money

kathmandupost
the
cross currency F ORE X
USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD INR NR US Dollar 110.43
NR 110.4300 126.5100 0.9950 140.9900 111.0600 84.3200 80.7300 1.6015 Euro 126.51
INR 68.8300 78.8380 0.6202 87.8750 69.2040 52.5500 50.3010 0.6244 Pound Sterling 140.99
Japanese Yen 1.00
GBP 0.7833 0.8970 0.0071 0.7874 0.5979 0.5724 0.0114 0.0071
Chinese Yuan 16.11
JPY 110.9100 127.0800 140.8451 111.5500 84.7100 81.1000 1.6125 1.0050
Qatari Riyal 30.33
EUR 0.8727 0.0079 1.1148 0.8774 0.6664 0.6378 0.0127 0.0079
Australian Dollar 80.73
USD 1.1459 0.0090 1.2767 1.0053 0.7635 0.7310 0.0145 0.0091
Malaysian Ringit 27.03

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 29.44
Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank

saturday, August 11, 2018 (26-04-2075) kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

Uber faces new roadblock in New York Page III Uber will have to navigate around a new regulatory pothole in New York on an already bumpy road to its initial public offer-
ing of stock next year.

Inside
Ryanair row
deepens as
Nepal, Bangladesh sign Discussions
to be held
power cooperation deal
pilots strike
Ryanair pilots across

on reopening
Europe staged a coordi-
nated 24-hour strike on
Friday to push their
demands for better pay

and conditions, plunging
tens of thousands of
passengers into trans-
port chaos at the peak of
the busy summer sea-
son. The Irish no-frills
airline was forced to
scrap some 400 out of
2,400 scheduled
European flights as
pilots in Ireland,
Germany, Belgium,
Sweden and the
Netherlands walked off
the job. Around 55,000
passengers are affected
by the strikes, said
Ryanair, which has
offered customers
refunds or the option of
rebooking their jour-
neys. Ryanair has
slammed the stoppages
as “unnecessary” but
pilots counter that the
carrier has refused to
engage in meaningful
dialogue about collective
labour agreements since
it began recognising
unions in December
2017. Pg: II
Yuan decline a
boon for China
in trade war
The recent fall of
the yuan has been a
boon to Chinese
exporters facing a trade
war with the United
States, but it poses finan-
cial risks that could
prompt Beijing to prop
up its currency. While
markets are spooked by
the standoff between the
world’s two biggest econ-
omies, a weaker curren-
cy makes exporters’
goods cheaper, cushion-
ing the impact of high
tariffs imposed by US
President Donald Trump
on Chinese imports
worth $34 billion.
Additional levies on $16
billion in Chinese goods
will kick in later this
month. The cushion
comes at a price:
companies with dol-
lar-denominated debt
have to pay more, and
imports trading in the
American unit become
more expensive. The
Chinese currency,
also known as the ren-
minbi (RMB), has sunk
seven percent since
June, reaching 6.85 yuan
per dollar on Monday—
its lowest level since
May 2017.  Pg: III
District budget
worth Rs1.75b
frozen
Rs1.75 billion out of the
Rs14.26 development
budget allocated
to district-based govern-
ment offices last year
has been frozen after
authorities failed to
spend the funds. The fro-
zen amount represents
12.30 percent of the gov-
ernment allocated devel-
opment budget for Parsa
district in the last fiscal
year. According to the
District Treasury Office,
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
Nepal and Bangladesh on
Friday signed a cooperation
agreement in the energy sec-
tor which paves the way for
the export of surplus electrici-
ty that Nepal is expected to
produce within a few years.
The memorandum of
understanding (MoU) signed
by Minister for Energy, Water
Resources and Irrigation
Barsha Man Pun and
Bangladeshi State Minister of
Power Nasrul Hamid aims to
explore the possibilities of ini-
tiating electricity trade
between the two countries.
In a bid to make power trade
happen, the two countries
have decided to work together
to establish an appropriate
power grid connectivity at the
regional level. They have also
agreed to form a joint task
force co-chaired by the joint
secretaries of their energy
ministries to achieve energy
sector cooperation.
Likewise, they have agreed
to set up a joint directive com-
mittee chaired by their respec-
tive energy secretaries to
review the progress of the
joint task force. As per the
MoU, the two mechanisms will
meet annually.
yacht building
n People work on a yacht under construction at the Heesen Yachts shipyard in Oss, Netherlands. Dutch yacht builders have crafted a reputation as being among the world’s
very best, with an extraordinary density of high quality, high value shipyards operating out of the Netherlands. 
The pact signed with
Bangladesh, according to
energy sector experts, will be
beneficial to Nepal if both
countries succeed in getting
India on board as they have to
use Indian territory to con-
duct electricity trade.
“Bangladesh is an energy
hungry nation, and the price
of electricity in Bangladesh is
good compared to Nepal and
India. This will make a large
number of hydropower pro-
jects in Nepal financially via-
ble,” said Khadga Bahadur
Bisht, former president of the
Independent Power Producers
Association, an umbrella
organization of the country’s
private hydropower produc-
ers. “As Nepal and Bangladesh
have to use the Indian power
grid to transmit electricity,
India’s consent is necessary
make it happen.”
Bangladesh has repeatedly
shown interest in importing
power from Nepal via India,
and has raised the issue at the
meetings of the sub-regional
BBIN (Bhutan, Bangladesh,
India and Nepal) Initiative
which was signed by the four
countries to facilitate regional
trade and business.
Bangladesh has already
signed a memorandum of
understanding with India’s
NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam
(NVVN) to import electricity
generated by the Upper
Karnali Hydropower Project
being developed in Nepal with
Indian investment. As per the
understanding, it will import
300-500 MW of energy from
the project.
D I G I TAL RECORDS
Tatopani route
The MoU also envisions
exploring the possibility to
tapping foreign direct invest-
ment from Bangladesh for the
development of hydropower
projects in Nepal. Bangladesh
has been showing interest in
investing in hydropower pro-
jects in Nepal for the last cou-
ple of years.
Bangladesh first expressed
interest in putting money
in hydropower during the
ninth South Asia Economic
Summit it hosted in Dhaka
last October. The then
commerce minister Romi
Gauchan Thakali and his
Bangladeshi counterpart
Tofail Ahmed signed an agree-
ment on the sidelines of the
event to build two hydroelec-
tric plants capable of generat-
ing over 1,600 MW of electrici-
ty in Nepal.
The proposed projects are
the 1,110 MW Sunkoshi II and
536 MW Sunkoshi III on the n A general view of Miteri Bridge on the Nepal-China border in
Sunkoshi River in central Tatopani, Sindhupalchok.  POST PHOTO
Nepal. Both countries have
agreed to develop the projects After the Tatopani-Khasa overland route was
under the BBIN Initiative. As
per the agreement, the energy closed, a major portion of Nepal-China trade is
produced by the Sunkoshi pro- being conducted through Kolkata port
jects will be evacuated to
Bangladesh via India through
the BBIN economic corridor. POST REPORT Kerung border crossing
However, there has been no KATHMANDU, AUG 10 which is currently the main
headway on this front. conduit for trade with the
Nepali and Chinese govern- northern neighbour. On a nor-
ment officials are slated to mal day, 50-70 containers pass
meet in the border town through the Rasuwagadhi-
of Khasa to discuss the
modality of reopening the
Kerung border point.
However, traders face difficul-
Tatopani-Khasa transit point ties due to the tough terrain
which has remained closed and natural disasters like
after being damaged by the landslides triggered by rain
2015 earthquake. and snow during the winter.
According to the Ministry After the Tatopani-Khasa
of Industry, Commerce and overland route was closed, a
Supplies, the talks will also major portion of Nepal-China
form a joint committee to cre- trade is being conducted
ate a plan to reopen the border through Kolkata port.
point which used to be the According to the Department
busiest overland transit point of Customs, annual exports to
between Nepal and China. China swelled 18 percent to
The northern neighbour Rs2.43 billion in 2017-18 com-
agreed to reopen the border pared to 2014-15. During the
crossing during the eighth same period, imports from the
Nepal-China Tibet Trade northern neighbour jumped
Facilitation Committee meet- 61 percent to Rs159.98 billion.
ing held in Kathmandu According to the ministry,
last month. China has been restoration work on the 26-km
insisting on carrying out a Barhabise-Tatopani highway
joint study by conducting a in Nepal and on the highway
site visit before reopening in Nyalam in China has been
the route. completed. China has also
The Nepal-China Tibet completed the construction of
Trade Facilitation Committee, customs, immigration and
a joint mechanism set up quarantine offices at Nyalam.
to promote trade between In response to Nepal’s plea,
Nepal and China’s Tibet Chinese officials have repeat-
region, also deals with bilater- edly been urging Nepali
al trade issues. authorities to step up security
Ministry spokesperson and surveillance at the border
Rabi Shankar Sainju said the so that trade can be resumed.
bilateral meeting would form Meanwhile, Nepal has been
a joint inspection team. “The saying that trade should be
team will carry out an on-site conducted in the usual way,
study to explore ways to but China wants Nepal-bound
reopen the border point,” containers to be sealed at
Sainju said. He said that the Nyalam and opened only
Tatopani border point could after they arrive at Tatopani
become operational from May dry port.
next year. The dry port is being built
Nepal has long been push- with Chinese grant assis-
ing China to reopen the tance. China plans to com-
Tatopani-Khasa border point. plete the dry port by April
The recent development has 2019 and it hand over to the
raised hopes that the route Nepal government by May 20,
will be revived soon. 2019. Sainju said the joint
After Tatopani was closed, inspection committee would
REUTERS commerce was rerouted also fix the modality of oper-
through the Rasuwagadhi- ating the dry port.

FinTech giant F1 Soft forays into health sector

Parsa, authorities were
able to spend only 87.69
percent of the total
budget of Rs14.26 billion
allocated under the
headings of regular and
capital expenditures.
Office chief Bal Krishna
Adhikari said the dis-
trict received a budget
allocation of Rs8.44 bil-
lion for administrative
expenses, out of which
92.95 percent was spent.
Similarly, authorities
spent 80.06 percent of
the allocated capital
expenditure budget
worth Rs5.81 billion.
In the previous year,
93.9 percent of the
regular expenditure
budget of Rs6.26 billion
was utilised.  Pg: IV
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 10
Nepal’s leading FinTech compa-
ny—F1 Soft International—has
acquired CogentHealthPvt Ltd, a
software company working on the
digitisation process of country’s
health sector. With the newly
acquired company, F1 Soft aims to
take data management system in
the health sector beyond computer-
ised ticketing and billing.
F1 Soft International President
Biswas Dhakal informed that
the software (SISH Tech)—devel-
oped by a pharmacist -turned-soft-
ware developer, will help health
service facilitators in the
decision making process apart
from digitising patients’ medical
records.
The software consists of proce-
dures one needs to follow during
medical treatment. The company
believes that this will help reduce
casualty, thus benefiting medical
practitioners. Likewise, patients
will be able to access the history of
their health records anywhere and
anytime since their data is main-
tained digitally.
The company claims that the
newly acquired software is much
more advanced than those being
used in Nepal currently and has a
number of features that can country including Patan Academy bility. According to F1 Soft
increase the efficiency of hospitals of Health Sciences and International, the software will be
as well as health practitioners. Prashuti Maternity and able to provide more features if
“The country lacks research Women’s Hospital. According internet is available.
and development in the health to Dhakal, Patan Hospital While the company is currently
sector which is why we have generates around 2,000 invoic- selling products to hospitals in
forayed into the digitisation es daily. The software aims to different modalities, it aims to
process,” Dhakal said. “We digitise the health details of reach health centres situated at
aim to digitise data of the individuals via these invoices remote places by partnering
country’s health sector by to improve efficiency. with development agencies work-
2020. Given that there are “Hospitals can actually initi- ing in the health sector. “The idea
already a number of similar ate a study based on this data is not just about generating profits
software providers, with a and find out trends in the but helping the health sector
little push from our side, we are health sector,” Dhakal said. evolve. We aim to increase its
confident of achieving this ambi- Another advantage of the soft- accessibility which is why we feel
tious target.” ware is the ability to use it at tying up with development part-
The software is currently being remote locations across Nepal ners will help yield better results,”
used by 36 hospitals across the even if there is no internet availa- Dhakal says.

C M Y K
Saturday, August 11, 2018 | the kathmandu post world money II
news digest
Gold prices dip
on rallying dollar
Ryanair row deepens as India’s Jet
Airways stocks
European pilots strike
BENGALURU: Gold prices
dipped in Asia on

Friday, languishing
near a one- year low,
weighed down by a rally
in the US dollar amid
heightened global politi-
cal tensions. Spot gold
shed 0.5 percent to
$1,206.29 an ounce at
0618 GMT, hovering
close to its one-year low
of $1,204 hit last week.
The metal was also on
track to post a fifth
weekly decline. US gold
futures were 0.5 percent
lower at $1,213.4 an
ounce. “The strong dol-
lar is effecting the price
of gold. Despite height-
ened geopolitical ten-
sions, gold bears are
still in control of the
price and pushing the
bulls out of their
boundary,” said
Naeem Aslam, chief
market analyst at
ThinkMarkets.com. The
US dollar, in which gold
is priced, on Friday
extended gains to hit a
13-month high against
a basket of peers as
European currencies
such as the pound and
euro continued to
lose traction. (REUTERS)
Qualcomm
settles Taiwan
antitrust fine
TAIPEI: US chipmaking
giant Qualcomm on
Friday agreed a sharply
reduced fine with
Taiwan after officials
said it had harmed
market competition and
manipulated prices, as
it faces a number of
probes worldwide.
Taiwan’s Fair Trade
Commission last year
fined the firm Tw$23.4
billion ($763 million)
saying the world’s big-
gest handset chip sup-
plier had violated fair
trade rules for at least
seven years. The
authorities found
that Qualcomm had
refused to offer licences
to rival manufacturers
that are essential
for making chipsets and
had imposed unfair
contracts on smart-
nEmpty Ryanair check-in counters are seen at the terminal of the
Skavsta Airport in Nykoeping, Sweden on Friday.  afp/rss
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE called on Ryanair’s roughly
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Aug 10 480 Germany-based pilots to
walk out from 03:01 am (0101
Ryanair pilots across Europe GMT) until 02:59 am Saturday.
staged a coordinated 24-hour “There needs to be a rethink
strike on Friday to push their at the Dublin company
demands for better pay and headquarters on how employ-
conditions, plunging tens of ees are treated,” said Ingolf
thousands of passengers into Schumacher, who heads
transport chaos at the peak of Cockpit’s salary policy
the busy summer season. division.
The Irish no-frills airline “Ryanair said there is not
was forced to scrap some 400 one extra cent for personnel
out of 2,400 scheduled costs,” he added. “Therefore,
European flights as pilots in no improvement is possible.”
Ireland, Germany, Belgium, In Belgium, around two
Sweden and the Netherlands dozen pilots protested at
walked off the job. Charleroi airport, wearing
Around 55,000 passengers mock badges with slogans like
are affected by the strikes, “Ryanair must change” or
said Ryanair, which has “Respect us”.
offered customers refunds In the Netherlands, Ryanair
or the option of rebooking lost a bid to obtain an urgent
their journeys. court order to try to prevent
Ryanair has slammed the Dutch pilots from joining the
stoppages as “unnecessary” industrial action, but the air-
but pilots counter that the car- line said flights to and from
rier has refused to engage in the country would not be can-
meaningful dialogue about celled. Belgian passenger
collective labour agreements Stephane Levens, who had to
since it began recognising cancel several business meet-
unions in December 2017. ings after her return flight
Germany is worst hit by the from Italy was scrapped, was
industrial action, with 250 sanguine about the disrup-
flights scrapped at 10 airports. tion.
The country’s powerful “You know what to expect
Cockpit union said it had when you’re a Ryanair cus-
Nearly 55,000 passengers
are affected by the strikes,
said Ryanair
tomer, they’re the cheapest,”
she told Belgian broadcaster
RTBF. Belgian consumer pro-
tection group Test Achats
meanwhile announced it was
taking Ryanair to the
European Court of Justice to
demand compensation for
affected passengers. The
organisation rubbished
Ryanair’s claim that the
strikes were a case of force
majeure, and said under EU
legislation passengers were
entitled to between $285-$690
in compensation payouts.
The unprecedented
cross-border strike action is
the biggest escalation yet
in Ryanair’s long-simmering
dispute with cockpit and
cabin crews. The airline
already suffered a round of
strikes by cockpit and
cabin crew last month that
disrupted 600 flights in
Belgium, Ireland, Italy,
Portugal and Spain, affecting
100,000 travellers.
Ryanair, which carries
some 130 million passengers
annually, averted widespread
Christmas strikes last year by
agreeing to recognise trade
unions for the first time in its
33-year history.
Since then, however, it has
struggled to reach agreements.
The famously low-budget
company boasts lower costs
per passenger than its compet-
itors and is eyeing profits of
around 1.25 billion euros this
year. Ryanair pilots say they
earn less than their counter-
parts at rival airlines.
Unions also want the airline
to give contractors the same
work conditions as staff
employees.
Another key complaint of
workers based in countries
other than Ireland is the fact
that Ryanair employs them
under Irish legislation.
Staff claim this creates
huge insecurity for them,
blocking their access to state
benefits in their country.
At a Frankfurt press confer-
ence on Wednesday, Ryanair’s
chief marketing officer Kenny
Jacobs said the company had
already offered pilots a 20-per-
cent pay increase this year,
and was committed to giving
all its pilots in Germany per-
manent contracts by the end
of the year. But German daily
Bild said Ryanair’s starting
salary of around 40,000 euros
per year was well below what
entry-level pilots made at
EasyJet.
And Ryanair’s maximum
basic salary of 110,000 euros—
which can be topped
up depending on flying
hours—was half of what
Lufthansa’s most experienced
pilots took home. Ryanair has
repeatedly said it remains
open to further talks with pilot
representatives. But its com-
bative chief executive Michael
O’Leary has also warned the
airline may shift jobs and
planes to more profitable
areas if the turmoil continues.
It has already threatened
to move part of its Dublin
fleet to Poland, which could
cost 300 jobs, including 100
pilot positions.
Unions have strongly
condemned what they see
as Ryanair’s attempts to
play countries off against
each other.
nosedive 8pc
Its stock has plunged 66pc this year
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
MUMBAI, Aug 10
Shares in India’s Jet Airways
tumbled to a three-year
low on Friday after the embat-
tled airline failed to release its
latest quarterly earnings as
scheduled.
Local media have raised
concerns about India’s sec-
ond-largest carrier, reporting
it may cease flying in two
months unless it makes major
cost cuts.
Jet’s stock has plunged 66
percent this year, according to
Bloomberg News, as it grap-
ples with intense competition
from a host of low-cost air-
lines, rising fuel prices and a
weak rupee.
“Lots of shareholders have
lost money, I feel guilty and
embarrassed,” Jet Airways
Chairman Naresh Goyal told
the company’s annual general
meeting in Mumbai late
Thursday.
The airline’s shares slid
8.04 percent in morning trade,
a day after it told the Bombay
Stock Exchange that it was
delaying releasing its
first-quarter results until an
unspecified date, “pending
closure of certain matters”.
In the statement, Jet said it
had postponed its financial
results because the audit com-
mittee hadn’t recommended
the results for board approval.
Last week the Economic
Times reported that Jet needs
to make major cost cuts or
face having to shut down oper-
ations within 60 days.
Indian financial daily
Mint reported that the airline
was in talks with investors to
raise cash.
Jet Airways, India’s num-
ber-two carrier by market
share, denied that it needed to
take drastic measures. In a
statement, CEO Vinay Dube
described the reports as “fac-
tually incorrect and mali-
cious”.
India’s aviation market is
witnessing a boom with pas-
senger numbers increasing
six-fold over the past decade
as customers take advantage
of better connectivity and
cheaper fares.
But it is also a tumultuous
time, with profits being erod-
ed by a poorly performing
Indian currency and high
crude prices.
Airlines are navigating a
fiercely competitive market
and are unable to pass on
rising operating costs to
cost-conscious customers,
analysts say.
They are also having to
spend considerably to
increase their fleets to keep
up with soaring demand.
“Net margins have fallen
drastically and wiped out
profits,” Binit Somaia, South
Asia director at the Centre for
Aviation (CAPA), told AFP.
Last month IndiGo,
India’s biggest airline, report-
ed a whopping 97 percent
plunge in quarterly profits
compared to the same period
a year ago.
And an attempt by the
Indian government to sell
off debt-stricken national
carrier Air Indian failed earli-
er this year, after no offers
were made.

New Zealand to ban plastic Calm in oil markets

phone makers. The
commission said the US
firm will not have to
pay more than the

shopping bags from next year could be short-lived

Tw$2.73 billion of the
original fine already
stumped up. (AFP)
Singapore firm
launches $10m
crypto fund
SINGAPORE: Singapore-
based venture capital
firm Golden Gate
Ventures said on Friday
it will launch a $10 mil-
lion fund to invest in
cryptocurrency and
blockchain technology
startups. The fund,
called LuneX Ventures,
will invest in ear-
ly-stage companies
globally such as crypto-
currency exchanges
and security providers.
Investors in the
fund will include high-
net worth individuals
and family offices. The
fund is among a cluster
of similar ventures that
invest in the cryptocur-
rency space, backed by
wealthy individuals and
financial firms, that
have emerged over the
past year. Such firms
have partially
replaced the retail
investor base, which
drove bitcoin’s skyrock-
et rise in 2017. (REUTERS)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WELLINGTON (New Zealand), AUG 10
New Zealand announced
Friday it will ban disposable
plastic shopping bags by
next July as the nation tries
to live up to its clean-and-
green image.
Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern said New Zealanders
use hundreds of millions of
the bags each year and that
some of them end up polluting
precious coastal and marine
waterways.
Ardern made the announce-
ment at a beachside cafe and
said it was the single biggest
issue that school children
write to her about.
She had three children read
aloud their letters, before she
led several dozen children on a
cleanup along the beach.
New Zealand’s two main
supermarket chains had
already announced their own
plans to phase out plastic
shopping bags by the end of
this year. Countdown made
the move first and was
matched by New World after it
surveyed its customers.
Plessis-Allan told listeners on
Newstalk ZB that plastic bags
were a great invention.
However, New Zealand’s
Associate Minister for the
Environment Eugenie Sage
said that there had been
backlash against Coles
because there hadn’t been
state leadership shown in New
South Wales.
She said that in New
Zealand, the government was
taking the lead so that all
retailers could make the move
fairly and at the same time.
Ardern said she’d underes-
n A shopper leaves a supermarket with goods in plastic bags in timated the impact of plastics
Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday.  AP/RSS on the environment and the
strength of feeling about it
A number of countries and for bags on August 29. held by everyday New
states have introduced bans or Six of Australia’s eight Zealanders.
restrictions on single-use plas- states have banned single-use “I can hand-on-heart tell
tic bags, including France, bags. But the most populous you that the biggest issue I get
Belgium, China, Hawaii and states, New South Wales and letters on, from the public, are
California. Victoria—where more than about plastics, and it comes
But a major supermarket half of Australians live—have from children,” she told
chain in Australia changed resisted change. reporters. “I literally get hun-
course several times this year In New Zealand, a talkback dreds and hundreds. And that
after customers got angry host on a popular radio station really stood out to me from the
about its plans to start charg- was hoping to start a consum- time I took on this job.”
ing shoppers for bags. Under er crusade to keep the bags About 65,000 New
its latest plan, customers at after being inspired by what Zealanders this year signed a
Coles stores will start paying happened at Coles. Heather du petition seeking a ban.
REUTERS
MOSCOW, AUG 10
Oil markets have entered a
brief period of calm but a
storm might be looming later
this year when new US sanc-
tions are poised to slash sup-
plies of Iranian oil, the
International Energy Agency
said on Friday.
“The recent cooling down
of the market, with short-
term supply tensions easing,
currently lower prices, and
lower demand growth might
not last,” the IEA, which over-
sees the energy policies of
industrialised nations, said in
a monthly report.
Oil prices have rallied close
to $80 per barrel, their highest
since 2014, on concerns about
supply shortages but cooled in
recent weeks as Libya
regained some lost production
and Washington signalled it
could give Asian buyers of
Iranian oil some exemptions
from sanctions for next year.
However, the United States
said it was still seeking to
force Iran’s oil customers to
stop purchases completely in
the long run.
Iran is Opec’s third-largest
producer, with output at
around 4 million barrels per
day (bpd) or 4 percent of glob-
al supply.
“As oil sanctions against
Iran take effect, perhaps in
combination with production
problems elsewhere, main-
taining global supply might be
very challenging and would
come at the expense of main-
taining an adequate spare
capacity cushion,” the IEA
said. Saudi Arabia, Iran’s
arch-foe and a close ally of
Washington, has pledged
intervention to prevent any
supply shortage.
Saudi Arabia is producing
around 10.4 million bpd and
could in theory raise output to
above 12 million bpd.
But such a move would
leave the world with virtually
no spare capacity to cushion
against possible supply dis-
ruptions in producer coun-
tries like Libya, Venezuela or
Nigeria. “Thus, the market
outlook could be far less calm
at that point than it is today,”
the Paris-based IEA said.
Besides supply fears, oil
prices are being supported by
healthy demand growth that
has repeatedly surprised on
the upside in recent years
despite a recovery in prices.
The IEA kept its 2018 oil
demand growth forecast
unchanged at 1.4 million bpd
but raised its 2019 forecast by
around 110,000 bpd to 1.49 mil-
lion bpd.
“Another factor to consider
is that trade tensions might
escalate and lead to slower
economic growth, and in turn
lower oil demand,” the IEA
said, referring to a trade dis-
pute between the United
States and China.

bus i n ess m ov e

Banks’ post-Brexit ‘fragmentation’ plans hold risks and costs

REUTERS
LONDON, Aug 10
Banks that move some of their
business and staff out of London
to cities scattered across Europe
after Brexit could be taking on
extra risks and costs without
being sure of boosting revenues.
Several of the world’s biggest
banks are in the process of relo-
cating a number of staff who
deal directly with clients and
some back-office functions as
Britain prepares to leave the
European Union next March.
The banks, which include JP
Morgan, Goldman Sachs , Citi,
Morgan Stanley and Bank of
America , plan to “fragment”
their operations by expanding or
launching services in more than
just one city.
While beefing up operations in
traditional financial centres such
as Frankfurt, Luxembourg and
Paris, they are also seeking to
expand in cities such as Madrid,
Milan, Berlin and Dublin.
Playing down the links
with Brexit, the banks say the
moves will bring them closer to
clients and cut the costs of con-
centrating their operations in
expensive London.
But the rush to set up offices in
continental Europe has been
mainly triggered by the fear of
losing the benefits of EU “pass-
ports”, which remove internal
borders and allow banks operat-
ing in London to serve clients
across the bloc.
“It is an enforced change in
strategy. If Brexit wasn’t happen-
ing, would we be doing all this?
No, of course we wouldn’t. And
neither would anyone else,” said
an insider at a large US bank.
“Does it get you closer to cli-
ents? Yes, of course it does. But
people are trying to make a vir-
tue out of a necessity,” said
the insider, who declined to be
named because of the sensitivity
of the subject.
It is not clear how much the
fragmentation strategy will cost
the industry or each individual
bank, partly because each subsid-
iary will need its own pool of cap-
ital, the size of which will depend
on what business activities and
staff it needs.
But research by Deutsche Bank
suggested non-EU banks that
until now have used Britain as a
gateway to serve EU clients may
have to allocate an aggregate
35-45 billion euros ($40-52 billion)
of capital to turn EU branches
into subsidiaries.
Reuters reported in July that
British lender Lloyds Banking
Group was planning to operate
from three separate European
subsidiaries after Brexit. Its deci-
sion underscores the vast reor-
ganisation that even banks with
relatively small continental inter-
ests are having to undergo.
But some experts question
whether moving out of London
will have any financial benefits.
“The economics will pull
everything back here before long.
A lot of money could be wasted
in discovering that,” said Barney
Reynolds, head of financial insti-
tutions at Shearman & Sterling.
Some bankers say splintering
complex businesses across multi-
ple cities will make financial ser-
vices such as trading and debt
issuance more expensive for
European companies, govern-
ments and investors. The region
as a whole may suffer, they say.
“If you were a theoretician,
you would say that one centre in
Europe that is dominant would
probably be more effective than a
fragmented approach,” John
McFarlane, chairman of Barclays
and lobby group TheCityUK, told
Reuters.
Hundreds of staff could move
from Britain. Barclays is shifting
up to 200 roles to Frankfurt and
Dublin as part of its Brexit plan-
ning, while HSBC is preparing to
relocate up to 1,000 roles to the
continent.
“Brexit, naturally, will domi-
nate how financial services firms
manage their organisations at
least for the short term, drawing
on budgets and taking resources
away from other areas of focus,”
said Shankar Mukherjee,
Financial Services Partner at
consultancy EY.
“The impact will likely be felt
on incremental capital require-
ments, as well as the ongoing
costs of supporting multiple legal
entities. We expect that this will
pose questions around the ongo-
ing profitability of certain busi-
ness lines within Europe, particu-
larly for smaller firms.”
Earlier this year, Synechron
Business Consulting Group esti-
mated it would cost an average
50,000 pounds ($64,000)to relocate
a single employee to a European
city. This excluded IT expenses,
the costs of regulatory permis-
sions or licenses or the capitalisa-
tion of the new business hub.
Several banks say redistribut-
ing London-based staff to cheap-
er European cities will help
them curb costs. But new offices
leased by Bank of America in
Paris’s fashionable 8th arron-
dissement or Goldman Sachs’s in
Milan’s historic centre do not
look like moves made on a shoe-
string budget.

C M Y K
III money economy the kathmandu post | Saturday, August 11, 2018

news digest
Greek jobless
manufacturing powerhouse
Uber faces
new roadblock
rate edges below
20 percent
ATHENS: Greece’s

unemployment rate,
the highest in the
European Union,
has edged below 20 per-
cent for the first time in
seven years, statistics
bureau Elstat reported
on Thursday. The rate
came in at 19.5 percent,
down from 21.7 percent
the same month a year
earlier. Labour minister
Efi Achtsioglou called
the news—which came
days after Greece
received a final 15-bil-
lion-euro payment from
its eight-year bailout
programme—“encour-
aging”. Efforts to rekin-
dle economic growth
and create jobs, espe-
cially for young people,
had paid off, as had the
fight against unde-
clared work, she
said. But Greece still
has by far the highest
unemployment rate in
the European Union.
The country’s youth
is hardest hit, with
nearly 40 percent
of young people
between 15 and 24
out of work. (AFP)
Viacom reports
revenue below
estimates
CALIFORNIA: Viacom Inc
reported quarterly reve-
nue below Wall Street
estimates on Thursday,
as domestic advertising
sales fell and the
media company collect-
ed lower fees from cable
TV operators and
online distributors. The
company said world-
wide affiliate revenue
fell 3 percent to $1.15
billion, missing esti-
mates of $1.16 billion,
in New York
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO, AUG 10
Uber will have to navigate
around a new regulatory pot-
hole in New York on an
already bumpy road to its ini-
tial public offering of stock
next year.
New York City is imposing
a one-year moratorium on
ride-hailing licenses in Uber’s
largest US market, raising the
specter that other cities may
adopt similar crackdowns as
they try to ease traffic conges-
tion.
If that were to happen, it
would be more difficult for
Uber to boost its revenue and
reverse its history of uninter-
rupted losses. That, in turn,
would affect the price that
investors are willing to pay
for Uber’s stock in the IPO
that the San Francisco compa-
ny plans to make next year.
“This can be viewed as a
negative outcome for
ride-hailing companies,” said
Rohit Kulkarni, managing
director of SharesPost, a firm
that tracks privately held
companies such as Uber.
The attempt to rein in
ride-hailing companies in
New York is the latest chal-
lenge to confront Uber during
nearly two years of turmoil.
Among other things, Uber
has been rocked by revela-
tions of a culture poisoned by
a pattern of sexual harass-
ment and other abuses that
included a yearlong cover-up
of a major computer break-in
n People walk past a stand that sells toys and other products imported from China at Central Market in Lima, Peru. Today, three-quarters of all toys and games are made by the and the use of duplicitous
country’s 10,000 toy manufacturers. According to the United Nations, China exported $44billion worth of toys in 2016.  reuters software to thwart govern-
ment regulators . Uber
brought in a new CEO, Dara
Khosrowshahi, nearly a year
ago to clean things up.
Investors who have poured
money into Uber leading up to
the IPO have valued it at $62
billion. That lofty assessment
reflects how dramatically the
9-year-old company has trans-
formed the way people get
around since it introduced the
concept of using a smart-
phone app to summon a driv-
er using their own car to pick
them up.
Millions of people around
the world now drive and ride
through Uber’s apps, growth
that was spurred in large part
because the company hasn’t
had to deal with the same
strict regulations and govern-
ment bureaucracy as taxi
cabs.
But that has been changing
in recent years as more cities
around the world try to bal-
ance the popularity of
ride-hailing services with
traffic management, safety
concerns and demands to pro-
tect the long-regulated taxi
industry.
Last year, London kicked
Uber out of its city, but that
ban was lifted earlier this
year by a magistrate. Even so,
Uber was only given a
15-month permit to operate
instead of the five-year license
it wanted.
“Essentially, we are seeing
more regulation of a platform
that hadn’t been in its early
years,” said Gartner analyst
Mike Ramsey. “And I think
people who have been invest-
ing in the platform are com-
ing to that realisation.”

Yuan decline a boon Japan economy rebounds

according to research
and data analytics
firm Factset. Viacom,
the owner of MTV,

after first dip in 2 years

Comedy Central and

for China in trade war

Paramount Pictures,
said domestic advertis-
ing revenue fell 3 per-
cent to $922 million.
Since taking the helm
in 2016, Chief Executive
Officer Bob Bakish has
focused on a turna-
round plan, which
includes improving pro-
gramming at its
cable TV networks
and improving
relations with
distributors. (REUTERS)
Mexico upbeat
on Nafta
progress
WASHINGTON: US and
Mexican negotiators
have made progress in
narrowing differences
on the update of the
North American Free
Trade Agreement,
Mexico’s Economy
Minister Ildefonso
Guajardo said on
Thursday. The steps to
reach agreement could
allow Canada to rejoin
talks next week,
he told reporters as he
entered meetings for
the second day with US
Trade Representative
Robert Lighthizer.
US and Mexican
officials have said they
aim to conclude discus-
sions this month and it
is the third straight
week ministers have
traveled to Washington
for meetings. Teams
worked through the
night “changing the
text” and “got a
lot of work done,”
Guajardo said. (AFP)
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
BEIJING, Aug 10
The recent fall of the yuan has
been a boon to Chinese export-
ers facing a trade war with the
United States, but it poses
financial risks that could
prompt Beijing to prop up its
currency.
While markets are spooked
by the standoff between the
world’s two biggest econo-
mies, a weaker currency
makes exporters’ goods cheap-
er, cushioning the impact of
high tariffs imposed by US
President Donald Trump
on Chinese imports worth $34
billion.
Additional levies on $16 bil-
lion in Chinese goods will kick
in later this month.
The cushion comes at a
price: companies with dol-
lar-denominated debt have to
pay more, and imports trading
in the American unit become
more expensive.
The Chinese currency, also
known as the renminbi (RMB),
has sunk seven percent since
June, reaching 6.85 yuan per
dollar on Monday—its lowest
level since May 2017. The slide
has prompted Washington to
accuse China of manipulating
the unit.
“The renminbi’s decline
will leave China’s overall
exports cheaper on average in
US dollar terms than they
were prior to the escalation in
trade tensions,” said Julian
Evans-Pritchard, a China ana-
lyst at Capital Economics.
n A file photo shows a yuan note. 
A weaker currency makes exporters’ goods cheaper,
cushioning the impact of high tariffs imposed by
the US on Chinese imports worth $34 billion
And while 70 percent of
Chinese exports are billed in
US dollars, exporters adjust
their pricing “fairly fast”,
Evans-Pritchard said.
Olivier Blanchard, a former
chief economist of the
International Monetary Fund,
wrote on Twitter that the
decline of the yuan was proba-
bly enough to “offset” as much
as $250 billion in planned
US tariffs.
While it does let market
forces play a role, the Chinese
central bank keeps the yuan
within a narrow trading band
that it adjusts daily, but policy-
makers have steadfastly
denied that they manipulate
the currency.
This time around, analysts
say the yuan’s decline is due to
market jitters and not a delib-
erate move by Beijing.
REUTERS
“The slide has occurred
because of a shift in market
sentiment due to trade war
fears and because of concerns
over monetary easing by the
PBoC (People’s Bank of China)
to address the resulting risks
to economic growth,” said
Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior
emerging markets strategist
at French banking giant
Credit Agricole.
“However, Beijing is clearly
choosing not to prevent the
RMB’s slide.”
Other experts noted that the
central bank had not sold for-
eign currency reserves last
month, a step it usually takes
to support the yuan.
But the PBoC has made
other moves to slow the
decline. Last week, the bank
increased the amount of
money that short-sellers must
put aside to bet against the
yuan in order to dissuade the
practice.
While a weaker yuan
helps exporters, Chinese
importers are left with more
expensive bills to buy prod-
ucts trading in dollars—main-
ly commodities.
It also puts a burden on
Chinese companies that have
to pay back dollar-denominat-
ed debts.
The central bank could hit
the panic button if the curren-
cy falls to more than seven
yuan to the dollar.
“China’s drive to advanced
economy status, financial
reforms and yuan internation-
alisation may be derailed
should the currency go into a
downward tailspin,” Christy
Tan, head of markets strategy
at National Australia Bank,
was quoted as saying by
Bloomberg.
The country already experi-
enced a big devaluation in
August 2015 that triggered a
capital flight—an event that
the authorities are loathe to
see again.
“If confidence wavers, peo-
ple will sell their yuan-denom-
inated assets, shares and real
estate. Certain sectors will suf-
fer,” Ye Tan, an independent
economist in Shanghai,
told AFP.
But Beijing would work to
prevent such a scenario by
closing the door to the flow of
capital if necessary, Ye said,
stressing that there was “no
panic yet”.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
TOKYO, Aug 10 back to black
Japan bounced back to growth
following its first contraction
in two years, official figures
Japan GDP
showed Friday, but fears of US
trade wars clouded the out-
Quarterly growth, %
look for the world’s third-larg- 1.5
est economy.
The economy grew 0.5 per-
cent quarter-on-quarter in
the April-June period,
compared with a 0.2-percent 0.5
decline in January-March, 0.8
according to data from the 0.7 0.6
Cabinet Office.
The growth figure—annual-
0.5
ised at 1.9 percent—was better 0.3
than analysts had expected, 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2
beating a market consensus of
0.3 percent growth compiled
by Bloomberg News.
The data represented a -0.1
quick turnaround after a -0.2
series of eight consecutive
quarters of growth ended in -0.4
January-March, interrupting
a winning streak not seen Q1 Q1 Q1 Q1
since the heady days of
Japan’s “miracle” boom of the 2015 2016 2017 2018
1980s.
“The Japanese economy Source : The Cabinet Office
staged an ideal rebound, part-
ly backed by robust corporate tariffs that have affected sec- lion.
activities,” Hideo Kumano, tors ranging from agriculture According to Friday’s data,
chief economist at Dai-ichi to automobiles. private consumption—which
Life Research Institute, Trump’s threat to impose accounts for some 60 percent
told AFP. stiff tariffs on vehicles of Japan’s GDP—rose 0.7 per-
But analysts warned US-led imported into the world’s cent, recovering from a
trade wars could be a major number-two car market 0.2-percent decline in the first
risk factor for an economy remains a concern for quarter.
still struggling to win a long Japanese automakers. Business investment
battle against deflation. Kentaro Arita, senior econ- jumped 1.3 percent following a
US President Donald omist at Mizuho Research 0.5-percent gain in the previ-
Trump has unsettled rivals Institute, estimated the US ous quarter, thanks partly to
and allies alike with harsh tariffs could cost Japan’s auto booming construction ahead
trade rhetoric and a raft of industry as much as $10 bil- of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

M O D E R N I S I N G F O O D S YS T E M S

Gene-editing startups ignite the next ‘Frankenfood’ fight

REUTERS
Minnesota (US), AUG 10
In a suburban Minneapolis labo-
ratory, a tiny company that has
never turned a profit is poised to
beat the world’s biggest agricul-
ture firms to market with the
next potential breakthrough in
genetic engineering—a crop with
“edited” DNA.
Calyxt Inc, an eight-year-old
firm co-founded by a genetics
professor, altered the genes of a
soybean plant to produce healthi-
er oil using the cutting-edge edit-
ing technique rather than con-
ventional genetic modification.
Seventy-eight farmers planted
those soybeans this spring across
17,000 acres in South Dakota and
Minnesota, a crop expected to be
the first gene-edited crop to sell
commercially, beating out
Fortune 500 companies.
Seed development giants such
as Monsanto, Syngenta AG and
DowDuPont Inc have dominated
genetically modified crop tech-
nology that emerged in the 1990s.
But they face a wider field of
competition from start-ups and
other smaller competitors
because gene-edited crops have
drastically lower development
costs and the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) has decided
not to regulate them.
Relatively unknown firms
including Calyxt, Cibus, and
Benson Hill Biosystems are
already advancing their own
gene-edited projects in a race
against Big Ag for dominance of
the potentially transformational
technology.
“It’s a very exciting time for
such a young company,” said
acceptance.
Gene-editing could mean big-
ger harvests of crops with a wide
array of desirable traits - bet-
ter-tasting tomatoes, low-gluten
wheat, apples that don’t turn
brown, drought-resistant soy-
beans or potatoes better suited
for cold storage. The advances
could also double the $15 billion
global biotechnology seed market
within a decade, said analyst
Nick Anderson of investment
bank Berenberg.
n A research scientist examines a soybean plantlet in Minnesota, US.  REUTERS The USDA has fielded 23
inquiries about whether gene-ed-
Calyxt CEO Federico Tripodi, ing those linked to undesirable ited crops need regulation and
who oversees 45 people. “The fact characteristics or altering them decided that none meet its crite-
a company so small and nimble to make a positive change. ria for oversight. That saves their
can accomplish those things has Traditional genetic modification, developers years of time and
picked up interest in the indus- by contrast, involves transferring untold amounts of money com-
try.” Gene-editing technology a gene from one kind of organ- pared to traditional genetically
involves targeting specific genes ism to another, a process that still modified crops. Of those 23
in a single organism and disrupt- does not have full consumer organisms, just three were being
developed by major agriculture
firms.
The newly competitive land-
scape could foster more partner-
ships and licensing deals between
big and small firms, along with
universities or other public
research institutions, said
Monsanto spokeswoman Camille
Lynne Scott. Monsanto - which
was recently acquired by Bayer
AG - invested $100 million in
startup Pairwise Plants this year
to accelerate development of
gene-edited plants.
North Carolina-based Benson
Hill, founded in 2012 and named
after two scientists, mainly
licenses crop technology to other
companies. But it decided to pro-
duce its own higher-yielding corn
plant because of the low develop-
ment costs, said Chief Executive
Matt Crisp. Calyxt plans to sell
the oil from its gene-edited soy-
beans to food companies and has
a dozen more gene-edited crops in
the pipeline, including high-fibre
wheat and potatoes that stay
fresh longer.
Developing and marketing a
traditional genetically modified
crop might easily cost $150 mil-
lion, which only a few large com-
panies can afford, Crisp said.
With gene-editing, that cost
might fall as much as 90 percent,
he said.
“We’re seeing a huge number
of organisations interested in
gene-editing,” Crisp said, refer-
ring to traditional crop-breeding
companies, along with technolo-
gy firms and food companies.
“That speaks to the power of the
technology and how we’re at a
pivotal point in time to modern-
ise the food system.”

C M Y K
Saturday, August 11, 2018 | the kathmandu post bazaar money IV
bizline
District budget worth
market watch

RETAIL PRICE
British retailer House of Fraser falls
into administration, hopeful of buyer Vegetables Unit Price (Rs)

Rs1.75 billion frozen

LONDON: House of Fraser collapsed into administration Red Potato kg Rs58
on Friday, joining a growing line of UK retail casualties,
though hopes remained that the department store chain White Potato kg Rs48
could be salvaged, possibly by Mike Ashley’s Sports
Direct. The move to seek creditor protection puts more Onion (Indian) kg Rs48
than 17,000 jobs at risk at the company, whose history
stretches back to 1849. “Discussions with interested Tomato Small kg Rs55
SHANKAR ACHARYA under the capital expenditure
investors and its main secured creditors have not con- PARSA, AUG 10 heading last year.
cluded in a solvent solution. The directors of the
Carrot kg Rs125
The Birgunj-Pathlaiya
group’s operating companies ... have therefore resolved Rs1.75 billion out of the Rs14.26 Commercial Highway Project was Tomato Big kg Rs65
to seek the appointment of administrators,” House of development budget allocated able to spend 96 percent of its
Fraser said in a statement. The retailer said it would to district-based government budget allocation. It received Squash kg Rs65
seek to appoint individuals from Ernst & Young as offices last year has been frozen Rs1.56 billion. The Narayani
administrators. But it also said “significant progress” after authorities failed to spend Irrigation Management Division Cabbage kg Rs55
had been made towards completing a sale of the group’s the funds. Office spent 94.5 percent out of
business and assets. “The proposed administrators are The frozen amount represents Rs323.3 million. The Birgunj Brinjal Long kg Rs55
expected to continue to progress those discussions with 12.30 percent of the government Metropolitan Office spent 90.11
a view to concluding a transaction shortly after their allocated development budget percent out of the allocated
Cow Pea kg Rs105
appointment,” it said. Sky News reported that Ashley, for Parsa district in the last n Narayani Irrigation Management Divison Office. amount of Rs1.42 billion.
Sports Direct’s founder and chief executive, was close to Cauliflower kg Rs85
fiscal year. Likewise, the Urban
striking a deal to buy House of Fraser. Sports Direct, According to the District 80.06 percent of the allocated capi- Project Office, Birgunj Development and Building Office Fruits Unit Price (Rs)
which owns an 11 percent stake in House of Fraser, Treasury Office, Parsa, authori- tal expenditure budget worth Metropolitan Office, Irrigation and Underground Irrigation
could not be immediately reached for comment. Nanjing ties were able to spend only 87.69 Rs5.81 billion. Division Office, Underground Office spent 67 percent and 64.24 Apple kg Rs115
Cenbest, part of China’s Sanpower Group, paid 480 mil- percent of the total budget of In the previous year, 93.9 per- Irrigation Office and Narayani percent of the funds respectively.
lion pounds ($614 million) for an 89 percent stake in Rs14.26 billion allocated under the cent of the regular expenditure Irrigation Management Division Adhikari said the utilisation of
Pomegranate kg Rs195
House of Fraser in 2014. (REUTERS) headings of regular and capital budget of Rs6.26 billion was uti- Office were among the capital expenditure had improved Pineapple kg Rs105
China auto sales down 5.3 percent expenditures. lised. Expenditure on develop- major recipients of the capital last year.
Office chief Bal Krishna ment projects reached 58.1 per- expenditure budget allocated for The absence of obstacles from
as SUV demand sags Adhikari said the district received cent in 2016-17. the district. locals and timely disbursement of
Cucumber kg Rs55
BEIJING: China’s auto sales shrank in July from a year a budget allocation of Rs8.44 bil- In 2017-18, the Birgunj- The Postal Highway Project land compensation payments Papaya kg Rs75
earlier as SUV demand sagged, an industry group lion for administrative expenses, Pathlaiya Commercial Highway was the best performer with a have been cited for the improve-
reported on Friday, adding to signs of economic malaise out of which 92.95 percent was Project, Urban Development and spending of 99.80 percent. The ment in spending under the devel- Banana Doz Rs85
amid a tariff battle with Washington. Sales of sedans, spent. Similarly, authorities spent Building Office, Postal Highway project received Rs510.04 million opment heading.
SUVs and minivans fell 5.3 percent from a year ago to Lime 100Pcs Rs225
1.6 million in the biggest global auto market, the China
Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported.
Total vehicle sales, including trucks and buses, fell 4
percent to 1.9 million. Auto demand has cooled amid
waiting for customers daily commodities
forecasts of an economic downturn after Beijing tight- Commodities Unit Price (Rs)
ened controls on bank lending to cool surging debt.
China’s mounting tariff fight with US President Donald Pokhreli Rice kg Rs75
Trump over Chinese technology policy has added to
anxiety, though the economic impact so far is limited. Jeera Masino Rice kg Rs70
Beijing imposed 25 percent import duties on US-made
autos as part of its retaliation for a similar American Indian Basmati Rice kg Rs120
increase. But that falls most heavily on BMW AG’s
imports of SUVs from a South Carolina factory. Mansuli Rice kg Rs55
American brands produce most of their vehicles in
Sona Rice kg Rs50
Chinese factories. Weak demand is a setback for global
automakers that look to China to drive revenue and are Beaten Rice(Taichin) kg Rs130
spending heavily to develop models for local tastes.
Sales growth in June decelerated to 2.3 percent from the Beaten Rice kg Rs70
previous month’s 7.9 percent. Full-year 2017 sales
growth was 1.4 percent. SUV sales, usually the indus- Big Mas kg Rs110
try’s bright spot, contracted 8.4 percent from a year ear-
lier to 633,000, according to CAAM. Sedan sales shrank Small Mas kg Rs90
1.2 percent to 815,000. Sales of pure electric and gaso-
line-electric hybrids, boosted by subsidies and other Big Mung kg Rs100
government support, rose 47.7 percent to 84,000 but
made up just 5 percent of the total. Beijing is in the Musuro(No. 1) kg Rs100
midst of a multibillion-dollar campaign to promote elec-
tric car development and sales in hopes of creating a Musuro(No. 2) kg Rs90
profitable new industry. (AP)
Rahar kg Rs110
Maersk, IBM say 94 organisations have
Chana(Big) kg Rs200
joined blockchain trade platform
COPENHAGEN: Shipping group Maersk said on Thursday Chana(Small) kg Rs150
94 companies and organisations have so far joined a
blockchain platform developed with IBM aimed at Chilli Powder kg Rs300
boosting efficiency and limiting the enormous paper
trail of global container shipping. The industry has
seen little innovation since the container was invented gasoline watch
in the 1950s, and cross-border trade still leaves an enor-
mous trail of paperwork and bureaucracy. Under its
new strategy, which includes the creation of an indus-
try-wide blockchain-based trading platform, Maersk
aims to expand its transport and logistics business in
areas such as freight forwarding and trade finance. It
wants to provide end-to-end solutions for customers n Vendors arrange curio products for sale at Bashantapur Dabali in Kathmandu. Such products are especially popular among foreign tourists. 
rather than just shipping a container from port to port.  Post Photo: Anish Regmi
Success of the platform depends on whether Maersk
and IBM can convince industry players to sign up. Port
operators in Singapore, Hong Kong and Rotterdam, cus- Premium product
toms authorities in the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia,

Samsung unveils Galaxy Note 9

Singapore, Australia and Peru, and container carrier
Pacific International Lines (PIL) are among the compa-
nies and organisations that have joined the platform,
Maersk and IBM said in a joint statement. The platform
is still in the pilot phase and “is expected to be fully
commercially available by the end of this year,” they
said. Blockchain technology powers the digital currency AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
bitcoin and enables data sharing across a network of NEW YORK, Aug 10
individual computers. The platform named TradeLens
aims to help manage and track the paper trail by digitis- South Korean electronics giant
ing the supply chain process from end to end. (REUTERS) Samsung unveiled the new
Galaxy Note 9 smartphone
French hotels, restaurants look to Thursday, its latest effort to
migrants to fill 100,000 jobs address flagging sales of the
PARIS: French hotel and restaurant owners are lobbying high-functioning gadgets.
the government to regularise more illegal migrants in Boosting the power and the
order to fill 100,000 jobs for which they have found no price, Samsung hopes to win
French takers. “We’re facing a huge shortage in our sec- back customers in the competi-
tor,” Roland Heguy, president of the hotel industry body tive market. The consistent lead-
UMIH, told AFP. “Companies are finding no one, which er in the global smartphone mar-
is why we want to facilitate the integration of refugees ket, the company nonetheless bullion Price Per tola

in our businesses,” he said. France, like many devel- suffered a 22 percent drop in
oped economies, is struggling to fill low-paid, manual mobile technology sales in the
jobs. Turnover is high in the hospitality sector, where second quarter.
The company blamed the drop
kitchen work and cleaning jobs are seen as particularly
unattractive by many. At a meeting with government in in part to disappointing demand
mid-July, industry representatives called for measures for the Galaxy S9, but it also has
to make it easier to hire migrants. In an interview been pressured by growth in
Wednesday, Heguy said the industry was in a position Chinese competitor Huawei.
At a glitzy the launch event in
“to issue 100,000 job contracts straight away”, half of
Brooklyn, Samsung unveiled a
them for permanent positions and half for seasonal
jobs. France received a record 100,000 asylum requests suite of high tech products,
including a smart speaker
in 2017, up 17 percent from the year before. Under
French law, refugees can work once they get and watch, and then showed off
their papers but asylum-seekers must wait nine the new Galaxy Note 9, which
months after filing their claim for refugee status before will be available for purchase on
taking up a job. An immigration bill passed by parlia- August 24.
ment last week—but which President Emmanuel The phone contains a series
Macron has yet to sign into law—cuts the waiting time of improvements but was
described by analysts as having
to six months. (AFP)
no radical new innovations. The
US producer prices flat in July, latest model boosts memory
restraining inflation capacity, and allows customers to
play video games such as the
WASHINGTON: US wholesale prices were unchanged in
popular Fortnite. Customers will
July after two months of large increases, a sign infla-
have the option of 128 or 512
tion pressures may have softened. The Labor
gigabytes of memory, and also
Department said Thursday that the producer price
can insert a micro card to boost
index—which measures price changes before they reach
capacity beyond a terabyte, a
the consumer—increased 3.3 percent last month from a
record for a smartphone.
year earlier. That’s down slightly from 3.4 percent in
Samsung also enhanced
June, which was the biggest in six years. Gas prices and
the gadget’s batteries so it can
other energy costs fell after two months of strong gains,
now be used for an entire day
and food costs also declined. The price of soybeans and
without needing to be
other oilseeds fell 14 percent, the most in four years,
recharged—a common headache
likely reflecting a buildup in soybean stocks after China
for cell phone users.
imposed tariffs on them in retaliation for US duties.
Other improvements include
With the economy growing at a healthy clip, inflation
tweaks to the device’s “S Pen”
has perked up after nearly a decade of mostly tame pric-
feature, which can be used as a
es. Higher gas prices have been the main catalyst, but
remote control for taking pic-
they have leveled off in recent weeks. The average price
tures or selfies using Bluetooth
nationwide for a gallon of gas was $2.87 Thursday,
technology.
according to AAA. (AP)
And the new model has
enough capacity for video games.
Customers will have
the option of 128
or 512 gigabytes
of memory
Samsung has set up a promo-
tion with the popular
Fortnite game that lets users
download a special mobile
version.
According to some trade
media sources, the Galaxy
Note 9 version with 512
gigabytes will be the
most expensive smart-
phone geared towards
the general public. The
price for that model
will be $1,250 in the
United States, while
the 128 gigabyte ver-
sion will go for $1,000.
Apple’s iPhone X in a 256 giga-
byte version sells for about
$1,150.
Global smartphone sales fell
1.8 percent in the second quarter
to 342 million amid market satu-
ration and rising prices, accord-
ing to tech-industry trackers
International Data Corporation.
Avi Greengart, analyst at
GlobalData, described
the upgrades in the latest
Samsung as “iterative,” adding
“there is nothing radically new
here.”
“It’s a really expensive phone
and for people who are looking
for a premium Android phone,
they may well find it quite
Fine Gold Rs56,200
Silver Rs735
appealing,” he said. “But it
isn’t likely to get people to
Source: FENEGOSIDA
consider the Note for the very
first time.”
By contrast, Apple’s more Int’l market
dramatic overhaul of the
Energy Price (US$)%Change
iPhone X design and user inter-
face showed there is a “large Brent Crude Futr (Bbl) 72.29 0.31
group of people who are willing Gas Oil Fut (Ice) (Mt) 649.75 0.23
to spend whatever it takes” to
upgrade, Greengart said. Gasoline Rbob Fut (Gal) 201.42 0.72
Samsung also introduced the Natural Gas Futr (Mmbtu) 2.95 -0.34
Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy
Agriculture Price (US$)%Change
Home speaker device, a first for
the South Korean company in a Cocoa Future (Mt) 2,130.00 0.05
market that already contains Coffee ‘C’ Future (Lb) 106.95 -0.65
Amazon’s Echo and Alphabet’s Corn Future (Bu) 382.5 -0.07
Google Home programme.
Cotton No.2 Futr (Lb) 87.6 0.39
The company also announced
a partnership with streaming Rough Rice (Cbot) (Cwt) 10.73 -0.14
music service Spotify to allow Soybean Future (Bu) 900.75 -0.36
“streamless listening” across all
Soybean Meal Futr (T) 333.7 -0.36
Samsung devices, including
Soybean Oil Futr (Lb) 28.95 0.24
phones, tablets and smart TVs,
as well as the Galaxy Home. Sugar #11 (World) (Lb) 10.65 -1.75
The smart speaker may have a Wheat Future(Cbt) (Bu) 585.75 -0.13
better shot outside the United
Industrial Metals Price (US$) %Change
States, said Patrick Moorhead,
analyst at Moor Insights &
Copper Future (Lb) 274.8 -0.63
Strategy. “In the US, Alexa is
very entrenched and so is Google Precious Metals Price (US$)%Change
Assistant, so it might be a
Gold 100 Oz Futr (T Oz) 1,217.60 -0.19
challenge, but not so much in
other parts of the world,” Silver Future (T Oz) 15.37 -0.60
Moorhead said.

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