Views of a Nepali Economist

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1. Nepal's 238 percent tax on imported vehicles is a waste of taxpayers' money

2. Nepalese Commercial banks show low trust on other Financial Institutions

3. US Ambassador to Nepal says "It's the economy, stupid."

4. British Army announces Gurkha troop reduction

5. China promises to promote tourism in Nepal

6. Department of Customs suspects capital flight using fake bills

...The department has unearthed fake abbreviated customs declaration forms...there could be two reasons behind producing fake abbreviated customs declaration forms: to produce legal documents to the imported goods through illegal points or to misuse foreign currency

The department has suspected capital flight by two Birgunj-based firms — Shyam Galla and JB traders and arrested them. It is estimated that some Rs 300 million has been misused by Shyam Galla and Rs 160 million by JB Traders

The issue had come into the light after police on August 29 nabbed five people with fake customs declaration forms. They were trying to get more than Rs 7.52 million transferred to India on the basis of the counterfeit documents.

7. Food security situation remains stable in Nepal

...attributed to a good harvest of winter crops (April-June) and employment opportunities generated by development aid...wheat and barley production increased by 12.2 per cent and 9.6 per cent respectively compared to last year

...but, 28 Village Development Committees (VDCs) in the south-western belt of the district as highly food insecure...because of...a 60 per cent reduction of wheat and spring paddy production due to a dry spell, which was cumulative to the 2010 reduction of 40-60 per cent in the main paddy production.

Parts of the Eastern Hill and Mountain districts are reported as moderately food insecure...Most of the Mid and the Far Western Hill and Mountain districts reported a food secure situation...a seasonal deterioration is reported in part of the Eastern Hill and Mountain districts where the winter crops of wheat and barley are cultivated in limited areas and do not play a vital role in food security...situation in upper Dolpa and some Village Development Committees in the northern and the southernbelt of Baitadi are likely to deteriorate to the highly food insecure phase during the next cycle as there will be no incoming harvest and employment opportunities as well as market supply will be affected by monsoon

According to the central bank, High food prices remain a concern. The year-on-year inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index, increased by 8.8 per cent in mid-June 2011 whereas the indices of the cereal subgroup increased by 10.4 per cent.

8.Tourist arrivals via air up by over 26 percent in August...Some Numbers

*arrivals from South Asian region have gained robust growth of 38.7 percent
*India 50 percent
*Bangladesh 20.9 percent
*Sri Lanka 11.7 percent
*Pakistan 1 percent

*arrivals from other Asian regions have also registered growth by 57.2 percent
*China 157.6 percent
*Malaysia 95.2 percent
*Thailand 55.6 percent
*Singapore 51.6 percent
*Japan 9.5 percent
*Arrivals from South Korea declined by 10.7 percent

*arrivals from Europe registered overall positive growth of 0.9 percent
*Germany 51.5 percent
*Belgium 28.2 percent
*Denmark 16.2 percent
*Italy 9.3 percent
*Sweden 7.5 percent
*UK 3 percent
*Arrivals from France declined by 13.8 percent
*Arrivals from Netherlands declined by 11 percent
*Arrivals from Russia declined by 31.2 percent
*Arrivals from Spain declined by 10.3 percent

*arrivals from Australia registered growth of 19.7 percent
*arrivals from New Zealand registered growth of 7 percent

*arrivals from USA registered growth of 16.9 percent
*arrivals from Canada registered growth of 33 percent

*49,858 foreign tourists departed from TIA in August 2011.
*52,811 Nepali arrived while 64,326 departed from TIA in August 2011.

Labels: banks, capital flight, china, customs, financial institutions, food security, gurkhas, imports, tourism, vehicle tax

Some numbers on Nepalese tourism---Kantipur

*2009/10 received Rs 28.31 billion in foreign exchange from tourism sector
*First 11 months in 2009/10 saw Rs 26.4 billion in tourism revenue
*First 11 months of 2010/11 saw Rs 22.91 billion in tourism revenue
*That is a drop of 13.2 percent

*In 2010/11, average length of stay of tourists was 12.67 days
*That is the highest in the last 6 years
*In 2009/10, they spent $36.88 on average each day
*In 2010/11, they spent $46.73 on average each day

*First 6 months of 2010/11 saw a 25 percent increase in tourist arrivals by air compared to the first 6 months of 2009/10
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Nepal Telecom runs out of mobile SIMs---Republica

Despite the amount of money Nepal Telecom has been able to make, there is very little to show when it comes to new investments and improvements in its infrastructure. More towers need to be built. More powerful computers and systems need to be bought. The caller should not dial the same number 5 times before getting connected. When is Nepal Telecom ever going to learn 'customer service'?
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Should people in Kathmandu take the bus?---Kantipur

Ashish Gajrel makes comparisons with Curitiba and Bogota. I am not very sure about this. I believe that a combination of metro buses and underground metro rail is the best option for Kathmandu. The underground rail service would remove congestion from the roads above. That, in turn, could make it easier to develop bicycle lanes. Kathmandu is not very big, and has a great potential for becoming a bicycle friendly city.
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Some numbers on Nepalese BFIs---Republica

*There are 31 commercial banks in Nepal
*Until recently, they did not have to insure the deposits
*The central bank has now ordered commercial banks to insure deposits up to Rs 200,000

*Deposit and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DCGC) is the state owned deposit insurer
*133 Financial Institutions, 66 Development Banks, and 67 Finance Companies have signed up with DCGC
*Their combined deposits are worth Rs 51 billion
*DCGC charges Rs 0.20 for every Rs 100 as insurance premium
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Gurkhas in the UK---Kantipur

After winning a landmark verdict a few years ago, Gurkha soldiers from Nepal have been going to the UK to settle there. The Kantipur article covers their struggles to fit into the UK society.
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Labels: central bank of nepal, gurkhas, mobile phones, nepal telecom, nepal tourism year, public transport, UK