism and Civil Aviation spent the unusual amount of Rs 16 million for the report, thanks to then Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Hisila Yami who took the relevant decision before she quit her ministerial post.

• Nepal’s deposed King Gyanendra Shah’s presumed December, 2009, trip to India will be a completely political one. Reports quoting sources close to Nirmal Nivas- former King’s private residence have it that the visit will be completely a political one even though it has been said that the former sovereign will be attending marriage ceremonies of some of his close relatives in India.

• Five Madhesi parties have jointly asked Vice President Parmananda Jha not to retake oath as ordered by the Supreme Court on Sunday and even not to quit from the post. Besides, they have also asked Jha to wait until the Interim Constitution is amended to allow oath-taking in a preferred language.

• The Committee to Determine the Judicial System of the Constituent Assembly (CA) on Tuesday decided to stipulate the provision of appointing the chief justice (CJ) of the Supreme Court (SC) from outside the judiciary in the preliminary draft of the new constitution.


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• The government´s preparation to depute Additional Inspector General (AIG) in the five regional police offices has raked up a controversy.

• The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), which has been mandated to supervise and monitor Maoist arms and army has come up with a mild criticism of Unified CPN (Maoist) combatants’ act of leaving their cantonment in Kapilvastu on Monday with weapons.

• The United Nations expressed serious concerns on Tuesday about former Maoist fighters leaving their camps with arms, saying it violated an arms management agreement under a peace deal that ended a civil war.

• Japan decided Tuesday to extend the peacekeeping mission in Nepal by an additional six months until next March 31. The extension beyond the scheduled Sept. 30 expiry is in response to a UN Security Council decision in July to extend a military observer mission to Nepal until Jan. 23.

• The World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have suggested the government first make clear the risk-sharing factors before awarding tenders for construction of the Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track Road.

• Nepal government is most likely to miss the date for holding the secretarial-level Nepal-India Joint Committee on Water Resources (JCWR) meeting proposed initially by India for September 1-2.

• Minister for Commerce and Supplies Rajendra Mahato has directed all supply related corporations under his ministry to distribute essential goods without a mark-up during the upcoming festive season.

• Israel has reiterated its concerns over the continued exploitation of Nepali workers by manpower agencies and has urged the government to put in place a strict mechanism to control malpractices in recruiting process.

• The Board of directors’ meeting of Nepal Investment Bank Ltd (NIBL) on Tuesday proposed 20 per cent cash dividend to shareholders. The meeting has separated Rs 481.41 million out of Rs 900.619 million net profit for this purpose.

• Announcement of nominal cash dividend by Nepal Investment Bank Ltd (NIBL) triggered further loss in already slowing Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index. The Nepse, the indicator of investors´ confidence in stock market, shed 2.09 percent or 14.47 points to close at 678.87 points at the end of Tuesday´s trading.

• Nepal Rastra Bank and the Security Board of Nepal (SEBON) have directed National Finance Limited (NFL) not to sell its unsubscribed shares during the issuance of right shares at a premium price.


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• World stocks dropped, with Europe taking its cue from a 2.6 percent slump in China's main index, as investors became uneasy over recent gains and looked to U.S. data later Tuesday for more direction.

• A Nepal Army soldier deployed in the United Nations peace keeping mission in Lebanon has been killed in a road accident.

POLITICS:

Nepal diarrhea queen Sujata to grab CA membership, Koiralacracy to continue

Finally, Sujata Koirala, popularly known as the diarrhea queen following her decision not to become a part of the PM Madhav Kumar Nepal’s New Delhi entourage citing diarrhea illness, expectedly prevailed over her critics in the Nepali Congress Party.

Some Nepali Congress Cadres raised pro-Sujata slogans when she entered the NC Constitutional Assembly Delegation Secretariat inside Singh Durbar to clarify her position over the contentious issue.

Sujata’s supporters were seen highly energized when she left the venue. She smiled and waved her hands towards her supporters, eyewitness report claims.

After meeting Sujata, the Nepali Congress Parliamentary members who until the other day were demanding her resignation as the Foreign Minister of the country have begun saying that the party would be better positioned only if the Sujata’s Diarrhea Drama was shelved for good.

The likes of Gagan Thapa, Nar Hari Acharya and Arjun Nar Singh K.C. must have been taken aghast by this decision of the NC’s CA delegation. The NC youth leader Gagan Thapa is married to the daughter of Mr. K.C.

Gagan Thapa, even though the decision did not come in his favor, the ever energized Youth leader of the NC told reporters, after the meeting, that there was no Master and no Servant in the party.

“Gone are the days when the party used to be run from a dark corner”, said Thapa.

Gagan Thapa and Nar Hari Acharya were both once labeled as royalists by the Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala.

Be that as it may, the illustrious daughter of Girija babu, repeatedly told the NC CA committee that she had no intention to demoralize the Prime Minister and to ridicule the Nepal-India historical ties.

Sujata told the NC CA committee that Nepal shared cordial ties with India beginning the days of late B.P. Koirala and that she, in her capacity, has tried to enhance the relations further.


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Following Sujata’s diarrhea drama, though the party leadership criticized Sujata for her misadventure, father Koirala seem to be in a mood to award daughter Sujata with the portfolio of the member of the Constituent Assembly.

One more feather in Sujata’s cap.....

Father Koirala, say reports, has already convinced one of his party stooge Achyut Pandey, currently a member of the CA, to resign from the post and pave way for Sujata’s grand entrance into the jumbo Constituent Assembly-the white elephant of Nepal.

Say experts, after Sujata becomes the member of the CA will further ease her way towards occupying the post of the prime minister.

Koiralacracy appear to haunt the NC for some more decades....Poor NC leaders...

Source: www.telegraphnepal.com Date: 2009-08-26

China cautions Nepal: Anti-China activities on the Rise

China has expressed its deep concern over the exponential growth in anti-China activities in Nepal that is aimed at creating unrest in Tibet.

The Chinese Security Personnel in their meet with Nepali counterparts at a bilateral meeting held in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, beginning August 15, 2009 had expressed the serious Chinese concerns.

Li Sao, the deputy chief of the Civilian Security Department of Tibet welcoming the Nepali delegation had applauded the role Nepal government played in curbing anti-China protests in the recent past.

Mr. Sao, however cautioned the Nepali side that anti-China activities were on the rise in Nepal yet.

The Nepali delegation was led by Kishor Kumar Lama-Additional Inspector General of the Armed Police force.

Mr. Sao welcoming the delegation also said that it was the duty of both the countries to guard each other’s vital security interests.

“We want hotline contacts established between the Chinese Security personnel and the Nepali Security machinations at the Central as well as in the District levels”, Mr. Sao suggested.

Mr. Lama in his speech said that the Nepali side had always maintained “One China Policy” and that the delegation will convey the Chinese concern at the High Level.

Mr. Lama also said that the delegation was not in a position to assure the Chinese side of their demands right away however, they will convey the message to the higher authorities in Nepal government of the Chinese preferences.


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The Nepali delegation saw the participation of representatives of the Armed Police Force, the General Police, Chief District Officers of the bordering districts and some Home Ministry officials.

The Nepalese team is learnt to have returned highly satified with the Chinese hospitality that was accorded to the Nepali officials while being in Lhasa.


Nepal's UCPN-M blocks House meeting

A House meeting was postponed to Wednesday due to the obstruction on Tuesday by lawmakers of the single largest opposition party, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (UCPN-M).

The UCPN-M demanded a parliamentary debate on President Ram Baran Yadav's move against the former UCPN-M-led government's decision to sack Chief of Army Chief (CoAS) Rookmangud Katawal.

UCPN-M chairman Prachanda resigned as prime minister on May 4, a day after President Yadav overruled his decision to sack Katawal.

The UCPN-M came to the rostrum and chanted slogans against what they called the "unconstitutional move" of the president after Speaker Subash Nemwang announced start of the House meeting. Nemwang then had to announce the House adjourned till Wednesday. The UCPN-M has vowed to stall the parliament unless the ruling coalition agrees to debate the president's move in the parliament and address the issue of "civilian supremacy."

Source: Xinhua Date: August 26, 2009

200 complaints against Maoist leaders

A task force formed by the Unified CPN (Maoist) Central Committee to probe on the lifestyle and involvement in economic activities of its central leaders and heads of sister organisations has received over 200 complaints, five days before the deadline for submitting the complaints ends, Kantipur daily reported.

Maoist cadres and general public have filed complaints against central committee leaders on nepotism, involvement in economic activities, abuse of power, and their


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lifestyle, among others. Complaints have also been received against some senior leaders including chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

A task force member said, the task force will investigate the complaints and submit its report to the party headquarter within three months.

The task force coordinated by senior vice-chairman Mohan Baidhya includes standing committee member Netra Bikram Chand, politburo members Pampha Bhusal, Hit Raj Pande, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, central committee members Krishna Dev Singh and legal professional Ram Narayan Bidari.

Maoist central committee had issued a 15-point code-of-ethics for its leaders and formed the task force a month ago after growing complaints on the luxurious lifestyle of the Maoist leaders.

Source: www.nepalnews.com Date: August 26, 2009

Rs 16 million report rocks tourism ministry

How much does a simple report cost? You may imagine that a plain and simple report of about 200 pages would not cost a huge amount. In general, you would be correct.

However, you would be wrong in the case of a report submitted recently at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation by a semi-government agency.

It has been disclosed that the ministry spent the unusual amount of Rs 16 million for the report, thanks to then Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Hisila Yami who took the relevant decision before she quit her ministerial post.

The Tara Gaun Development Board (TGDB) had bagged the lucrative report project and the ministry had not felt the necessity of following rules and awarding such a project through a tender process.

After submission of the report, most officials at the ministry have expressed dissatisfaction over the cost and objected openly.

Officials who are extremely dissatisfied with the cost of the report have blamed then tourism minister Yami and senior bureaucrats of the ministry and alleged embezzlement while awarding the project.

“There is clear evidence of embezzlement while preparing the report. The report is very simple. We could have prepared it for not more than five million,” said an official at the ministry requesting to be unnamed.

Records show that TGDB was given permission to develop a report on ´Home stay tourism development in selected rural areas of Nepal for poverty reduction and trekking trail tourism development´.


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Asked about the unusually high cost of the report, spokesperson at the ministry Laxman Bhattarai said, “It was somewhat unusual and it would not have been that way had a tender process been adopted.” He, however, refused to comment further.

Manger of TGDB Shiva Sharan Thapa defended the cost factor, saying that the amount spent for developing the report also covers the cost of administrative work at his office and the managerial cost of the project. Asked about ministry officials´ protest regarding the cost, Thapa argued, “Let them do or say whatever they like. The report was prepared with huge effort.”

The report on home stay tourism was carried out mostly by visiting the surroundings of Kathmandu Valley. The board itself admitted that the related research was conducted at Ichangunarayan of Kathmandu, Nankhel of Bhaktapur, Panauti Municipality of Kavre district, Sattale of Dhading, Tirkeshwar of Nuwakot and Bhadaure of Kaski district.

Similarly, the TGDB team visited Sindhupalchowk, Palpa and Jhapa districts in connection with preparing the report.

The report relating to trekking trails covered six different places of the country. According to TGDB, Khaptad-Mansarobar, Lamidanda-Bhojpur-Namche, Guwalekh-Marlika and Pokharali-Jharna were the places chosen for the trekking research. The report has suggested possible tourism destinations in the respective areas.

Source: www.myrepublica.com Date: 08/26/2009

Nepal’s deposed King’s India visit to be a political one

Nepal’s deposed King Gyanendra Shah’s presumed December, 2009, trip to India will be a completely political one.

Reports quoting sources close to Nirmal Nivas- former King’s private residence have it that the visit will be completely a political one even though it has been said that the former sovereign will be attending marriage ceremonies of some of his close relatives in India.

He will also be attending the marriage banquets yet most of the time of his India sojourn will be centered in New Delhi.

“The first wedding will be in the state of Bihar and the second one in the State of Orissa,” Nirmal Niwas sources claim.

To add, the Puri temple in Orissa still regards Nepal’s last Hindu monarch as the King of the entire Hindus.

Earlier, the former King in the beginning of the year 2009, February 25- March 26, had made a trip to India.

http://www.myrepublica.com/


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In his last trip to India, Gyanendra Shah had met the Congress-I President Sonia Gandhi three times.

The first meet was held on March 18, 2009.

The two (Sonia and G. Shah) first met along with Dr. Karan Singh and later a one-to-one meet between Sonia and Gyanendra Shah took place which was loaded with political meaning and significance.

Mr. Shah was accorded Royal Treatment by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi at her official residence March 18, 2009, 10 Jan Path, New Delhi.

Reports also claim that Dr. Karan Singh, the International Relations Advisor to Sonia Gandhi, apologized to former monarch three times for not having been able to retain the Nepali Monarchy as per the agreement wherein the Indian side stood as witness.

On April 20-21, 2006, it was widely believed in Kathmandu’s intellectual circle that the then King yielded to the then agitating seven political parties only when Dr. Karan Singh convinced the Nepali parties that the King will henceforth remain as a ceremonial monarch to which the agitating parties had agreed in written format.

However, the politics took a different turn much to the chagrin of the Indian establishment which is what apparently forced Dr. Karan Singh to ask for apologies.

However, this December trip of the former King of Nepal is expected to have its profound impact in the overall politics of this country, opine analysts.


Don't take oath in Nepali: Madhesi parties

Five Madhesi parties have jointly asked Vice President Parmananda Jha not to retake oath as ordered by the Supreme Court on Sunday and even not to quit from the post.

Besides, they have also asked Jha to wait until the Interim Constitution is amended to allow oath-taking in a preferred language.

The parties´ request to Jha comes two days after the apex court ruled that Jha must take a fresh oath in Nepali within seven days and amidst growing possibility of Jha´s resignation. A meeting of the parties also concluded that the court judgment nullifying Jha´s oath in Hindi is “regressive” and “biased”.

“There is no need to take oath again as he has already taken the oath of the vice president,” said leader of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) Hridayesh Tripathi on the decision of the parties.


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Jha´s oath became controversial after the Supreme Court nullified his previous oath taken in Hindi in June last year.

Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (Democratic), Madhesi People´s Rights Forum, Tarai Madhes Democratic Party, Sadbhawana Party and Nepal Sadbhawana Party (Anandidevi) participated in the meeting.

The meeting also decided to ask all parties to expedite the process of amending the Interim Constitution to allow president and the vice president to take oath in language of their choice.

In the meantime, President Dr Ram Baran Yadav and Vice President Parmananda Jha met at the former´s office on Tuesday afternoon, according to the president´s Press Advisor Rajendra Dahal.

“As a guardian of the constitution, the president asked the vice president to respect the order of the Supreme Court [on taking taking],” said Dahal.

In response, Jha said that he would “consider” the president´s request.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal also called on Jha Tuesday and asked him to take oath as ordered by the Supreme Court.


POLICY:

CA panel floats new idea on CJ pick

The Committee to Determine the Judicial System of the Constituent Assembly (CA) on Tuesday decided to stipulate the provision of appointing the chief justice (CJ) of the Supreme Court (SC) from outside the judiciary in the preliminary draft of the new constitution.

The committee took this decision after a majority of 38 CA members present in Wednesday’s meeting voted for the provision that an individual need not necessarily be an SC judge to be appointed chief justice.

Twenty-one CA members voted for the provision, while 17 stood against it. CA members from UCPN (Maoist), Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Loktantrik), Janamukti Party and Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch supported the provision.

Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML, RPP-Nepal and Loktantrik Samajbadi Dal CA members voted against the provision. These parties opine that service at the Supreme Court should be the only criteria for appointment of the chief justice.


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The committee has decided to mention in its concept paper that a senior advocate who has served for 15 years and passed bachelor’s degree in law would be fit for the top position in the judiciary. Moreover, an individual who has served for 15 years in the law sector and the judiciary and has a reputation as a senior legal expert or a gazetted first class officer serving 12 years in judicial service could also be appointed chief justice.

CA members of NC and UML are all set to write a note of dissent on the committee’s decision. Committee Chairman Prabhu Sah has allocated 48 hours for CA members to register differing opinion on the decision.

Source: The Kathmandu Post Date: 08/26/2009

AIGs' possible deputation to regions rakes up controversy Chain of command in question The government´s preparation to depute Additional Inspector General (AIG) in the five regional police offices has raked up a controversy.

Senior police officers claim that deputing AIGs to the regions would fundamentally derail the long-practiced chain of command in the organization. “The regions are the sensitive areas and the leadership there should be chosen on the basis of qualifications and performance.” They contend that the police force will have to stand a good many setbacks if AIGs are backed to command the regions.

"Some of them are already controversial. What gains should one expect from them who are about to retire if they are laden with hectic in-field responsibilities?" they claimed. "The proposal was basically made to deputize IGP´s peers to resourceful places," said a high-ranking officer. "With juniors alongside in the center, he will be setting singular leadership."

Logic in the dissident camp is that the senior-most officers, IGP and AIGS, should remain at the corporate leadership and play roles in policy-making. The government last month had appointed six new AIGs taking the number to eight.

Home Minister Bhim Rawal is said be interested in resurrecting his immediate predecessor´s proposal to make it go along as a part of the Special Security Plan (SSP). "This scheme will be highlighted during discussions in aftermath of the ongoing regional workshops," a source at Home Ministry said.

Ministry sources say regional police offices will be upgraded and new policies formed to endow the AIGs with powers more than existing ones enjoyed by DIGs. "It is not possible for AIGs to take up the regions in the existing structures," said a DIG close to IGP. "Thus there are policy work-outs in the ministerial level."

Nepal Police has its regional offices in Biratnagar, Hetauda, Pokhara, Surkhet and Dhangadhi. The government is working out to come with another episode of promotion to fulfill the nine vacant posts out of the total 23 for DIGs.


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PLA venturing out against CPA: UNMIN

The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), which has been mandated to supervise and monitor Maoist arms and army has come up with a mild criticism of Unified CPN (Maoist) combatants’ act of leaving their cantonment in Kapilvastu on Monday with weapons .

In a press release issued on Tuesday, UNMIN expressed serious concern at Monday’s incident and said that the act violated the Agreement on Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies (AMMAA).

On Monday, police had detained 19 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fighters of the Krishna Sen Memorial Brigade, Main Cantonment Site-4, along with nine UNMIN registered weapons from the Jitpur stretch of the East-West Highway in Kapilvastu.

UNMIN said it was continuing with its investigation of the incident as several provisions of AMMAA were relevant. These include 4.1.2 (“the parties agree upon the safe storage of all Maoist army weapons and ammunition, in the seven main cantonment areas under UN monitoring, except for perimeter security purposes of Maoist army cantonments”), 5.1.1 (“Holding and carrying arms is in violation of the law. Displaying arms, intimidation and any type of use of violence is prohibited, and use of arms is legally punishable”), and 5.3.2 (“Prohibited activities: unauthorised troop movements”).

However, the statement kept mum regarding the Maoist claim that the PLA fighters had ventured out of the cantonment after seeking permission from UNMIN.

UNMIN said that on being informed of the incident, it had dispatched a team of arms monitors to the District Administration Office (DAO) in Taulihawa, which had met the chief district officer, officers from Nepal Police and Armed Police Force and the PLA vice commander of the fourth division camp, Pawel.

The arms monitors said UNMIN had determined that the 19 PLA combatants were all verified combatants and that the nine weapons had bar codes and serial numbers and were registered by UNMIN for use in providing perimeter security at the fourth division camp.

The chief district officer authorised the release of the Maoist army personnel who travelled to the Main Cantonment Site-4 and its Satellite Camp 1 in a convoy with the team of Arms Monitors and the police, said UNMIN adding, the seized weapons were returned to the Main Cantonment Site-4.

UNMIN has said in the statement that it will take the issue up with the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC), which is responsible for supervising compliance with the implementation of AMMAA.


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Reports on Monday had it that some of the PLA fighters had escaped on a speeding vehicle firing into the air, while the detained fighters had a face-off with the police sparking fears of confrontation among locals before they were detained


U.N. says concerned over Maoists leaving Nepal camps

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - The United Nations expressed serious concerns on Tuesday about former Maoist fighters leaving their camps with arms, saying it violated an arms management agreement under a peace deal that ended a civil war.

Thousands of former guerrillas are housed in U.N. monitored camps and their weapons locked away under a 2006 agreement as they await rehabilitation as part of a peace deal that brought the Maoists into the political mainstream.

On Monday police detained 19 combatants who drove off with weapons in Kapilvastu district in southwest Nepal.

The U.N. Mission in Nepal expressed "serious concern at the incident, which violates the commitment made in the Agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies," a U.N. statement said.

The Maoists say the combatants were on their way to escort their chief Prachanda who was touring the area.

Management of arms and combatants is a key part of the peace deal and crucial for stability and lasting peace in Nepal after a decade of civil war that killed more than 13,000 people. But the Maoists and the government are divided over how the former guerrillas are to be integrated.

The former fighters are getting increasingly worried about their future.

The Maoists who scored a surprise victory in last year's election resigned from the government in May amid a row over their plan to fire the country's army chief.

Source: in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews Date: Aug 25, 2009

Japan to extend peacekeeping mission in Nepal by 6 months

TOKYO, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Japan decided Tuesday to extend the peacekeeping mission in Nepal by an additional six months until next March 31.

The extension beyond the scheduled Sept. 30 expiry is in response to a UN Security Council decision in July to extend a military observer mission to Nepal until Jan. 23.


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Japan has sent six Self-Defense Forces officers to Nepal since March 2007 to participate in the U.N. Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), a special mission to help the peace process in the country.

UNMIN was established in January 2007 and the UN Security Council extended UNMIN's mandate for six months for a third time on Jan. 23 this year.

Source: news.xinhuanet.com Date: August 25, 2009

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:

WB, ADB suggest making risk-sharing clear

The World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have suggested the government first make clear the risk-sharing factors before awarding tenders for construction of the Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track Road.

The two donor agencies have said that if such factors are not made clear in advance, the project may face serious trouble once it comes into implementation.

"The WB and the ADB have lately urged the government to make clear risk sharing factors that are associated with public-private partnership projects (PPP)," Purna Kadariya, secretary at the ministry of physical planning and works, told Republica.

Private builders will not bear losses incurred due to factors such as continuous strikes, insurgency or fluctuation in foreign currency rates, said Kadariya.

However, the private company should be responsible if the project incurs any loss due to for instance the company´s failure to make arrangements for the necessary budget, he explained. "The donor agencies urged the government to make for clarity in such clauses," he further said.

Kadariya earlier briefed lawmakers on the latest progress of the project, at a meeting of the Parliamentary Development Committee.

The government has listed two companies -- Landmark Korea and Reliance India -- after the pre-qualification process for the project which aims to connect Kathmandu to the Tarai. The government wants to construct the road under the Build Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model.

The government envisions constructing a four-lane road of international standard. The proposed 80-kilometer road will connect the capital city with Nijgadh in Bara district. One has to travel 270 kilometers to reach Nijgadh from Kathmandu by existing roads.

The design of the road had been approved by the cabinet in October 2007 and the


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government in April 2008 decided to construct it under the BOOT model.

The WB approved a technical grant assistance for the project in April 2008 and later the ADB also approved similar assistance following a government request.

The current budget has announced that Nepal Army personnel would be mobilized to lay out the track for the road.

Responding to queries fielded by lawmakers, Kadariya said the NA will be deployed only after making the terms of reference (TOR) clear. The ministry itself will be looking after issues regarding land acquisition, conflict resolution and environment-related matters, among other things. "The NA men will be deployed only for construction work under the TOR," he said.

Once the proposed road is constructed there will be an alternative road from the capital to the eastern Tarai and hill districts. At present there is no alternative to the Prithivi Highway to connect Kathmandu to the entire eastern and western parts of the country.

Source: www.myrepublica.com Date: August 26, 2009

Nepal-India water talks in October Roadmap for Pancheshwar DPR to be finalized then

Nepal government is most likely to miss the date for holding the secretarial-level Nepal-India Joint Committee on Water Resources (JCWR) meeting proposed initially by India for September 1-2. The Ministry for Energy is instead looking at October to hold both the JCWR and the Joint Ministerial Commission on Water Resources (JMCWR), which will finalize the much-awaited Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Pancheshwar Development Authority (PDA).

“The JMCWR meeting, which will take place one or two weeks after the JCWR, will initiate the roadmap for the Detailed Project Report of Pancheshwar,” Dilli Bahadur Singh, the project manager of the Pancheshwar Multi-Purpose Project (PMPP), told myrepublica.com. He added, “It seems that both the meetings will take place in October now.”

Asked to comment, Energy Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat said that the ministry is preparing to hold the JCWR “soon.”

“We are working toward finalizing the date for JCWR,” Mahat said.

Nepal has accorded “high priority” to the PMPP and it was also taken up during Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal´s India visit. The joint-statement issued by the two sides said: In order to accelerate the implementation of te PMPP, the two prime ministers directed the JMCWR and JCWR to expedite the finalization of ToR for PDA and the Detailed Project Report of the Project.


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“It is clear by now the government has accorded high priority to Pancheshwar as it was taken up during the PM´s India visit,” Singh further said, adding, “The government and all senior leaders of the major political parties seem convinced about the need for expatiating this project.” Singh had made a detailed presentation of the financial report of the project to the prime minister and other leaders ahead of the prime minister´s visit.

Nepal is bearing an annual loss to the tune of Rs 45.88 billion just from the electricity generation side of the PMPP and another Rs 5.69 billion from irrigation.

“We haven´t got any response from the Ministry of Energy so far regarding the finalization of the JCWR date,” Apoorva Srivastava, the spokesperson of the Indian Embassy told myrepublica.com.

India had initially proposed September 1-2 for the JCWR meeting and September 3-4 for the JMCWR meeting. It was decided in March that the ministerial meeting would be held in New Delhi. The Indian side proposed the following dates one and half months after that.


Supply minister issues tall order to SoEs

Minister for Commerce and Supplies Rajendra Mahato has directed all supply related corporations under his ministry to distribute essential goods without a mark-up during the upcoming festive season.

Addressing a meeting on supply management during the festive season organised at the Department of Commerce on Tuesday, he directed Nepal Food Corporation, Nepal Oil Corporation, National Trading Limited and Salt Trading Corporation to arrange smooth supplies of quality goods at fair prices.

"The government is actively working to ensure smooth supplies of essential goods in all parts of the country," said Minister Mahato. "We have already directed all the concerned government agencies to take the necessary measures."

He added that Nepal Food Corporation should sell goats without a profit and Nepal Oil Corporation must not raise the price of liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene even if they become dearer in the international market.

Similarly, he has directed National Trading and Salt Trading to speed up the import of 50,000 tons of sugar from India and release it in the market. He also urged traders, wholesalers and retailers to sell their products with a low profit margin at least during the festivals of Dashain, Tihar, Chhath and Ramzan.

National Trading and Salt Trading have imported 40,000 tons of sugar out of the 90,000 tons that the government has planned to import from India.



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"Our current sugar stock is sufficient for one month," said Urmila Shrestha, general manager of Salt Trading.

Speaking at the meeting, president of the Nepal Retailers Association Pabitra Bajracharya urged the government to provide the imported sugar at Rs. 51 per kg so that they could sell it in the market with some profit. "The retail price of Rs. 52 per kg set by National Trading doesn't leave a profit of even 2 percent," he said.

Representatives from various consumer forums demanded that the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) control the price rise, speed up market monitoring effectively, control food adulteration, fix the prices of rice and pulses as in the case of sugar and implement the price list provision strictly.

Purshottam Ojha, secretary of the MoCS, said that the government would intensify market monitoring effectively and aggressively before the festive season in coordination with the Commerce Department and the District Administration Offices to control shortages, price rise and food adulteration.

Regarding complaints of adulteration of ajino moto, milk, ghee and oil, Ojha said that they would collect samples from the market send them for testing to the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control at the earliest.

"The people responsible for such malpractices will be held and action taken against them immediately," he said.

He added that the government would work vigorously to ensure a smooth supply of essential commodities such as rice, pulses, flour, oil, ghee, meat, petroleum products and milk products during the festive season.


Israel seeks mechanism to check irregularities

Israel has reiterated its concerns over the continued exploitation of Nepali workers by manpower agencies and has urged the government to put in place a strict mechanism to control malpractices in recruiting process.

During talks with visiting Nepali delegation led by Minister for Labor and Transport Management Mohammad Aftab Alam, Israel´s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Eliyahu Yishai drew attention of Nepali officials on rising incidents of fleecing the workers or sending workers to Israel on flying visa -- visa issued without guarantee of getting job immediately, according to Nepali embassy in the Israeli capital. Minister Alam is leading a Nepali delegation in the Israeli capital in a bid to reopen the Israeli job market, which has been closed for the last five months, for Nepali


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workers. Israel had stopped granting fresh visas and canceled visas of those, who were already at final stages of leaving for Israel, citing irregularities in sending process.

According to Nepali manpower agencies, about 400 workers were in the pipeline to fly to Israel. They said that the investment of about Rs 500 million have become uncertain because of the Israeli government´s decision to stop accepting Nepali migrant workers.

"The Israeli Deputy Minister urged the Nepali side to agree in creating a strict monitoring mechanism to control malpractices in the recruiting process," the Nepali Embassy in Israel stated in a press release. Israel also proposed incorporating strict provisions in the mechanism to curb all sorts of irregularities, including exorbitant fees and practice of using flying visa. The Israeli side also suggested the Nepali delegation to take strong action against the agencies, promoting irregularities in the recruiting process.

"They (Israeli officials) further suggested that the missions of both the countries be made more effective and vigilant in identifying agencies involved in irregular practices and help them bring to book. They also proposed such agenices to delist from the roster of agencies authorized to do business between Nepal and Israel," the release added.

Israel is also providing a draft of measures, to curb such irregularities, for the consideration of Nepali side.

Baburam Acharya, secretary at the Ministry of Labor and Transport Management, said the ministry would take effective measures after consulting concerned stakeholders to minimize the irregularities seen while sending workers to Israel.

Though the government has allowed agencies to collect Rs 240,000 from workers heading to Israel, the agencies are collecting as much as thrice the prescribed amount in the name of paying exorbitant commission to Israel-based agents. Israel, home to more than 12,000 Nepali workers, is popular among Nepali women, who are mostly employed as caretakers.

The embassy also said the Israeli officials had hinted at the possibility of resumption of visa for Nepali workers upon mutual agreement to the mechanism.

Minister Alam also met with Dr Rachel Adatto, Member of Parliament of Israel and Chairperson of Nepal-Israel Parliamentary Friendship League, in Jerusalem and sought his cooperation for the resumption of working visa for Nepali workers. According to the embassy, Adatto was positive to Nepal´s request.

Source: www.myrepublica.com Date: August 26, 2009


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MARKET:

NIBL to distribute 20 per cent cash dividend

The Board of directors’ meeting of Nepal Investment Bank Ltd (NIBL) on Tuesday proposed 20 per cent cash dividend to shareholders. The meeting has separated Rs 481.41 million for the purpose and it will be distributed after the approval of Nepal Rastra Bank and NIBL’s forthcoming annual general meeting.

NIBL gained net profit of Rs 900.619 million in the fiscal year 2008-09. It also increased its paid-up capital by 99.92 per cent compared to the preceding fiscal year — from 1.203 billion to Rs 2.407 billion.

Source: The Himalayan Times Date: 08/26/2009

Nepse drops over low cash dividend

Announcement of nominal cash dividend by Nepal Investment Bank Ltd (NIBL) triggered further loss in already slowing Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) index. The Nepse, the indicator of investors´ confidence in stock market, shed 2.09 percent or 14.47 points to close at 678.87 points at the end of Tuesday´s trading.

“Meager cash dividend of Rs 20 per share announced by NIBL has discouraged investors and spurred selling pressure in the secondary market on Tuesday. The announcement also sent negative message to investors of other companies,” Nanda Kishore Mundada, president of Nepal Stock Brokers Association told myrepublica.com. Price of NIBL´s per unit share dropped by 114 to Rs 1035 on Tuesday.

Mundada also said rumor of Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) permitting promoters to lower their equity participation by selling 19 percent of total shares also contributed to the decline. “If permission is given to sell promoter shares, number of share would be doubled in the secondary market, resulting in overflow of shares in the secondary market,” said Mundada.

Banking group, a key trading group in stock market, saw its sub-index dropped by a whopping 23.42 points to close at 707.82 points. The slump in Banking group´s sub-index was contributed by the decline in share prices of major banks such as NIBL, Nabil, Standard Chartered and Kumari Bank. Similarly, Development Bank and Finance groups´ sub-indices also wend down by 0.58 points and 5.89 points to end at 703.15 points and 868.77 points respectively. Insurance and Others group also saw their sub-indices dip by 1.66 points and 8.22 points to close at 640.29 points and 649.72 points respectively.

Total turnover of stocks declined to Rs 86. 36 million with 123,722 units of shares and 55 scripts being traded through 964 transactions during Monday´s trading. Total


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market capitalization also dropped to Rs 471.49 billion, down from Rs 481.55 billion recorded on Monday.


NFL barred from selling unsubscribed right shares

Nepal Rastra Bank and the Security Board of Nepal (SEBON) have directed National Finance Limited (NFL) not to sell its unsubscribed shares during the issuance of right shares at a premium price.

National Finance, which is at the final stages of a merger with Narayani Finance Limited, was seeking to sell 18,000 units of its unsubscribed shares at a premium price of Rs. 600 per share.

Earlier, it had issued 6.3 million units of right shares.

As per central bank regulations, such unsubscribed shares should be auctioned, but the minimum per share price should be fixed at Rs. 100.

The rules state that companies that make a profit for three consecutive years can sell their shares at a premium price during their initial public offering (IPO).

"We intervened in National Finance's attempt and directed it to act as per the central bank's directives," said SEBON chairman Surbir Poudel. "We have written to Nepal Rastra Bank regarding the matter."

Central bank director Laxmi Prapanna Niraula confirmed that the central bank had directed the finance company not to sell its unsubscribed shares at a premium price.

"They have every right not to sell the shares if they could not get the expected price," he said. "They must follow Nepal Rastra Bank's directives strictly."

The company admitted it had received the central bank's directive not to go ahead with its plan.

"That's why we are cancelling the sale of our shares at the rate Rs. 600 per share and planning to make a fresh call for action by the first week of September," said Umesh Singh Bhandari, chief executive officer of the company.

He said that companies should be allowed to set a premium price as per their performance given that they have been authorized to not even accept the offered price. With the subscription of right shares, its paid-up capital has already reached Rs. 220 million.



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The total paid-up capital of the new company Narayani National Finance which was created after the merger is Rs. 440 million with an equal amount of paid-up capital of Narayani Finance.

After the merger, its reserve capital has too remained at Rs. 180 million.

"We are going to issue right share worth Rs. 220 million in mid-October which will raise our classification to B class," Bhandari said


World stocks slide amid caution

World stocks dropped, with Europe taking its cue from a 2.6 percent slump in China's main index, as investors became uneasy over recent gains and looked to U.S. data later Tuesday for more direction.

Most world markets have risen for three straight days, so considering a lack of indicators from Europe, some profit-taking was to be expected, analysts said.

Germany's DAX was down 22 points, or 0.4 percent, at 5,497.75 while Britain's FTSE 100 fell 19.21 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,877.02. France's CAC-40 dropped 12.16 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,640.01.

The losses came after the sharper drop in Shanghai, where investors were unsettled by comments from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who said his country faced new economic problems.


GENERAL:

NA personnel killed in Lebanon

A Nepal Army soldier deployed in the United Nations peace keeping mission in Lebanon has been killed in a road accident.

According to a statement issued by NA public relations directorate, Bishnu Prasad Pokhrel was killed when a patrolling vehicle had an accident Sunday.

Pokhrel's body will be brought to Kathmandu on Thursday, says the NA statement.

Source: www.nepalnews.com Date: August 25, 2009

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