money

kathmandupost
the
cross currency F ORE X
USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD INR NR U.S. Dollar 104.60
NR 104.6000 127.8700 0.9760 145.0900 110.9300 81.9300 81.6500 1.6015 Euro 127.87
INR 65.1600 79.5990 0.6089 90.3630 69.0680 51.0220 50.9670 0.6244 Pound Sterling 145.09
Japanese Yen 0.98
GBP 0.7200 0.8794 0.0067 0.7643 0.5641 0.5620 0.0111 0.0069
Chinese Yuan 16.54
JPY 107.1000 130.8400 149.2537 114.0000 83.9200 83.5800 1.6424 1.0246
Qatari Riyal 28.73
EUR 0.8179 0.0076 1.1371 0.8679 0.6412 0.6386 0.0126 0.0078
Australian Dollar 81.65
USD 1.2226 0.0093 1.3889 1.0602 0.7833 0.7803 0.0153 0.0096
Malaysian Ringit 26.70

finance&economy How to read the table

The chart shows the rates of nine world currencies. Move across the table to find rates of exchange between any two
currencies. One unit of the currency mentioned horizontally is worth that amount in the currency mentioned vertically.
Saudi Arab Riyal 27.89
Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank

Thursday, March 1, 2018 (17-11-2074) kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

Twitter records surge of users and revenue in Japan Page II Riding a wave of new users, improved advertising options and an embrace of video content by users
and advertisers alike, Twitter Inc’s revenue has leaped in Japan and lead to its first quarterly profit.

Inside
Australia to recall
all vehicles with
defective airbags
Australia on Wednesday
issued a compulsory
recall for all 2.7 million
cars fitted with defective
Takata air bags in an
effort to lift the auto
industry’s mixed efforts
to fix the fault blamed for
at least 23 deaths around
the world. Vehicle suppli-
ers must recall and
replace all the air bags in
Australia by the end of
2020, with priority given
to the most dangerous
because of their design,
age or the level of humid-
ity in their environment,
Assistant Minister to the
Treasurer Michael
Sukkar said. The chemi-
cal propellant in the air
bag inflators can deterio-
rate in hot, humid condi-
tions and burn too fast,
blowing apart a metal
canister and creating
shrapnel.  Pg: II
Hong Kong cash
surplus hits
record of $18b
Hong Kong on Wednesday
reported a record
surplus of almost
$18 billion thanks to a
red-hot property market
and announced
wide-ranging tax cuts in
its annual budget,
but critics said the
measures did too little to
help the city’s poor.
Financial Secretary
Paul Chan said the
business hub had
amassed a HK$138 billion
($17.7 billion) budget
surplus and he wanted to
“share the fruits of our
economic success with
the community”. He
unveiled plans to slash
salaries tax by up to
75 percent, with a ceiling
of HK$30,000, a move
which he said would
benefit almost two mil-
lion people. Pg: II
Barriers to
benefiting from
energy sector
highlighted
Women and low income
people including excluded
communities face various
structural barriers pre-
venting them from bene-
fiting fully from Nepal’s
energy sector. Lack of
access to energy forces
women to spend a lot of
time collecting fuel, tak-
ing them away from jobs,
education and other activ-
ities for self improve-
ment, says a study report
unveiled by the Asian
Development Bank
(ADB). Unveiling the
study report entitled
Gender Equality and
Social Inclusion
Assessment of the
Energy Sector on
Wednesday, the multilat-
eral lending institution
said social inclusion was
a must for enhancing the
social sustainability of
the country’s energy
development.  Pg: III
Taxes can be paid BB Airways seeks
more time to remove
electronically soon aircraft from hangar
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, FEB 28
Very soon, taxpayers will be
able to make tax payments
using their smatphones, tab-
lets and computers, as the gov-
ernment is all set to introduce
electronic payment system for
revenue collection as well as
disbursement of payments.
The Financial Comptroller
General Office (FCGO), the
main agency responsible for
the government’s treasury
operation, is soon adding
online payment interface to
its Revenue Management
Information System (RMIS) so
that taxes could be paid elec-
tronically.
The RMIS is web-based soft-
ware that keeps track of gov-
ernment’s revenue collection.
The software currently being
used in the country, however,
does not support online pay-
ment, meaning taxpayers
have to visit a bank and depos-
it cash or cheque in accounts
of concerned government
bodies.
“We are planning to
upgrade the software within
mid-April so that people can
make payments to the govern-
ment using the internet. The
upgraded system will be
launched throughout the
country within mid-July,”
said Yadu Nath Bhattarai,
holi prep
n Customers throng a street vendor selling goods for Holi Festival at Ason in the Capital on Wednesday. The festivals of colors will be
celebrated on Thursday. Holi is a Hindu festival that marks the arrival of spring. Known widely as the festival of colours, it takes place over
two days, and is a celebration of fertility and love, as well as the triumph of good versus the evil. 
The RMIS is web-based software that keeps track of
government’s revenue collection. The software
currently being used in the country
deputy financial comptroller
at the FCGO.
The move comes at a time
when new Finance Minister
Yuba Raj Khatiwada has
directed concerned agencies
to launch e-payment system
for public revenue collection
and payment that government
makes to various parties with-
in mid-April.
Once the online payment
function is added to RMIS,
people can use e-wallets, such
as eSewa, electronic cards
issued by banking institu-
tions or online banking ser-
vice to pay taxes and make
other payments to the govern-
ment, said Bhattarai.
The government first
installed RMIS at the
Kathmandu District Treasury
Office around a year ago. The
software was installed at the
Lalitpur District Treasury
Office on Tuesday and will be
installed at the District
Treasury Office in Bhaktapur
within mid-March, according
to Bhattarai.
“We will install RMIS at
treasury offices across the
country within mid-April,”
Bhattarai said.
The FCGO has also installed
investment opportunity
RMIS at 11 commercial banks
that work as intermediaries
for the government in revenue
collection. Payments made
through these banks can be
monitored by various govern-
ment offices, the Nepal Rastra
Bank and the FCGO and its
branch offices.
This system has so far
helped the government to get
information on revenue col-
lection on real-time basis and
reduce cases of fraud pay-
ments through use of fake
deposit slips.
The FCGO is also planning
to enable all government bod-
ies to make payments to dif-
ferent parties electronically.
Currently, payments to pri-
vate contractors are being
made electronically.
“But we still have not been
able to deposit salaries of civil
servants by electronic means
due to confusion over whether
the government or the employ-
ee should bear the cost
incurred during electronic
transfers,” Bhattarai said.
“So, cheques are still being
sent to banks to deposit sala-
ries. But this problem will be
solved very soon.”
The government also has
not been able to pay utility
bills electronically. “We are
looking for ways to sort this
problem out as well,”
Bhattarai said.
n The carrier was given February 27 deadline to remove the aircraft from a TIA hangar.
POST REPORT
Aircraft owners have an ongoing burden
KATHMANDU, FEB 28
of ownership: there are parking fee, insurance
Non-operational Nepali pri-
vate carrier BB Airways has and other types of fees
requested the Nepal Airlines
Corporation (NAC) to grant facing congestion at the hang- nies to use aircraft for com-
them an extra time to remove ar to accommodate our newly mercial purpose.
the 30-year-old Boeing 757 acquired two Chinese aircraft, It has initiated process to
from the corporation hangar, we have decided to grant them take to the skies again after
two months after the aircraft an extra time,” said Rabindra buying the 757 in an auction.
was acquired. Shrestha, spokesperson of The plane needs a complete
Aircraft owners have an NAC. “However, the formal overhaul including replace-
ongoing burden of ownership: decision is yet to be made.” ment of its two engines. The
there are parking fee, insur- “As per the agreement, plane will not be able to fly
ance and other types of fees.
According to NAC, the month-
NAC will bear all insurance
and parking cost for 45 days of
abroad. After obtaining the
license, the carrier has to get
ly accumulated fee could signing the agreement,” said “no-objection certificate”
hover to Rs3 million. Shreshta. “The carrier has from the Caan, a mandatory
The carrier, which has agreed to pay all the costs rule that permits airlines to
applied for international fly- after that.” Shrestha said they purchase or lease aircraft.
ing licence at the Tourism are not sure on how many However, given the number
Ministry, has requested for days the carrier would park of procedures and stringent
the extension after NAC wrote the aircraft at the hangar. measures to get the AOC, it
on February 18 to remove the The plan of BB Airways to will take at least one-and-a-
aircraft from its hangar at take to the skies again after half years to get the nod from
Tribhuvan International purchasing the Boeing 757 is the aviation regulator to fly
Airport. The carrier was “unlikely” to materialise any the aircraft if the process is
given February 27 deadline to time soon. fast-tracked, said sources at
remove the aircraft. The carrier had recently the Caan. Until then, the
The Boeing 757, named applied to the Tourism and Boeing 757 will remain at the
Karnali with the registration Civil Aviation Ministry to NAC’s hangar.
9N-ACA, was sold to Bhawan renew its license to resume The aircraft cannot even fly
Bhatta, Managing Director of international operations. out of Nepal under NAC regis-
BB Airways, for $1.46 million Following the request, the tration now, said the sources.
in December last year. The ministry has sought the views Recently, NAC had requested
carrier, promoted by Bhatta, of the Civil Aviation Authority the Caan to de-register the air-
currently the president of the of Nepal (Caan), the regulator, craft and transfer the owner-
Non-Resident Nepali on the proposal. ship to BB Airways. Yet anoth-
Association (NRNA), had The issuance of license er legal complexity has aris-
launched services to Kuala enables the airline to initiate en. “There is no provision for
Lumpur in October 2012, the process to obtain the air transferring ownership of the
but ceased operations after a operator’s certificate (AOC) aircraft to the company that
POST PHOTO: SANJOG MANANDHAR few months. from the Caan. The AOC, in doesn’t have the flying
“Although, we have been turn, allows airline compa- license.”

Large cardamom
price in freefall,
down 68 percent
Price of large cardamom
witnessed a free fall this
year, recording the high-
est drop in a decade,
mainly due to loss in
product’s reputation in
the international market.
Nepal’s large cardamom
exports have continually
been found to contain low
quality Chinese large car-
damom which traders try
to mix in with high-quali-
ty Nepali spice. The
plunge in prices has
dashed the hopes of farm-
ers growing the valuable
spice. The price of large
cardamom touched a new
peak of Rs2,700 per kg in
2014 and dropped to Rs850
per kg this year—a drop
of 68 percent. Pg: IV
Upper Tamakoshi hydro readying to issue shares
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, FEB 28
The Upper Tamakoshi
Hydropower Project has been
making preparations to issue 25
percent of its shares to project
affected locals and the general
public.
The 456 MW hydropower pro-
ject, being developed by state-
owned power utility Nepal
Electricity Authority (NEA) in
Dolakha, has set aside 10 percent
of the shares for project affected
locals in the district and 15 per-
cent for the general public.
As per the project’s allotment
plan, 10.59 million ordinary shares
worth Rs1.05 billion will be
offered to Dolakha locals.
Likewise, the general public can
apply for 15.88 million ordinary
shares worth Rs1.58 billion.
The hydropower project is plan-
ning to IPO within three weeks. It
had applied at the Securities
Board of Nepal (Sebon), the regu-
lator of the securities market, last
January for approval to issue
shares to project affected locals
and the general public.
On February 6, Sebon sent back
the application asking it to submit
its audited balance sheet. “Once
we get the application with the
audited balance sheet, we will
take only a few days to approve
the public issue,” said Niraj Giri,
executive director of Sebon.
Upper Tamakoshi officials said
they would be resubmitting the
application within a week. “We
will resubmit the application with
the additional documents to Sebon
within a week,” said Ganesh Raj
Neupane, spokesperson for the
project. “After we get the board’s
go-ahead, our issue manager will
float the shares within a couple of
weeks.”
Project affected locals have to
apply for a minimum of 30 shares
while the maximum has been
fixed at 300 shares. The minimum
number of shares for the general
public has been fixed at 10 units.
There is no upper limit for them.
The Upper Tamakoshi
Hydropower Project has been
identified as a strategic scheme as
it is expected to end the country’s
struction has been completed, but
work has slowed to a crawl.
Project officials blame the poor
state of the road linking the pro-
ject site in Dolakha for the slug-
gish progress.
The condition of the 60-km road
from Khadichaur to Charikot,
Dolakha is very poor, and the pro-
ject office is facing difficulties
transporting heavy electrome-
chanical equipment that need to
be installed at the hydropower
plant
The Upper Tamakoshi project,
located east of Kathmandu, is
being built using domestic finan-
power woes. cial resources. The national pride
The power plant’s first unit is project was originally scheduled
slated to start generating electrici- to be completed in mid-July 2016,
ty by December while the remain- but the earthquakes, Indian trade
ing five units are expected to come blockade and various technical
online by April 2019. and social issues pushed back the
Around 94 percent of the con- completion date.

C M Y K
Thursday, March 1, 2018 | the kathmandu post world money II
news digest
Ahold Delhaize Twitter records surge of Hong Kong
users and revenue in Japan cash surplus
profits soar to
$2.2 billion
THE HAGUE: Dutch-
Belgian food retailer

Ahold Delhaize said on
Wednesday that its prof-
its more than doubled in
2017 on the back of
strong online sales, in
the first full year of its
merger. One of the
world’s leading super-
market giants, Ahold
Delhaize said net profits
jumped to 1.82 billion
euros ($2.2 billion) from
830 million euros the
year before, beating fore-
casts. Sales grew by 29
percent to 62.89 billion
euros and underlying
or operating income was
up 43 percent at 2.22 bil-
lion euros. Chief execu-
tive Dick Boer said “2017
was the first year as
Ahold Delhaize, one in
which we substantially
completed the integra-
tion.” The group, formed
from the merger of
Dutch-based Ahold and
Belgian Delhaize in 2016,
said it performed par-
ticularly well in the
fast-growing online shop-
ping market. (AFP)
Amazon buys
startup Ring in
$1 billion deal
SEATTLE: Amazon.com
Inc has agreed to buy
video doorbell maker
Ring, the companies said
on Tuesday, in what ana-
lysts see as a growing bet
on delivering packages
inside of shoppers’
homes and on home
security. The deal valued
Ring at more than $1 bil-
lion, a source familiar
with the matter told
Reuters. Amazon
declined to discuss the
terms. Ring is set to be
one of Amazon’s most
expensive takeovers,
after its $13.7 billion deal
last year for Whole Foods
Market. The world’s larg-
est online retailer
believes that selling
internet-connected
n Firm posted first ever quarterly profit n Sales boosted by ‘explosive’ demand for video ads
REUTERS
TOKYO/SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 28
Riding a wave of new users,
improved advertising options
and an embrace of video con-
tent by users and advertisers
alike, Twitter Inc’s revenue
has leaped in Japan, helping
lead the company to its first
quarterly profit.
Earlier this month Twitter
reported that sales in Japan
jumped 34 percent in the last
three months of 2017, com-
pared with a year earlier, to
$106 million.
In Japan, Twitter’s success
in converting users into reve-
nue—a problem that has
vexed the social network since
its founding—has raised
hopes it might lead to broader
growth across the company.
Investors and analysts, howev-
er, point to Japan-specific fac-
tors that may not be replicable
elsewhere.
The company seems to be
innovating at a local level
instead of simply localising
US services, as is common at
other tech firms, said Ryo
Sakai, a senior planner for the
interactive media division at
Asatsu-DK Inc, Japan’s
third-largest advertising
agency. “I get the impression
that Twitter has, in the past
year or two, been responding
flexibly to advertisers’
requests,” he said.
At the same time, the com-
pany has attracted more eyes
in Japan: user numbers rose
to about 45 million in October
from about 40 million just
over a year earlier.
The reasons for that are
complex, but ad industry exec-
utives say Twitter’s policy of
allowing aliases and the idea
of tweeting—sometimes
translated as “muttering” in
Japanese—allows Japanese
n People holding mobile phones are silhouetted against a backdrop projected with the Twitter logo. 
The company’s policy of allowing aliases and the idea of
tweeting allows Japanese users to express their opinions
in a culture that tends to be outwardly reserved
users to express their opin-
ions in a culture that tends to
be outwardly reserved.
“There is an ease to ano-
nymity,” says Motohiko
Tokuriki, chief marketing
officer at Agile Media
Network, which advises com-
panies on the use of social
media.
Twitter has moved beyond
text and pictures, offering
rich video advertising options
and providing an alternative
to rivals such as Facebook Inc,
says Shinya Kobori, manager
for the Twitter group at
Dentsu Digital Inc, part of
Japan’s largest advertising
agency, Dentsu Inc. The popu-
larity of video on Twitter has
been evident during the
Winter Olympics. National
broadcaster NHK’s video of
figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu’s
gold-medal-winning short pro-
gramme was watched more
than 4 million times and
shared 125,000 times.
Facebook, which lagged
home-grown rival Mixi Inc in
the early days of social net-
works, has failed to dominate
Japan as it has in the United
States and Europe.
Twitter now makes $2.36
per Japanese user, compared
with $5.97 per user in the
United States, according to
data from the fourth quarter
REUTERS
of 2017. That is nearly twice
the $1.24 in revenue per non-
US user overall.
Twitter has continued to
grow its Japanese mobile user
base over the last 18 months
even as Facebook struggles to
expand its app users numbers,
data from Nielsen shows.
And for advertisers target-
ing a population that has
tuned out television, Twitter
offers an attractive option:
around three quarters of
Japanese students over the
age of 18 use it, compared
with around a quarter on
Facebook, according to
Nielsen.
With smartphones “over-
whelmingly” used for social
activities like watching video,
demand for video advertising
has been “explosive” says
Masahiro Ajisawa, Japan-
based senior director at
Twitter Client Solutions.
Japanese consumers were
late to embrace smartphones
but have accelerated their
purchases, with domestic
sales hitting a record high of
32 million units last year, data
from the Tokyo-based MM
Research Institute shows.
Under the Twitter model,
advertisers pay to push their
tweets into the feeds of users
who may watch the video,
retweet to their followers or
click through to the advertis-
er’s website.
Many of the websites of
traditional media lack the lat-
est ad options, and video-sav-
vy net media have not taken
root to the same extent in
Japan as in countries like the
US, said Yoshiya Nakamura,
executive analyst at Nielsen
Digital.
Digital spending is on the
rise, with the ad market for
internet media growing 15
percent to 1.5 trillion yen in
2017—its fourth straight year
of double-digit expansion—
compared with a 2.3 percent
fall to 2.8 trillion yen for tradi-
tional media, according to
Dentsu.
The importance of Japan to
Twitter is reflected by its
choice to be one of three coun-
tries, along with the US and
the UK, chosen for Twitter’s
new “promote mode,” a sub-
scription service that allows
smaller business to pay to
boost their tweets.
Although Twitter expects
its Japan growth to continue,
it is less clear whether the
success will be replicable else-
where.
One possibility could be the
Middle East, where revenue
per user remains low despite a
large number of users, said
Ross Gerber, chief executive
of US investment firm Gerber
Kawasaki.
hits record
n A lionsculpture is seen in front of office towers at the financial
Central district in Hong Kong, China. 
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
HONG KONG, Feb 28
Hong Kong on Wednesday
reported a record surplus of
almost $18 billion thanks
to a red-hot property
market and announced
wide-ranging tax cuts in its
annual budget, but critics said
the measures did too little to
help the city’s poor.
Financial Secretary Paul
Chan said the business hub
had amassed a HK$138 billion
($17.7 billion) budget surplus
and he wanted to “share the
fruits of our economic suc-
cess with the community”.
He unveiled plans to slash
salaries tax by up to 75 per-
cent, with a ceiling of
HK$30,000, a move which he
said would benefit almost two
million people.
There were also payments
of HK$2,000 to students in
need, along with extra welfare
allowances for the poor, the
disabled and the elderly.
But there was no one-off
cash handout to all perma-
nent residents, as some had
called for.
The government of Chief
Executive Carrie Lam also
plans to build 100,000 public
housing flats in the next five
years, including subsidised
REUTERS
properties for sale.
The budget will be wel-
comed by the middle class in
the semi-autonomous Chinese
city, but critics said it failed to
address long-term poverty
problems. An official study
last year showed nearly 20 per-
cent of Hong Kong’s 7.35 mil-
lion people live below the pov-
erty line.
The wealth gap last year
was at its widest for nearly 50
years, fuelling discontent as
the former British colony
marked two decades under
Chinese rule.
Property prices are among
the world’s most expensive,
forcing some small businesses
to close due to sky-high costs
while many residents cannot
afford to buy or rent decent
homes.
While Hong Kong enjoys
high per capita GDP of
$46,000, Chan warned about
its “slower growth momen-
tum” with a mere 2.7 percent
average annual economic
growth over the past decade.
Demonstrators gathered
outside the legislature
before the budget speech,
accusing the government of
not doing enough to help ordi-
nary people.
Some social media users
were also unhappy.

Australia to recall all vehicles China

gadgets from Kindle
e-readers to its new
Cloud Cam will spark
more shopping on
aluminum foil imports
dumped, subsidised: US
Amazon.com. Ring

with defective Takata airbags

offers the company a
popular consumer elec-
tronics brand that it
might not have replicat-
ed internally. (REUTERS)
EU inflation falls
to 1.2pc in Feb:
Eurostat
BRUSSELS: Inflation in
the eurozone slowed to
1.2 percent in February,
the EU’s official
statistics agency said on
Wednesday, well off the
European Central
Bank’s 2.0 percent target.
The figure, which was
in line with a forecast
by analysts at data
company Factset, will
make it less likely that
the ECB will turn off its
massive stimulus pro-
gramme in the near
future. The Frankfurt-
based ECB has
announced it was
starting to wind down
the massive support it
has given the 19-member
currency zone to boost
inflation and help
Europe through the
crises of recent years.
Over that period, it has
set interest rates at his-
toric lows, offered cheap
loans to banks and
bought tens of billions
of euros per month in
bonds in a bid to pump
easy cash to businesses
and households. (AFP)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CANBERRA (Australia), FEB 28
Australia on Wednesday
issued a compulsory recall for
all 2.7 million cars fitted with
defective Takata air bags in an
effort to lift the auto indus-
try’s mixed efforts to fix the
fault blamed for at least 23
deaths around the world.
Vehicle suppliers must
recall and replace all the air
bags in Australia by the end
of 2020, with priority given to
the most dangerous because
of their design, age or the
level of humidity in their
environment, Assistant
Minister to the Treasurer
Michael Sukkar said.
“Tragically there has been
one death and one case of
serious injury in Australia as
a result of the deployment of
these air bags and the govern-
ment just doesn’t want to see
any more,” Sukkar told
reporters. Takata’s air bag
problem has resulted in 100
million recalls worldwide and
forced the Japanese company
into bankruptcy protection.
The Australian government
said at least 23 deaths and
more than 230 serious injuries
had been associated with the
air bag defects.
Sukkar said the problem
was considered acute in
northern Australia due to its
humid and hot climate. Such
conditions are a known factor
in the air bag’s dangers and
the deaths have occurred
mainly in the summer in the
southern United States and in
tropical Malaysia.
The chemical propellant in
the air bag inflators can dete-
riorate in hot, humid condi-
tions and burn too fast, blow-
ing apart a metal canister and
creating shrapnel.
While some manufacturers
had recalled more than 80 per-
cent of the air bags in
Australia, some were as low as
36 percent. Globally, many
manufacturers have been
slow to replace the potentially
deadly inflators. A report by
an independent monitor said
that as of September 15, 2017,
automakers had replaced only
43 percent since Takata recalls
began in 2001.
Under the compulsory
recall order, the government
will be able to name manufac-
turers who are falling behind
from July. Failure to comply
with the order carries a poten-
tial fine of 1.1 million
Australian dollars ($860,000)
per breach.
“One of the concerns has
been the divergence we’ve
seen among manufacturers as
to how actively they’ve sought
to notify ... consumers with
potential problems with their
air bags,” Sukkar said.
“As far as reluctance goes,
again it’s been very much a
mixed bag. If you look at some
of the manufacturers, they
really use best endeavors.
There are other manufactur-
ers who didn’t show the same
diligence,” he added.
National Roads and
Motorists’ Association spokes-
man Peter Khoury, an
Australian motorists advo-
cate, said the compulsory
recall was long overdue.
REUTERS
WASHINGTON, Feb 28
The US Commerce
Department said on Tuesday
it had made a final determina-
tion that imports of alumi-
num foil from China are being
sold in the United States at
less than their fair value and
producers are benefiting from
subsidies from Beijing.
It said in a statement that
antidumping and countervail-
ing duties would be levied on
a number of Chinese firms,
with dumping margins rang-
ing from 48.64 percent to
106.09 percent and anti-subsi-
dy rates of 17.14 percent to
80.97 percent.
“This Administration is
committed to trade that is fair
and reciprocal, and we will
not allow American workers
and businesses to be harmed
by unfair imports,” the state-
ment quoted Commerce
Secretary Wilbur Ross as say-
ing. China has expressed
“strong dissatisfaction” with
the step and will take
necessary measures to
protect its legal rights and
interests in the matter, the
country’s Ministry of
Commerce (MOFCOM) said in
a statement.
“The US has disregarded
the WTO rules and seriously
damaged the interests of
China’s aluminium foil
n A workerdrives a forklift to transport aluminum bars at a factory in
Anshun, Guizhou province, China. 
exporters,” Wang Hejun, the
head of MOFCOM’s Trade
Remedy and Investigation
Bureau, said in the statement.
The US Commerce
Department has made the
wrong decision in levying
high duties “without
any evidence” and has “unrea-
sonably and excessively”
adopted trade remedy meas-
ures, Wang said.
The duties, which would
take effect for five years,
remain subject to a finding of
injury to US producers by the
Inter national Trade
Commission (ITC), which is
due to announce its decision
by March 15.
Amid mounting trade fric-
tion with China, US President
Donald Trump is due to decide
soon whether to impose much
REUTERS
broader duties on steel
and aluminum imports
under a national security
investigation.
Three of Trump’s top eco-
nomic aides are expected meet
with Chinese President Xi
Jinping’s top economic advis-
er, Liu He, the week, the White
House said on Tuesday.
China’s Foreign Ministry said
on Monday the aide would dis-
cuss “China-US relations and
the two countries’ economic
and trade cooperation.”
The Commerce Department
said the foil case, the first the
US aluminum industry has
brought against China’s alu-
minum sector, would have no
bearing on the “Section 232”
report on aluminum that is
under consideration by
Trump.

E C O L O G I C A L c h alle n ge

Costa Rica’s whale tourism under threat from ocean warming

REUTERS
BAHIA BALLENA (Costa Rica), Feb 28
In good years, more than a
hundred thousand tourists flock
to this marine park on Costa
Rica’s Pacific coast to see hump-
back whales breaching in the
blue waters.
But warming temperatures—
driven by climate change and
strengthening El Niño events—
are beginning to threaten the
region’s tourism economy.
“When temperatures rise two
or three degrees (Celsius) above
the region’s average, we have
very few whale sightings com-
pared to normal years,” said
whale specialist José David
Palacios, who works at the
Marino Ballena National Park
with the Keto Foundation, a
Costa Rican marine conservation
organisation.
“Typically, there are many
sightings a day. When tempera-
tures rise, there are only one or
two a week,” he said.
For Julio Badilla, the operator
of Dolphin Tours, that’s bad
news. Over the three most recent
tour seasons, including a strong
2015-2016 El Niño period, whale
sightings have been “terrible”,
he said.
Whales are one of the
main tourist draws for Marino
Ballena National Park, one
of Costa Rica’s most visited natu-
ral areas. As climate change hits
the country’s parks and biodiver-
sity, it is also threatening local
economies highly dependent on
tourism, scientists and local peo-
ple say.
“What’s happening with the
whales is concerning. In previous
years (2015-2016) there was a
decrease in the amount of tours
ed, they believe rising water tem-
peratures may be altering the
migration routes of humpback
whales moving past Costa Rica
from the north.
When the whales descend in
search of warmer waters to
reproduce, they may now be find-
ing them before reaching the
park, scientists believe. The prob-
lem is that, as the whales spend
time elsewhere, the community
of Bahía Ballena could see its
income dry up.
“Whale sighting tourism real-
ly moves this community.
Tourism has been the main eco-
nomic activity in the region for a
n A hump-back whale is seen off the coast of Costa Rica. couple of years now. Recently, it’s
been growing in these type of
precisely because the probability Scientists similarly have activities,” said Sanchez, the tour
of finding whales was very noticed a drop in whale sightings operator.
low,” said Rafael Sanchez, a tour in the park, mainly in warm- A study published in the jour-
operator from the company er-than-average years, they said. nal Nature in 2014 estimated that
Adventure Bay. Although more study is need- extreme El Niño events, like the
recent one in Costa Rica, will
become twice as likely due to cli-
mate change.
That is a growing worry for
tour operators in Bahía Ballena.
Along with altering whale
migration, climate change is
causing other problems as well,
from coral bleaching to rising sea
level, Palacios said.
A drop in tourism in the region
would mean a big hit for Costa
Rica’s tourism economy.
According to data from the Costa
Rican Institute of Tourism, the
park is the third most visited in
the country with over 130,000
tourists per year.
While a decrease in whale
sightings is the most direct eco-
nomic threat to the park, other
changes—such as a loss of beach
area to sea level rise—are caus-
ing concern as well.
“We’re losing beach, which is
affecting tourism activity
because that space available for
recreation and tourism is retreat-
ing,” explained Catalina Mora,
executive president of the Keto
Foundation.
In the 1980s, a series of stone
blocks were installed along the
beach, 50 metres from the water,
to protect fragile coastal plants
from waves during strong storms,
she said.
Today, during high tide, the
blocks sit entirely underwater.
“The water is reaching some
forest paths,” said Mora, a scien-
tist. “It’s also reaching the first
line of palm trees along the
coast” and eroding the soil from
the roots of the trees, she said.
Marino Ballena’s coral reefs
also are feeling the heat. Almost
all the coral in the park suffered
some bleaching in 2015, said
Palacios, a marine biologist.

C M Y K
III money economy the kathmandu post | Thursday, March 1, 2018

news digest tourist activity

Toys ‘R’ Us in UK
winds down after
no buyer found
LONDON: The troubled
British arm of US retail-
er Toys’R’Us is winding
down its activities,
administrators said on
Wednesday, threatening
up to 3,200 jobs through
store closures.
“Following the failure to
attract a buyer for the
business... administra-
tors are conducting an
orderly wind-down of the
company’s store portfo-
lio,” said a statement
announcing the collapse
into administration, or
the process whereby a
troubled company seeks
independent financial
advice regarding its
future. “Whilst this pro-
cess is likely to affect
many Toys’R’Us staff,
whether some or all of
the stores will close
remains to be decided,”
said Simon Thomas of
administrators
Moorfields. The British
arm of Toys’R’Us nar-
rowly avoided entering
administration in
December after a key
creditor embraced its
plan to already begin
shutting stores and plug
its pensions deficit. (AFP)
Amazon launches
music streaming
service in India
MUMBAI: Amazon.com
Inc launched its
music-streaming service
in India on Wednesday,
its latest offering to drive
customers to shop more
on its flagship e-com-
merce platform. Amazon
Prime Music will be
available at no extra cost
to members of Prime,
the world’s largest online
retailer’s customer loyal-
ty plan that costs an
annual 999 rupees
($15.30) and offers faster
deliveries, access to early
deals and a subscription
to its video streaming
service. “Our entire
music organization—
Seattle, San Francisco,
Bangalore, Mumbai—we n A touristposes next to mute swans as they gather near the shore of the Round Pond in Kensington Gardens as they wait for people to feed them after overnight snow falls in London, on Wednesday. Britain, which is buffered by the Atlantic Ocean and
have all spent a lot of tends to have temperate winters, saw heavy snow in some areas that disrupted road, rail and air travel and forced hundreds of schools to close.  ap
time, invested our time
personally and our engi-
neering resources in

Barriers to benefiting from ‘Udhyami Nepal’

India, it’s a big priority
for us,” Sean McMullan,
Director International
Expansion at Amazon

portal launched
Music, told reporters.
(REUTERS)

energy sector highlighted

Repsol profits
up on higher
oil prices
MADRID: Spain’s oil giant
Repsol said on
Wednesday that rising
oil prices and increased
output—as the group
resumed activity in
Libya—helped boost its
bottom-line in 2017.
Repsol said in a state-
ment that net profit rose
22 percent to 2.1 billion
euros ($2.6 billion) last
year, the highest in six
years, even if the figure
fell short of analysts’
expectations. A general
increase in production
and “the slight recovery
of crude oil and gas pric-
es beginning in June”
contributed to the rise,
the statement said. Its
upstream division of
exploration and produc-
tion saw adjusted net
profit increase 12-fold to
632 million euros, as pro-
duction was resumed in
Libya, following a stop-
page there for most of
2016 due to unrest. They
also made a major oil
find in Alaska. (AFP)
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, FEB 28
Women and low income peo-
ple including excluded com-
munities face various struc-
tural barriers preventing
them from benefiting fully
from Nepal’s energy sector.
Lack of access to energy
forces women to spend a lot of
time collecting fuel, taking
them away from jobs, educa-
tion and other activities for
self improvement, says a
study report unveiled by the
Asian Development Bank
(ADB).
Unveiling the study report
entitled Gender Equality and
Social Inclusion Assessment
of the Energy Sector on
Wednesday, the multilateral
lending institution said social
inclusion was a must for
enhancing the social sustaina-
bility of the country’s energy
development.
“Promoting collaborative
efforts in inclusiveness in
energy generation and energy
consumption could support
empowering women,” ADB
Country Director Mukhtor
Khamudkhanov said.
The study was carried out
in 12 ongoing and completed
energy projects including
hydropower generation,
transmission, distribution,
micro-hydropower and mini-
grid and solar-wind hybrid.
Semi-structured interviews,
eight focus group discussions
and 31 surveys were conduct-
ed for the purpose.
The study highlights that
gender equality and social
inclusion in energy enhances
livelihood opportunities,
ensures social benefits and
improves health and educa-
tion services to aid in poverty
reduction. It shows that most-
ly men considered energy use
for economic opportunities
while in the case of women, it
helps them to reduce the
labour needed in household
work.
High costs, lack of policy
and institutional framework,
low capacity of communi-
ty-based power plants, con-
sumer preferences, lack of
appropriate incentive struc-
tures and misappropriation
of subsidies, among others,
are identified as the main con-
straints for inclusion in the
energy sector.
Dinesh Kumar Ghimire,
joint secretary at the Ministry
of Energy, said increasing
women’s access in the energy
sector could help promote effi-
cient use of energy. “There is
a need for readdressing the
linkage between gender and
energy in a well integrated
manner that could result in
effective outcomes in poverty
alleviation.”
The government has priori-
tised implementing policies
and programmes to enhance
the welfare of women and
socially excluded groups
besides mainstreaming gen-
der equality in the 10th Five-
Year Plan.
The current 14th Three-
Year Development Plan seeks
to address structural prob-
lems in the economy such as
inequitable access to produc-
tive means and resources to
ensure sustainable develop-
ment and shared prosperity.
Executive director of the
Alter native Energ y
Promotion Centre (AEPC)
Ram Prasad Dhital said that
the government had recently
started giving focus to bring-
ing excluded groups into
alternative energy produc-
tion. “For the purpose, the
government has revised the
policy to provide subsidies to
alternative energy promotion
in 2012,” Dhital said.
As per the AEPC, the man-
agement of most off-grid ener-
gy generation systems is
handed over to the functional
group formed at the local
level. Dhital said the sustaina-
bility of such energy produc-
tion largely depended on the
participation of women in
particular.
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, FEB 28
Bikas Udhyami has launched
the Udhyami Nepal portal in
partnership with the National
Youth Council.
The portal aims to provide
aspiring and existing entre-
preneurs with business infor-
mation and connect skilled
workers to companies.
The launch programme
was attended by Vice-
Chairman of National Youth
Council Madhav Dhungel.
The portal will act as a one-
stop business guide where
various information can be
found.
The website will contain
content written in easy to
understand Nepali to cater to
people across Nepal.
During the programme, an
e-book titled, ‘Social
Entrepreneurship in Nepal:
Stories of Young
Entrepreneurs Changing the
Way Business is Done’ was
also launched.
The organisation hopes
that the stories will inspire
young Nepali to follow in their
footsteps and explore social
entrepreneurship in order to
contribute to Nepal’s develop-
ment.
Bikas Udhyami is a social
business led by young Nepali
professionals from different
backgrounds who share and
entrepreneurial spirit, reads
the press release.

u r ba n s p r aw l

Toronto’s housing supply challenge and the growth plan paradox

REUTERS
TORONTO, Feb 28
Toronto, Canada’s largest city
and one of the world’s hottest
property markets, has a supply
problem and the nation’s housing
agency admits it is not quite sure
why soaring prices have not
spurred more construction.
New homes replace demolished
ones at a sharply lower rate than
early this decade, completion
times for multi-family projects
have doubled and prospective
buyers have far fewer new homes
to choose from than only a few
years ago.
The reason, in part, may lie in
an ambitious growth plan for the
greater Toronto area the Ontario
province forged over a decade
ago.
With new “density” targets
favoring multi-family housing,
designated urban growth areas
and tougher environmental rules,
the 2006 plan sought to check
urban sprawl while supporting
the area’s further growth as
North America’s major economic
hub.
The market, though, did not
follow that vision.
Detached homes are still most
sought-after and their tight sup-
ply keeps prices high even as
some condominiums and mul-
ti-family projects languish.
Developers say the growth
plan, updated in 2017 with higher
density targets, both created a
demand-supply mismatch and
added a layer of new municipal
regulations.
“The growth plan has throttled
growth severely,” said Matthew
Cory, principal at planning con-
surrounding towns, accounts for
a fifth of the nation’s economy.
The city, alongside Vancouver,
Canada’s third-largest city, is also
among top North American desti-
nations for international proper-
ty investors and a major draw for
Chinese capital.
So far, the authorities have
sought to cool what they call
speculative demand with stricter
lending rules and by taxing for-
eign buyers. Now they also begin
to look at supply bottlenecks as a
n A ‘For lease’ sign stands in front of a row of houses in, Ontario, Canada. REUTERS driver for prices that have risen
by 43 percent in Toronto and 63
sulting firm Malone Given “That superimposed more percent in Vancouver just over
Parsons. planning on a planning structure the past three years.
Ryerson University economist that was already bureaucrat- “If I were concerned about
Frank Clayton said part of the ic-heavy,” he said in an interview. anything from a long-term hous-
problem was the plan’s emphasis Toronto’s troubles are of ing market point of view it’s the
on protecting the environment national concern given its role as supply of housing in Toronto and
and heritage sites at the expense Canada’s top financial and tech- Vancouver,” Evan Siddal, the
of development. nology hub, which, together with head of the federal housing agen-
cy, the Canada Mortgage &
Housing Corporation, told
Reuters.
“We’re replacing houses in
Toronto at a much lower rate
than we were five or six years
ago,” he said.
The agency’s data, first pub-
lished by Reuters, show just over
20 new homes were built in
Toronto for each one demolished
in 2016, down from around 70 to
one in 2011.
Data from property research
firm Altus Group offered a differ-
ent perspective: it estimated last
year prospective buyers had
about 11,000 properties to choose
from in the greater Toronto area,
less than half the level of just
two years earlier.
Siddal said “simpler, more flex-
ible” approval procedures would
help, but developers were also
contributing to the bottlenecks by
“land banking”—delaying pro-
jects in anticipation prices will
rise further.
In a report this month, the
agency said, however, that it
needed more data to fully under-
stand the factors behind supply
constrains.
Industry representatives said
complex regulation, rather than
speculation, drives the delays.
Michael Pozzebon, vice presi-
dent of low-rise developer DG
Group, said his firm used to sell
houses once it got approvals
because in the past it knew how
long projects would take.
“To sell at that point now,
there’s a risk that we can’t deliv-
er the product on time. So there’s
a perception that we’re holding
on to land without developing it,”
he said.

C M Y K
Thursday, March 1, 2018 | the kathmandu post bazaar money IV

Large cardamom price

shares market watch

Nepse 1,345.99pts
-1.38%
RETAIL PRICE
Vegetables Unit Price (Rs)

in freefall, down 68pc

highest losers
Red Potato kg Rs38
CBL KMCDB SMFDB NICL HPPL AKPL
-5.84% -5.34% -5.14% -5.04% -4.84% -4.60% White Potato kg Rs33

moderate losers Onion (Indian) kg Rs65

UIC MSMBS PROFL NNLB MMFDB SICL Tomato Small kg Rs45
-4.58% -4.49% -4.45% -4.44% -4.41% -4.38% PARBAT PORTEL spice is re-exported to Bangladesh,
BIRTAMOD, FEB 28 Pakistan, the Gulf countries and Carrot kg Rs45
moderate gainers other overseas destinations.
Price of large cardamom wit- The high-value cash crop is pro- Tomato Big kg Rs45
AHPC BHBL KRBL NMBSF1 DDBL UNL nessed a free fall this year, record- duced mainly in the eastern hills
0.54% 0.60% 0.78% 0.96% 0.99% 1.31% ing the highest drop in a decade, in Nepal. Outside Nepal, the spice Squash kg Rs75
mainly due to loss in product’s is grown only in Sikkim and
highest gainers reputation in the international Darjeeling in India and Bhutan. Cabbage kg Rs45
LBLPO DHPL SDESI NGPL GRDBL SLBS market. Nepal’s large cardamom Large cardamom was introduced
exports have continually been into Ilam from Sikkim in 1865. Brinjal Long kg Rs55
1.39% 1.51% 1.89% 1.90% 2.85% 3.98%
found to contain low quality As the demand for large carda-
Chinese large cardamom which mom started to grow, countries
Cow Pea kg Rs55
traders try to mix in with like China, Vietnam and Cauliflower kg Rs45
high-quality Nepali spice. Guatemala has also started to cul-
Nepal Stock Exchange The plunge in prices has dashed tivate the crop.
Singhadurbar Plaza, Kathmandu Fruits Unit Price (Rs)
February 28, 2018 the hopes of farmers growing the The low-quality large carda-
valuable spice. mom supplied by these countries Apple kg Rs105
Trading Information Trading Price
The price of large cardamom is sold at very competitive prices,
SN Company Max Min Closing No Shares
touched a new peak of Rs2,700 per according to reports.
Pomegranate kg Rs210
1 Agriculture Dev Bank Ltd 339 334 334 13018
2 Api Power Co Ltd 373 362 369 2460 kg in 2014 and dropped to Rs850 Nepal is the largest producer of Pineapple kg Rs105
3 Arun Finance Ltd 154 153 153 580 per kg this year -- a drop of 68 large cardamom, accounting for
4 Arun Kabeli Power Ltd 301 285 290 8975 percent. 68 percent of the international
5 Arun Valley Hydropower Dev Co Ltd 186 180 185 8598 Cucumber kg Rs65
6 Asian Life Insurance Co Ltd 820 800 805 1490 According to the traders, prices market. It is followed by India and
7 Bank of Kathmandu Ltd 370 365 366 20063 of large cardamom have dropped Bhutan. Ilam, Panchthar, Papaya kg Rs65
8 Barun Hydropower Co Ltd 179 179 179 50
9 Best Finance Co Ltd 121 121 121 1000 22.7 percent, from Rs1,100 per kg Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha,
10 Bhargav Bikash Bank Ltd 165 165 165 150 to Rs850 per kg in the last two Terhathum, Bhojpur and Banana Doz Rs85
11 Bishal Bazar Co Ltd 1912 1874 1874 20 weeks alone. n A file photo shows farmers harvesting large cardamom. Dhankuta districts are the major
12 Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Ltd 6803 6666 6666 60
13 Butwal Power Co Ltd 540 512 518 3820 Last year, the high-value Nepali large cardamom producing areas Lime 100Pcs Rs475
14 Central Finance Co Ltd 133 131 131 1096 spice exported to Delhi was found with Chinese large cardamom Bhattarai said that large carda- in Nepal. Cultivation of the spice
15 Century Commercial Bank Ltd 187 180 184 20574
16 Century Commercial Bank Ltd Promoter Share 197 197 197 12693 to be mixed with Chinese large this year. mom production is increasing but has now spread to more than 38
17 Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 987 966 980 1570 cardamom and the repercussions Cardamom entrepreneurs, on the demand is continually districts. Taplejung is the top pro- daily commodities
18 Chhyangdi Hydropower Ltd 173 165 165 813 were felt this year as seen by the other hand, complained that decreasing. “After it was revealed ducer with an annual output of
19 Chilime Hydropower Co Ltd 835 823 825 7979
20 Citizen Bank International Ltd 271 269 270 10705 plunging prices. Chinese spice is imported to that Nepali cardamom is mixed 2,400 tonnes. Commodities Unit Price (Rs)
21 Citizen Investment Trust 3400 3287 3325 7256 Nirmal Bhattarai, president of Nepal through illegal border with the Chinese spice, prices Large cardamom producers
22 Civil Bank Ltd
23 Civil Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
171
790
159
785
161
785
96432
85 Large Cardamom Entrepreneurs crossings from India, mixed with started to take a downward and traders have demanded a Pokhreli Rice kg Rs75
24 Deprosc Dev Bank Ltd 816 800 811 1544 Association, said it’s the highest Nepali spice and then exported to trend,” he said. national policy for solving vari-
25 Deva Bikas Bank Ltd 171 165 169 22788 fall in a decade. He, however, ruled India and third countries. Such Nearly 90 percent of the large ous emerging issues on the pro- Jeera Masino Rice kg Rs70
26 Dibyashwori Hydropower Ltd 135 134 134 60
27 Everest Bank Ltd 820 800 803 15549 out the possibility of mixing trend has eroded the quality of cardamom grown in Nepal is duction and marketing of large
28 Everest Insurance Co Ltd 1495 1467 1467 865 high-quality Nepali cardamom Nepali cardamom, they said. exported to India. From India, the cardamom. Indian Basmati Rice kg Rs100
29 Excel Dev Bank Ltd 360 352 353 1585
30 First Micro Finance Dev Bank Ltd 560 550 556 4360 Mansuli Rice kg Rs55
31 Forward Community Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 3181 3073 3080 5234
32 Gandaki Bikas Bank Ltd 233 229 231 4525
Sona Rice kg Rs50
mobile flower business
33 Garima Bikas Bank Ltd 193 188 189 8269
34 Global IME Bank Ltd 321 317 319 32340
35 Global IME Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1330 1325 1325 73 Beaten Rice(Taichin) kg Rs130
36 Goodwill Finance Co Ltd 146 145 145 600
37 Green Dev Bank Ltd 181 175 180 470
38 Gurans Life Insurance Co Ltd 855 831 850 1500 Beaten Rice kg Rs60
39 Gurkhas Finance Ltd 133 130 130 493
40 Hamro Bikas Bank Ltd 150 150 150 675
41 Himalayan Bank Ltd 648 637 637 1000 Big Mas kg Rs260
42 Himalayan Distillery Ltd 1140 1137 1140 300
43 Himalayan General Insurance Co Ltd 472 463 467 4356 Small Mas kg Rs240
44 Himalayan Power Partner Ltd 344 330 334 4430
45 ICFC Finance Ltd 201 199 199 6538
46 IME General Insurance Ltd 930 922 922 600 Big Mung kg Rs180
47 Jalabidyut Lagani tatha Bikas Co Ltd 166 160 163 5026
48 Janaki Finance Ltd 169 167 168 550 Musuro(No. 1) kg Rs150
49 Janata Bank Nepal Ltd 177 170 170 21439
50 Janata Bank Nepal Ltd Promoter Share 147 147 147 7751
51 Janautthan Samudayic Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 2840 2765 2780 322 Musuro(No. 2) kg Rs130
52 Jyoti Bikas Bank Ltd 157 149 154 29543
53 Kailash Bikas Bank Ltd 233 229 233 1389
54 Kalika Microcredit Dev Bank Ltd 1284 1234 1240 2002 Rahar kg Rs200
55 Kamana Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd 162 158 158 13147
56 Kanchan Dev Bank Ltd
57 Kankai Bikas Bank Ltd
204
151
199
146
199
146
4227
1190
Chana(Big) kg Rs220
58 Karnali Dev Bank Ltd 129 127 129 296
59 Khanikhola Hydropower Co Ltd 133 131 131 172 Chana(Small) kg Rs180
60 Kumari Bank Ltd 269 265 268 13165
61 Lalitpur Finance Ltd 164 164 164 600
62 Laxmi Bank Ltd 258 256 257 4791 Chilli Powder kg Rs350
63 Laxmi Bank Ltd Promoter Share 145 145 145 2280
64 Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1210 1199 1200 895
65 Life Insurance Co Nepal 1805 1774 1780 501
66 Lumbini Bikas Bank Ltd
67 Lumbini General Insurance Co Ltd
165
560
159
548
160
556
15009
5818
gasoline watch
68 Machhapuchhre Bank Ltd 251 244 246 17588
69 Mahalaxmi Bikas Bank Ltd 185 182 185 3650
70 Mahila Sahayatra Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 760 722 722 296
71 Mahuli Samudayik Laghubitta Sanstha Ltd 2716 2683 2705 130
72 Mero Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1295 1253 1270 566
73 Mirmire Microfinance Dev Bank Ltd 2781 2705 2706 580
74 Miteri Dev Bank Ltd 285 280 280 4040
75 Mithila LaghuBitta Bikas Bank Ltd 980 953 953 224
76 Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd 422 416 419 8270
77 Nabil Balance Fund 1 16.40 16.35 16.35 15000
78 Nabil Bank Ltd 1067 1055 1060 12588
79 NABIL Bank Ltd Promotor Share 840 833 835 4085
80 Nabil Equity Fund 9.70 9.70 9.70 2253
81 National Hydro Power Co Ltd 108 104 105 19440
82 National Life Insurance Co Ltd 1390 1367 1367 2616
83 National Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 2111 2091 2096 272
84 Naya Nepal Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 2205 2150 2150 200
85 Neco Insurance Co Ltd 570 557 564 2494
86 Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd 247 243 243 9884
87 Nepal Bank Ltd 347 340 342 28842
88 Nepal Community Dev Bank Ltd 146 142 142 423
89 Nepal Credit And Commercial Bank Ltd 314 305 306 25450
90 Nepal Doorsanchar Comapany Ltd 755 735 748 6200
91 Nepal Grameen Bikas Bank Ltd 614 602 610 4830
92 Nepal Hydro Developers Ltd 205 202 203 70
93 Nepal Insurance Co Ltd 1190 1130 1130 1400
94 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd 676 667 668 13515
95 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd Promoter Share 580 576 580 2793
96 Nepal Life Insurance Co Ltd 1795 1770 1775 23815
97 Nepal Life Insurance Co Ltd Promoter 1100 1100 1100 31675
98 Nepal SBI Bank Ltd 570 563 563 4724
99 Nerude Laghubita Bikas Bank Ltd 709 699 709 1178
100 Ngadi Group Power Ltd 214 208 214 198
101 NIBL Pragati Fund 9.40 9.40 9.40 1010
102 NIBL Samriddhi Fund 1 11.30 11.27 11.30 8478
103 NIC Asia Bank Ltd 345 342 342 2742 n A travelling vendor pushes his cart on the streets of Chamati in Kathmandu, selling flower seedlings on Wednesday. Prices for such seedling start from
104 Nirdhan Utthan Bank Ltd 1155 1133 1140 939
105 NLG Insurance Co Ltd 941 920 920 1170 Rs40 and can cost upwards of Rs600 depending on the type of flower.  Post Photo: Anish Regmi
106 NMB Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1640 1611 1630 163
107 NMB Bank Ltd 459 451 455 14739
108 NMB Hybrid Fund L-1 9.80 9.75 9.80 24928
109 NMB Sulav Investment Fund-1 12.68 12.55 12.55 10000 breeding fish
110 Om Dev Bank Ltd 192 190 190 7845
111 Oriental Hotels Ltd 0 0 0 5
bullion

Firm seeks to spawn salmon farm revolution

Price Per tola
112 Pokhara Finance Ltd 163 157 157 885
113 Prabhu Bank Ltd 230 225 227 268612
114 Prabhu Insurance Ltd 732 704 729 4837
115 Premier Insurance Co Ltd 1177 1151 1151 480
116 Prime Commercial Bank Ltd 303 300 302 16223
117 Prime Life Insurance Co Ltd 1510 1465 1483 31510 Fine Gold Rs 57,400
118 ProgressiveFinance Ltd 199 193 193 800
119 Prudential Insurance Co Ltd 734 711 712 994 AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE company for sewage disposal sys-
120 Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd 202 202 202 657 SAITAMA (Japan), Feb 28 tems. In 2008, they developed the
121 Rastriya Beema Co Ltd 12450 11960 12007 1157
122 Rastriya Beema Co Ltd Promoter Share 12200 11809 11900 513 breakthrough bacteria technolo- Silver Rs 740
123 Reliance Finance Ltd 132 130 130 941 Japan may be an island nation gy and the following year it was
124 Ridi Hydropower Dev Co Ltd 141 137 138 2260 surrounded by the bounty of the being used at an aquarium in
125 RSDC Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 838 820 820 1505 Source: FENEGOSIDA
126 Rural Microfinance Dev Centre Ltd 640 637 637 490 sea, but businessman Tetsuro Tokyo, at which point Sogo real-
127 Sagarmatha Insurance Co Ltd 1342 1306 1306 504 Sogo is looking inland to raise ised it could be used for salmon
128 Sahayogi Bikas Bank Ltd 203 203 203 100
one of the country’s most loved farming.
129 Sana Kisan Bikas Bank Ltd
130 Sanima Bank Ltd
1184
364
1161
356
1184
360
1774
32087 sushi fish: salmon. The innovation could be a mas- Int’l market
131 Sanima Equity Fund 10.05 10 10.05 5500 In a mountainous area near sive boon for Japan, where a 2017
132 Sanima Mai Hydropower Ltd 375 365 365 8440 Energy Price (US$)%Change
133 Saptakoshi Dev Bank Ltd 134 130 131 1611 Tokyo, the water in a tank is a survey found salmon was the
134 Shangrila Dev Bank Ltd 188 180 180 1727 murk of writhing grey salmon, country’s favourite sushi fish. Brent Crude Futr (Bbl) 66.55 -0.12
135 Shikhar Insurance Co Ltd 1160 1113 1113 4682
136 Shine Resunga Dev Bank Ltd 290 285 287 611 slithering past each other as they It first began appearing in res- Gas Oil Fut (Ice) (Mt) 590.75 -0.84
137 Shree Investment Finance Co Ltd 229 229 229 92 angle for food. taurants in Japan in the 1980s,
138 Siddhartha Bank Ltd 357 349 352 29172 They are part of an experi- after the Norwegian Seafood Gasoline Rbob Fut (Gal) 180.06 -0.16
139 Siddhartha Equity Fund 9.67 9.45 9.47 22400
140 Siddhartha Equity Orineted Scheme 12 11.85 11.85 62570 ment that Sogo, chief operating Council began a campaign to pop- Natural Gas Futr (Mmbtu) 2.69 0.11
141 Siddhartha Insurance Ltd 860 829 840 3186 officer at FRD Japan, hopes will n Grey salmon are seen in a tank at a facility of FRD Japan in Saitama.  afp/rss ularise it.
142 Sindhu Bikash Bank Ltd 148 146 146 124 Agriculture Price (US$)%Change
143 Soaltee Hotel Ltd 253 252 252 500 one day allow cost-effective But Sogo hopes Japan can one
144 Standard Chartered Bank Ltd 954 931 940 9650 inland farming of salmon, and often an impractical, expensive thought we needed a new way to day overtake Norway’s produc- Cocoa Future (Mt) 2,208.00 -0.85
145 Summit Micro Finance Dev Bank Ltd 1064 1012 1014 2631 enable Japanese to buy the home- endeavour requiring lots of produce more salmon.” tion, and export the technology to
146 Sunrise Bank Ltd 262 254 254 5779 Coffee ‘C’ Future (Lb) 120.95 -0.12
147 Surya Life Insurance Co Ltd 848 785 800 2348 grown fish for their sushi. water and electricity to keep The company’s process is two- other consumers in the region. Corn Future (Bu) 380 0.20
148 Suryodaya Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1043 1023 1043 20 “We’ll be able to easily get tanks clean. fold: first, simple tap water is “Asian markets are likely to
149 Swabalamban Bikas Bank Ltd 1276 1240 1244 1976
quality salmon wherever we are,” That hasn’t stopped demand converted to seawater by adding grow bigger than the Japanese Cotton No.2 Futr (Lb) 82.31 0.07
150 Swadeshi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 376 376 376 10
151 Swarojgar Laghu Bitta Bikas Bank Ltd 1490 1465 1485 570 Sogo told AFP. The majority of exploding since the 1980s, with artificial sea salt, which allows market,” said Sogo. Rough Rice (Cbot) (Cwt) 12.18 0.16
152 Synergy Power Dev Ltd 145 140 140 2180 the salmon consumed worldwide the United States, Russia, Europe the farming process to be set up “We’re looking at the possibili-
153 Taragaon Regency Hotel Ltd 287 280 280 4690 Soybean Future (Bu) 1,057.50 0.76
154 Tinau Dev Bank Ltd 200 199 199 515 is farmed, not wild, and the aqua- and Japan all clamouring for the anywhere tap water is available. ty of delivering fresh salmon
Soybean Meal Futr (T) 397.2 2.06
155 Uniliver Nepal Ltd 27800 27800 27800 10 culture market is dominated by fish’s rich pink flesh, according Second, a patented technology there (through technology
156 United Finance Ltd 208 208 208 700 Norway, which produces 1.3 mil- to the World Wildlife Fund. involving bacteria cleans the imports).” After a test run last Soybean Oil Futr (Lb) 32.5 0.31
157 United Insurance Co (Nepal) Ltd 1035 985 1000 6043
158 United Modi Hydropower Ltd 207 199 201 2318 lion tonnes a year. “Supply is not catching up water, consuming the ammonia year, which produced one tonne Sugar #11 (World) (Lb) 12.99 0.93
159 Vijaya laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 840 814 814 1013 But farming at sea, the most with the growing demand,” said produced by the fish, and dissolv- of salmon that was sold to a
160 Womi Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1500 1446 1446 878 Wheat Future(Cbt) (Bu) 483 1.26
common way to produce the fish, Sogo, speaking at his test facility ing nitric acid, meaning ener- major supermarket in Tokyo,
Total Traded Amount Rs.: 543,431,583 Sub-Indices Current Pts Change %Change is a complicated prospect: the sea in Saitama, 50 kilometres (30 gy-sucking cleaning systems are Sogo plans to have a larger pilot Industrial Metals Price (US$) %Change
Total Traded Shares: 1,337,337 Banking 1,182.97 14.29 1.19 must be the right temperature -- miles) from the sea. not necessary. facility up and running by July
Total Transactions: 5,259 Trading 211.39 6.42 2.95 Copper Future (Lb) 316.95 -0.53
colder than 20 degrees Celsius (68 Dressed in a suit like a typical “We’ll be the world’s first suc- in Chiba, near Tokyo, producing
Hotels 1,986.57 28 1.39 Fahrenheit) -- and only areas Japanese salaryman, except for a cessful case for this type of land- 30 tonnes a year.
Index Current Pts Change %Change Precious Metals Price (US$)%Change
NEPSE 1,345.99 18.82 1.38 Dev Bank 1,538.71 18.46 1.19
HydroPower 1,667.22 28.78 1.7
without strong waves and cur- pair of white rubber boots, Sogo based salmon farming if we can By 2020, the firm is aiming for
Sensitive 285.38 3.78 1.31 Gold 100 Oz Futr (T Oz) 1,321.10 0.19
Float 96.89 1.35 1.37 Finance 686.49 9.37 1.35 rents are suitable, normally carefully monitors the fish as turn a profit,” Sogo said. a commercial plant capable of
inlets or bays. though he is watching his own The process was born out of producing 1,500 tonnes of sushi- Silver Future (T Oz) 16.43 0.01
Base: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100 Inland farming of salmon is children. He explained: “We technology developed by Sogo’s ready salmon.

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