Oil falls below $28 after Iran deal Page III Brent crude fell below $28 a barrel in Asia on Monday for the first time in more than 12 years on fears about a worsening supply glut after Western sanctions on Iran were lifted, allowing Tehran to resume oil exports.

INS IDENT unveils MEET social platformNepal Telecom has unve- iled a social networking platform named MEET, which is expected to help NT develop a unified com-munication system to integrate the varied ser-vices and facilities it pro-vides. Communications Minister Sher Dhan Rai released the web address www.meet.net.np amid an even on Monday. Pg: IV

TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2016 (05-10-2072) kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

moneymoneyfinance&economyfinance&economy

kathmanduposttheCROSS CURRENCY

US Dollar 108.56

Euro 118.25

Pound Sterling 155.28

Japanese Yen 9.25

Chinese Yuan 16.50

Qatari Riyal 29.81

Australian Dollar 74.74

Malaysian Ringit 24.69

Saudi Arab Riyal 28.95HOW TO READ THE TABLEThe 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 vertically is worth that amount in the currency mentioned horizontally.

USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD INR NR

NR 108.5600 118.2500 9.2500 155.2800 107.9900 74.7700 74.7400 1.6015

INR 67.7728 74.076 0.5798 96.617 67.157 46.3467 46.438 0.6244

GBP 0.7015 0.7661 0.006 0.6984 0.4794 0.4803 0.0104 0.0064

JPY 116.81 127.68 166.6667 116.38 80.5 80.0400 1.7247 0.1081

EUR 0.9112 0.0078 1.3053 0.9133 0.6254 0.6267 0.0135 0.0085

USD 1.0975 0.0086 1.4255 0.9977 0.6841 0.6852 0.0148 0.0092

F O R E X

Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank

protest against uber

n Taxis block a main road in Budapest’s city centre in Hungary on Monday, in protest against online taxi-hailing service Uber. The taxi drivers have demanded a ban on the ride-sharing service. REUTERS

C M Y K

ASSOCIATED PRESSDUBAI, JAN 18

An estimated $40 billion is need-ed annually to help the rapidly growing number of people need-ing humanitarian aid as a result of conflicts and natural disas-ters—and one possibility to help fill the $15 billion funding gap is a small voluntary tax on tickets for soccer games and other sports, concerts and entertain-ment events, airline travel, and gasoline, a UN panel said.

The panel’s report on humani-tarian financing, launched Sunday by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, says the world is spending around $25 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 125 million people devastated by wars and natural disasters—more than 12 times the $2 billion

that was spent in 2000.The nine-member panel calcu-

lated that an additional $15 bil-lion is needed annually to reduce suffering and save lives. It warned that if current trends continue, the cost of humanitari-an assistance will rise to $50 bil-lion by 2030. “This is an age of mega-crises,” Ban said at the launch event, which was held at a desert site in Dubai that serves as a logistical hub for UN emergen-cy humanitarian supplies and international relief efforts.

The 31-page report said that despite $25 billion being spent last year to provide life-saving assistance to people around the world, 1.6 million Syrian refugees had their food rations cut and 750,000 Syrian refugees could not attend school. “While record sums are being given to the noble

cause of humanitarian action, generosity has never been so insufficient. We cannot go on like this,” Ban said, adding that humanitarian assistance is now the UN’s costliest activity, sur-passing peacekeeping missions.

The report focuses on three solutions for how to reform humanitarian aid: mobilizing additional funds, particularly from the private sector; shrink-ing the need for aid through pre-vention and quicker resolution of problems, and improving the effi-ciency of assistance to reflect the needs of people rather than the needs of aid organizations.

It calls for donors and aid organizations to come together in “a Grand Bargain” in which donors provide more cash, long-term, with fewer strings, and aid organizations are more transpar-

ent so that everyone can “follow the money.”

The report says that today’s massive instability and its capaci-ty to cross borders, demonstrated by the flight of people from Syria and other conflict areas to Europe, makes humanitarian aid

a global public good. “What we ought to do is morally right, but it is also in our own self-interest because trouble in the world trav-els, and you never know when it will come and knock at your door,” panel co-chair Kristalina Georgieva, the European

Commission’s vice president for budget and human resources, said in Dubai. The report recom-mends that at the first UN humanitarian summit, to be held in Istanbul in May, governments voluntarily sign on to the concept of a “solidarity levy” to create a steady flow of aid.

The report gives the example of a small levy on airline tickets, initially proposed by France, which raised 1.6 billion euros between 2006 and 2011 from just 10 participating countries—Georgieva estimated this at $2.3 billion—to help fund diagnosis and treatment for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in low-income countries.

Georgieva said in a video brief-ing from Brussels before the report’s release that the panel couldn’t agree on the specifics of

a levy because some members are against taxation. But she said she is “more optimistic on a volun-tary levy, especially combined with social responsibility.”

She said the panel talked about a small tax on “high-volume transaction businesses” like Uber, concerts, entertainment, movies and sports and has been talking to some “potential play-ers” including FIFA, the govern-ing body of world football. She said people probably wouldn’t feel a five-cent or 10-cent addition to a ticket or a ride, but the money generated could have a major humanitarian impact.

The report also calls for gov-ernments with greater wealth to provide more aid; for the humani-tarian community to “harness the power of business to deliver its key skills and capabilities”.

UN panel: $40 billion needed to aid people in war, disastersH U M A N I TA R I A N A I D GA P

NRB, ministry at odds over labour bank plansPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, JAN 18

Ministry of Labour and Employment and Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) have taken differ-ing positions on plans to estab-lish a labour bank.

In the budget for fiscal year 2014-15, the government has announced exploring the pos-sibility of establishing such a bank through joint investment from employers, employees, and the government.

On Monday, Labour Minister Deepak Bohora insisted the proposed bank must be established, but NRB Governor Chiranjeevi Nepal suggested formation Labour Investment Fund instead.

Bohora said labour bank was needed to ensure cheaper loans to prospective migrant workers, adding the workers would also send remittance back home through the bank. “There can be discussion on the nature of the bank, but let’s establish it,” said Bohora, at a discussion organised by the Parliamentary International Relations and Labour Committee.

In line with the budgetary provision, a team led by Nepal (before his appointment to NRB) had studied the need for a labour bank, and had even

recommended establishing such an institution. But on Monday, Nepal said given the central bank promoting con-solidation of banks and financial institutions while imposing moratorium on bank licence issuance, opening a new bank was not a good idea.

“The government has adopt-ed a policy of divesting its shares from banks where it has majority stake,” said the governor. “As the government has received aid from interna-tional institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to bring

reforms in government-owned banks and pledged to reduce its stakes in them, establish-ing another govern-ment-owned bank does not give good message to the inter-national community.”

The government has asked Agriculture Development Bank to explore bringing in a strategic partner to reduce the government’s stake. It has also announced plans to merge

NIDC Development Bank and Hydroelectric Investment and Development Company to ena-ble the merged entity to invest in major infrastructure pro-jects. The governor said establishing an institution, like the Citizen Investment Trust, to address the issues of workers would be easier and such institutions could be established quicker.

Finance Ministry Joint

Secretary Surya Prasad Acharya said the govern-ment’s Financial Sector Development Strategy has adopted a policy of reducing its stakes in BFIs. “The gov-ernment wants to have just one bank under it,” Acharya said. “The Finance Ministry has not given its nod to plans to establishment a new bank due to the aforementioned pol-icy,” he said.

However, Labour Ministry Secretary Ram Kumar Acharya said the ministry was ok with any type of institution that addresses the issues raised by the labour minister.

Lawmakers propose life imprisonmentPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, JAN 18

Lawmakers have sought life imprisonment to those embez-zling more than Rs1 billion in banks and financial institu-tions (BFIs).

The new bill on Banking Offence and Punishment Act, has proposed 8-10 years of imprisonment for those com-mitting such a fraud.

In their amendment propos-al, lawmakers Prem Suwal, Dilli Prasad Kaphle and Anuradha Thapa Magar have demanded the government put in place such a provision.

Former Executive Director of Nepal Share Market and Finance Company Yogendra Shrestha and Former Managing Director of Capital Merchant and Finance Pawan Karki are among the fraud-sters embezzling more than Rs1 billion.

A total of 12 lawmakers have filed 33 amendment pro-posals to the bill. Most of the proposals are related with extending the punishment to the bank fraudsters. In their proposals, the lawmakers have proposed 20-25 years of

jail term to those committing frauds worth Rs100 million to Rs1 billion.

The bill has proposed 6-8 years’ jail for such fraudsters.

The lawmakers have also sought an increase in the jail term to 12-15 years for those embezzling between Rs10 mil-lion and Rs100 million. The bill has provisioned 4-6 years of jail term for such frauds.

The bill has doubled the maximum jail term for those convicted of fraud in banks and financial institutions (BFIs) to 10 years from the current five years. However, the lawmakers have sought even stricter provisions.

These three lawmakers have also proposed that BFI staffers cannot enjoy more salary, facility and loans than civil servants.

Lawmaker Rewati Raman Bhandari has proposed BFIs must take decisions on provid-ing loans within 45 days of the submission of all necessary documents. If not possible, they must provide a valid rea-son in written. Banks failing to do so should compensate double of the cost of the pro-spective borrowers.

banking fraud

Labour minister wants the bank to be set up, but NRB governor suggests forming Labour

Investment Fund instead

Richest 1pc own ‘more than rest’AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEPARIS, JAN 18

The richest one percent of the world’s population now own more than the rest of us com-bined, aid group Oxfam said Monday, on the eve of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

“Runaway inequality has created a world where 62 peo-ple own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population—a figure that has fallen from 388 just five years ago,” the anti-poverty agency said in its reported published ahead of the annual gathering of the world’s financial and political elites in Davos.

The report, entitled “An Economy for the 1%”, states that women are disproportion-ately affected by the global ine-quality. “One of the other key trends behind rising inequali-ty set out in Oxfam International’s report is the falling share of national income going to workers in almost all developed and most developing countries... The majority of low paid workers around the world are women.”

Although world leaders have increasingly talked about the need to tackle inequality “the gap between the richest and the rest has widened dra-matically in the past 12 months,” Oxfam said.

Oxfam’s prediction, made ahead of last year’s Davos meeting, that the richest one percent would soon own more than the rest of us, “actually came true in 2015,” it added.

While the number of people living in extreme poverty halved between 1990 and 2010, the average annual income of the poorest 10 percent has risen by less than $3-a-year in the past quarter of a century, a increase in individuals’ income of less than one cent a year, the report said.

More than 40 heads of state and government will attend the Davos forum which begins late Tuesday and will end on January 23. Those heading to the Swiss resort town for the

high-level annual gathering also include 2,500 “leaders from business and society”, the WEF said in an earlier statement. Describing the theme—the Fourth Industrial Revolution—WEF founder Klaus Shwab has said it “refers to the fusion of tech-nologies across the physical, digital and biological worlds which is creating entirely new capabilities and dramatic impacts on political, social and economic systems.”

Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanima, who will also attend Davos having co-chaired last year’s event, said: “It is simply unacceptable that the poorest half of the world’s population

owns no more than a few dozen super-rich people who could fit onto one bus.”

World leaders’ concerns about the escalating inequali-ty crisis have “so far not trans-lated into concrete action—the world has become a much more unequal place and the trend is accelerating,” she warned. As a priority, Oxfam is calling for an end to the era of tax havens which has seen the increasing use of offshore centres to avoid paying taxes. “This has denied governments valuable resources needed to tackle poverty and inequality,” the report said.

As much as 30 percent of all African financial wealth is estimated to be held offshore, it added, costing an estimated $14 billion in lost tax revenues every year. Getting hold of the proper level of taxes will be “vital” if world leaders are to meet their goal, set last September, of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030.

Byanima challenged those attending the Davos meeting “to play their part in ending the era of tax havens, which is fuelling economic inequality and preventing hundreds of millions of people lifting themselves out of poverty”.

Of the 62 people said to hold as much wealth as the poorest 50 percent, Oxfam said 53 are men and just nine are female.

Runaway inequality has created a world where 62 people own as much wealth as the poorest half of the

world’s population, according to a report

n Kristalina Georgieva (left), co-chair of the United Nations (UN) high-level panel on humanitarian financing, speaks at a press conference in Dubai, UAE, on Sunday, as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon looks on. XINHUA

moneyeconomy IITuesday, January 19, 2016 | thekathmandupost

Renault to cut emissions levelsBOULOGNE: French car-maker Renault on Monday promised to come up with a “techni-cal plan” over coming weeks to bring down harmful emissions of its vehicles. On Thursday, a government-appointed commission said that Renault’s diesel cars failed pollution tests and investigators raided its facilities, raising fears the French carmaker could be caught up in an emissions scandal simi-lar to the one engulfing Volkswagen, which has admitted to using cheat-ing software to fool tests. The commission said test results on French and foreign vehicles had found carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions in Renault cars to be too high, as were those of several non-French. “We are working on a technical plan which should allow us to cut emissions,” Renault sales director Thierry Koskas said dur-ing a presentation on the group’s 2015 sales perfor-mance. (AFP)

Daimler eyes return to IranFRANKFURT: German automaker Daimler said Monday that its heavy goods vehicles unit, Daimler Trucks, planned a swift return to the Iranian market, after the US and EU lifted sanc-tions against Tehran over its nuclear pro-gramme. Two days after the embargo was lifted, Daimler revealed it has signed letters of intent with its local cooperation partners Iran Khodro Diesel (IKD) and the Mammut Group in the first big step in its return to Iran. “The areas of cooperation include a joint venture for local production of Mercedes-Benz trucks and power-train components plus the establishment of a sales company for Mercedes-Benz trucks and components,” Daimler said in a state-ment. Ending a political standoff dating back to 2002, the United States and the European Union lifted sanctions on Iran at the weekend. (AFP)

Home Retail sells HomebaseLONDON: Britain’s Home Retail Group, which recently rejected a takeo-ver approach from super-market group Sainsbury’s, announced on Monday the sale of home improvements and gardening unit Homebase to Australia’s Wesfarmers. HRG, which also owns catalogue chain Argos, said in a statement that it has agreed to sell Homebase to conglomerate Wesfarmers for £340 mil-lion ($485 million, 444 million euros) in cash. The London-listed group plans to return approxi-mately £200 million to shareholders from the proceeds. HRG had already confirmed last week, in response to press speculation, that it was in advanced talks with Wesfarmers over the Homebase sale. Wesf- armers added on Monday that it would re-brand Homebase. (AFP)

NEWS DIGEST

Nepal Stock ExchangeSinghadurbar Plaza, Kathmandu

January 18, 2016

1 Ace Development Bank Ltd 313 302 302 101742 Agriculture Development Bank Ltd 608 561 580 194633 Asian Life Insurance Co. Ltd 1317 1270 1289 85384 Biratlaxmi Bikas Bank Ltd 321 320 321 13145 Butwal Power Company Ltd 613 599 600 14706 Century Commercial Bank Ltd 358 345 348 269567 Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 1754 1720 1754 26448 Chilime Hydropower Company Ltd 1360 1335 1340 17179 Citizen Bank International Ltd 616 605 613 4329310 Citizen Investment Trust 4465 4401 4410 162611 Civil Bank Ltd 270 258 261 2282812 Cosmos Development Bank Ltd 335 335 335 7313 Dev Bikas Bank Ltd 204 197 197 624414 Diprox Development Bank Ltd 1805 1766 1800 295615 Everest Bank Ltd 2460 2362 2403 1480016 Everest Bank Ltd Con. Pref. 1383 1330 1383 54317 Everest Insurance Co. Ltd 930 920 930 159318 Excel Development Bank Ltd 650 625 650 147619 First Micro Finance Development Bank Ltd 804 789 804 2020 Gandaki Bikas Bank Ltd 297 297 297 23021 Garima Bikas Bank Ltd 320 311 319 218722 Global IME Bank Ltd 450 436 450 11226123 Gurans Life Insurance Company Ltd 690 660 679 807624 Himalayan Bank Ltd 999 967 980 511125 Himalayan General Insurance Co. Ltd 730 702 720 458526 ICFC Finance Ltd 220 215 216 124027 International Leasing & Finance Co. Ltd 200 197 199 316028 Jebils Finance Ltd 151 151 151 2029 Kalika Microcredit Development Bank Ltd 1560 1520 1560 11230 Kankai Bikas Bank Ltd 301 300 300 20031 Kasthamandap Development Bank Ltd 195 191 194 267732 Laxmi Bank Ltd 590 574 574 2217833 Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1830 1810 1829 17434 Life Insurance Co. Nepal 3620 3550 3550 10135 Lumbini General Insurance Co. Ltd 607 565 575 284836 Mahakali Bikas Bank Ltd 193 193 193 7137 Malika Bikas Bank Ltd 274 264 267 440038 Manaslu Bikas Bank Ltd 330 324 330 124839 Miteri Development Bank Ltd 603 592 600 282440 Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd 845 800 819 1759741 Nabil Bank Ltd 1965 1920 1920 972642 NABIL Bank Ltd Promotor Share 1489 1431 1468 974143 NagBeli LaghuBitta Bikas Bank Ltd 3410 3382 3382 186044 National Hydro Power Company Ltd 136 126 136 707045 National Life Insurance Co. Ltd 2620 2570 2595 429046 Naya Nepal Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 1270 1245 1245 88047 Neco Insurance Co. Ltd 900 875 875 792448 Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd 504 475 495 6771849 Nepal Bank Ltd 348 330 338 10464750 Nepal Doorsanchar Comapany Ltd 685 676 680 263551 Nepal Grameen Bikas Bank Ltd 354 348 350 185052 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd 795 760 775 1206753 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd Pro Share 690 650 670 2865054 Nepal Life Insurance Co. Ltd 3411 3370 3380 58055 Nepal SBI Bank Ltd 1620 1580 1589 2822556 Nerude Laghubita Bikas Bank Ltd 2080 1950 2010 286157 NIC Asia Bank Ltd 765 715 724 906658 Nirdhan Utthan Bank Ltd 1700 1680 1700 26259 NLG Insurance Company Ltd 790 775 784 69160 NMB Bank Ltd 490 458 468 962761 Prime Commercial Bank Ltd 535 502 515 1586362 Prime Life Insurance Company Ltd 1640 1580 1634 2205863 Professional Diyalo Bikas Bank Ltd 182 177 180 110964 Prudential Insurance Co. Ltd 699 685 685 500865 Rural Microfinance Dev Centre Ltd 690 674 678 142866 Sagarmatha Insurance Co. Ltd 950 940 950 56067 Sahayogi Bikas Bank Ltd 355 350 355 110068 Sana Kisan Bikas Bank Ltd 1440 1400 1415 304769 Sanima Bank Ltd 704 691 699 7992770 Sanima Mai Hydropower Ltd 864 845 863 1143971 Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd 275 267 268 481072 Shikhar Insurance Co. Ltd 1400 1355 1374 1080573 Siddharth Finance Ltd 183 177 177 52374 Siddhartha Insurance Ltd 1030 995 1000 716775 Soaltee Hotel Ltd 340 333 340 639876 Standard Chartered Bank Ltd 2715 2678 2687 259577 Subhechha Bikas Bank Ltd 344 320 344 7678 Summit Micro Finance Dev Bank Ltd 2370 2325 2370 35079 Sunrise Bank Ltd 404 396 404 2715080 Surya Life Insurance Company Ltd 795 771 780 278381 Swabalamban Bikas Bank Ltd 2020 1950 2001 221882 Tourism Development Bank Ltd 255 247 247 291383 Triveni Bikas Bank Ltd 267 260 260 66484 Uniliver Nepal Ltd 24990 24990 24990 1085 Union Finance Co. Ltd 110 110 110 30086 Western Development Bank Ltd 346 335 346 272187 Yeti Development Bank Ltd 153 145 147 1835

TRADING INFORMATION TRADING PRICESN COMPANY MAX MIN CLOSING NO SHARES

Nepse 1,214.31pts 0.19%

SHL MDB MNBBL NBL NGBBL SBBLJ3.03% 2.91% 2.63% 2.42% 2.33% 2.30%

NHPC SUBBL EBLCP EDBL FMDBL GBIME9.67% 9.55% 6.05% 5.69% 3.87% 3.44%

HIGHEST GAINERS

PLIC SFL NBBL ACEDBL KNBL NLG-1.56% -1.66% -1.68% -1.94% -1.96% -2%

UNL YETI LICN NIL RMDC LGIL-2% -2% -2.06% -2.23% -3.28% -3.52%

HIGHEST LOSERS

MODERATE LOSERS

MODERATE GAINERS

Base: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100

Sub-Indices Current Pts Change %ChangeBanking 1,109.68 4.7 0.43 Hotels 1,782.62 39.88 2.29 Dev Bank 1,167.82 9.69 0.84 HydroPower 2,164.48 2.94 0.14 Finance 583.96 2.9 0.49 Insurance 5,454.82 48.9 0.89

Total Amount Rs. 624,039,884Total Quantity 884,255Total No of Transactions 2,800

INDEX CURRENT PTS CHANGE %CHANGENEPSE 1,214.31 2.31 0.19 Sensitive 261.10 0.74 0.28 Float 86.97 0.26 0.3

SHARES

C M Y K

Safe heaven: India gold bonds to lure investorsREUTERSMUMBAI, JAN 18

The second tranche of India’s sovereign gold bonds, whose sale began on Monday, is like-ly to draw good response from investors, as they are priced below market rates for the metal and sharemarket tur-moil spurs investors to diver-sify holdings.

India plans to sell 150 bil-lion rupees ($2.22 billion) in gold bonds in the fiscal year ending on March 31, as it seeks to wean investors off physical gold and contain the outflow of foreign exchange spent on imports.

The price of gold has risen 4 percent so far in 2016, while India’s benchmark has

fallen nearly 7 percent.“Given the correction in the

stock market, interest is shift-ing in favour of gold,” said Harish Galipelli, head of com-modities and currencies at Inditrade Derivatives and Commodities.

“Investors are looking for safe-haven assets. This tran-che will receive better respo-nse than the first tranche.”

The Reserve Bank of India has fixed the issue price of the bonds, wich will be sold until Friday, at 26,000 rupees per 10 grams, below the current mar-

ket rate of nearly 26,050 rupees. The bonds, linked to the price of bullion, carry an annual interest of 2.75 percent and allow consumers to invest in ‘paper’ gold rather than physical gold.

The first tranche debuted last November to lukewarm response, as it was priced nearly 5 percent above the market. At the time, the stock market also promised better returns, with the price of gold falling in anticipation of a US rate hike.

“Given that currently risk appetite is weak and bank interest rates are also falling, demand for gold bonds in the second tranche might be bet-ter,” said Siddhartha Sanyal, an economist at Barclays.

No national treatment to foreign banks: LawmakersPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, JAN 18

Lawmakers on Monday stressed that the government should not give national treat-ment to fully foreign-owned banks which have been allowed to operate in Nepal since 2010.

Commenting on the bill on the Bank and Financial Institution Bill (Bafia), many lawmakers said that foreign banks should be treated separately by categorizing the nature of the service they offer.

The Bafia Bill allows for-eign banks to engage only in wholesale banking to protect domestic banks from competi-tion from international banks with massive capital and large business operations.

Speaking at a discussion on the Bafia Bill organized by the parliamentary Finance Committee, lawmaker Yagya Raj Sunuwar said it would not be appropriate to provide sim-ilar treatment to foreign banks.

Providing an example of the developed countries where banks are categorised as depository and non-deposito-ry, Sunuwar said non-deposi-

tory banks can be provided a limited right to do business.

The Bafia Bill has attracted 52 amendment proposals from 22 lawmakers. They include barring bank chairmen from serving more than two terms, reducing the percentage of public shares set aside for bank staff and allowing banks and financial institutions (BFIs) to have only one traded union, among others.

Sunuwar criticized the Bafia Bill for disregarding issues related to mutual funds, pension funds, investment companies and micro credit institutions.

Lawmaker Ichchha Raj

Tamang demanded that the act allow bank chairman to serve more than two terms. Tamang is also the chairman of Civil Bank and has tabled an amendment proposal in Parliament.

“As it takes several years just to become familiar with the business, two terms will not provide enough time for the board chairman to improve the institution,” he added.

The bill also says a profes-sional director may not serve more than one term. Tamang demanded that this provision should be changed too. “As there is a deficit of experts in

the sector, the provision could hinder the operation of BFIs,” he said. However, Nepal Rastra Bank has maintained that allowing the chairman and chief executive officer to serve more than two terms poses increased risks because they could hide wrongdoings in banks and financial institu-tions. The central bank has already released these provi-sions through a directive, and they have been formally inserted in the bill.

Meanwhile, a few lawmak-ers have urged flexibility in the policy on trade unions in BFIs. The current bill says that there should not be more

than one trade union at each institution. “This clearly con-tradicts Trade Union Act 1992 that permits the establish-ment of up to four unions in an institution,” said lawmak-er Chudamani BK.

Lawmakers have also demanded that the Bafia Bill establish a minimum wage rate for employees of BFIs and continue the practice of allocating 5 percent of the public shares to them.

Chaudhary Foundation builds 1,700 transitional sheltersPOST REPORTKATHMANDU, JAN 18

Chaudhary Foundation, an initiative of Chaudhary Group (CG), has completed construction of 1,700 transi-tional shelters for earthquake survivors, the company said on Monday.

CG said it has formally handed over 1,000 of the 1,700 homes. It has also com-pleted building 30 school buildings, out of which 12 have been handed over to school management commit-tees concerned.

In a prompt response to the April 25 earthquake and sub-sequent aftershocks, CG had said it would build 10,000 tran-sitional homes and 100 prima-ry schools.

The foundation had com-mitted to build the shelters under “CG Ashraya” project, out of which 1,000 would be built through its own resourc-es and 9,000 through partner-ships with national and inter-national organisations. The schools have been built under CG Shikshyalaya projects.

“We are proud to make this announcement. Despite sever-al odds, we have succeeded in achieving this progress,” Forbes-listed billionaire and chairman of the conglomer-ate Binod Chaudhary said. “We aim to run the CG Ashraya and CG Shikshyalaya projects in the 14 most affect-ed districts in central Nepal.”

CG has been working in 10 earthquake-affected districts, including Ramechhap, Dolakha, Sindhupalchok, Kavre, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Dhading, Nuwakot and Gorkha.

The foundation has stated it

is willing to work together with the National Reconstruction Authority. “We hope the rebuilding efforts give Nepal a new impe-tus for economic develop-ment, and through Chaudhary Foundation we would like to contribute to this drive to the best possible extent,” Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary Foundation Managing Director Nirvana Chauduhary said the compa-ny has fulfilled its commit-ment and is thriving to do more work. “Despite the coun-try moving into the most diffi-cult phase, we have succeeded

in delivering 1,700 homes and 30 schools. It has been possible due to our commitment,” Chaudhary said, adding each of these 1,700 homes have accommodated at least five people.

According to CG Foundation, apart from hand-ing over transitional shelters and schools, they have also imparted skills to the locals. CGs transitional homes have local participation wherein the house owners are trained about developing such homes.

According to the govern-ment, around 9,000 people were killed and over 20,000 were injured in the April 25 earthquake and subsequent earthquake. Similarly, 608,155 homes have been completely damaged, while 298,998 homes have been partially damaged.

According to the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment prepared by National Planning Commission (NPC), Nepal sustained loss of $7 bil-lion due to the earthquake. The report has stated the country requires $6.67 billion for reconstruction.

VW faces shareholder claims over scandal REUTERSFRANKFURT, JAN 18

Dozens of large shareholders in Volkswagen plan to sue the carmaker in a German court, seeking compensation for the plunge in its shares due to its emissions test cheat-ing scandal.

Law firm Nieding + Barth said on Monday it would lodge a case with a regional court in Brunswick this week, seeking hundreds of millions of euros in damages on behalf of 66 institutional investors from the United States and Britain.

“On top of that, we collect-ed several thousands of pri-vate investors. Therefore we think we are the biggest plat-form for suits against

Volkswagen in Germany,” said Klaus Nieding of Nieding + Barth. Volkswagen’s (VW) shares have lost almost a third of their value, or about 22 bil-lion euros ($24 billion), since it admitted in September to misleading US regulators about emissions with the help of on-board engine control software. The law firm plans

to use so-called capital market model claims, a German legal procedure which—for lack of US style class-action law-suits—uses court rulings won by individual investors as templates to set damages for others that are equally affected.

VW, which declined to com-ment, is facing a legal onslaught on several fronts. US owners of vehicles with higher-than-stated emissions are expected to seek billions of dollars in damages, while the US Justice Department has sued VW for up to $46 bil-lion under the Clean Air Act.

Nieding + Barth said it would argue that VW had been aware of its violation of diesel emissions rules.

CHINA ORDERS FOREIGN BANKS TO HOLD YUANAGENCE FRANCE-PRESSESHANGHAI, JAN 18

China will require foreign financial institutions in the country to hold yuan in reserve, the central bank said Monday as it seeks to stabilise the currency, which has been hit by capital flight.

Until now, overseas banks in China have been set a reserve requirement ratio—the amount of depositor funds they must keep aside—of zero. From next week they will be subject to similar rules as domestic lenders, the cen-tral People’s Bank of China (PBoC) said in a statement, without specifying the per-centage to be retained. Major Chinese banks currently have a ratio of 17.5 percent.

The PBoC said the move aimed to “prevent financial risk and protect financial sta-bility”, according to a state-ment on its website. It added the rules will “strengthen liquidity management”. The announcement came as the yuan weakens on worries over a slowdown in the world’s sec-ond largest economy, which has caused capital flight and a widening gap in the offshore market, where investors are betting on further falls.

Offshore dealings in the yuan—also known as the ren-minbi (RMB)—are free from the strict capital controls that China imposes domestically, making it operate more like a true market. “The central bank wants to maintain the stability of the yuan rate because the expectations of depreciation have been ris-ing,” Nomura International China economist Wendy Chen told AFP.

“The move will impact the liquidity of offshore renmin-bi, so it can narrow the price gap between the offshore and onshore rates and therefore lessening the room or chances for foreign institutions to short the yuan,” she said.

India plans to sell $2.22b in gold bonds in the fiscal year ending on March 31

KATHMANDU: The parlia-mentary Finance Committee has formed a seven-member sub-com-mittee to deal with the amendment proposals. The panel consists of lawmakers Ichchha Raj Tamang, Udaya Shamsher Rana, Deepak Kuikel, Gopal Dahit, Kedar Prasad Sanjel, Bimal Kedia and Goma Kunwar. The sub-com-mittee is expected to sub-mit a final report to the Finance Committee in two weeks.

Sub-committee formed

n CG Chairman Binod Chaudhary (left) at a press meet in Kathmandu on Monday. POST PHOTO

future energy summit

n Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (right), Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto (second right) and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (left), prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, clap as they present Zayed Future Energy Prize to Gro Harlem Brundtland during the the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, on Monday. REUTERS

money worldIII the kathmandu post | Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Henkel CEO quits, joins AdidasFRANKFURT: Henkel, the German maker of Persil washing powder, said on Monday that its chief executive Kasper Rorsted is stepping down early as sportswear giant Adidas announced his appoint-ment as their own new CEO. Henkel said in a statement that its super-visory board had “agreed unanimously and by mutual agreement to Kasper Rorsted’s request to prematurely terminate his position” as CEO as of April 30. The 53-year-old Dane would be replaced by board mem-ber Hans Van Bylen, the statement said. Rorsted has been at the helm of the consumer chemicals giant -- which also makes Loctite glue and Schwarzkopf haircare products -- since 2008. And his contract was originally scheduled to run until 2017. Adidas subsequently issued a statement to announce that Rorsted had now been appointed as its new CEO starting in October 2016, where he would take over from Herbert Hainer. (AFP)

ChemChina buys into MercuriaSHANGHAI: China National Chemical Corp. on Monday said it had bought a 12 percent stake in Swiss energy and com-modities trader Mercuria, the second overseas investment by the Chinese state giant in a week. The company, also known as ChemChina, said the strategic investment in Mercuria Energy Trading would expand its portfolio, according to a statement posted on its website. Last week, ChemChina said it would buy Germany’s KraussMaffei Group, which makes machinery for producing plastics and rubber, for 925 mil-lion euros ($1.0 billion). “Through the investment in Mercuria Energy Trading, which has grown rapidly over the last decade, ChemChina will expand further into the energy sector,” ChemChina Chairman Ren Jianxin said in the statement. (AFP)

Tata Steel to cut more UK jobsLONDON: Indian steel giant Tata Steel will cut 1,050 more jobs in Britain, a trade union said on Monday, follow-ing thousands of cuts in the industry announced last year. Tata Steel is planning to cut 750 jobs at its Port Talbot site in Wales and 300 more at other plants around the country, the steel union Community said. Tata Steel has 4,000 people at Port Talbot, which also employs 3,000 contrac-tors and temporary workers. “It is yet anoth-er chapter of the UK’s ongoing steel crisis and the lack of a proper gov-ernment response,” Community said in a statement. Britain’s steel sector is in crisis and there have been thou-sands of layoffs in recent months, with companies blaming high energy costs and cheap Chinese imports. Tata Steel in October announced 1,200 job cuts in Britain. (AFP)

NEWS DIGEST

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSENIEUW-NAMEN, JAN 18

As the two cooling towers at Belgium’s Doel nuclear power belch thick white steam into a wintry sky, people over the bor-der in the Dutch town of Nieuw-Namen are on edge.

They are part of a groundswell of concern in the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg over the safety of Belgium’s seven age-ing reactors at Doel and at Tihange, further to the south and east. “I’m happy Holland, Germany and Luxembourg are reacting because they (officials) don’t listen to you and me,” butcher Filip van Vlierberge told AFP at his shop in Nieuw-Namen, where people can see the Doel plant. Benedicte, one of his customers, nodded in agreement.

Van Vlierberge said he was par-ticularly uneasy with the Belgian government’s decision in December to extend the lives of 40-year-old reactors Doel 1 and Doel 2 until 2025 under a deal to preserve jobs and invest in the transition to cleaner energy. “I’m concerned they are too old.”

Belgium’s creaking nuclear plants have been causing safety concerns with its neighbours for some time now after a series of problems ranging from leaks to cracks and an unsolved sabotage incident. Luxembourg’s sustaina-ble development minister Camille Gira is due in Belgium on Monday to raise his concerns. Then Dutch Environment and Infrastructure Minister Melanie Schultz will visit Doel with Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon for a joint inspection

on Wednesday.Doel 1, the country’s oldest

reactor, was originally shuttered in February 2015 under a law call-ing for the country’s gradual pha-seout of nuclear power, but the government then restarted it under the extension deal. But the plant, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) as the crow flies from the major port city of Antwerp, had to be closed three days later due to a generator problem. It has now restarted a second time.

Meanwhile Belgian operator Electrabel said in December it had restarted a reactor at its Tihange plant, just days after being forced to shut it down fol-lowing a fire in the electricity supply system. Tiny cracks dis-covered in 2012 in the reactor pressure vessels of Doel 3 and Tihange 2 caused lengthy clo-

sures of those two reactors. They were both restarted at the end of last year, one having to close quickly again, for a few days, after a water leak.

And the Doel 4 reactor was also shut down urgently in August 2014 after a leak in the turbine hall, caused by tampering, gushed out 65,000 litres of oil lubricant. Belgian prosecutors told AFP the investigation into who was responsible is continu-ing, and they do not rule out ter-rorism or an “act of vengeance”.

Peter, a Dutch docker return-ing from work in Antwerp, was especially worried about the unsolved sabotage case. “I don’t understand how such things can happen,” Peter told AFP in Nieuw-Namen, adding that “peo-ple are a little afraid” over the range of reactor problems.

Germany’s environment minis-ter Barbara Hendricks in the past week sent a set of safety ques-tions, including on the cracks, to the Belgian nuclear watchdog AFCN, which maintains all reac-tors are safe.

Both Electrabel and AFCN said the recent problems have only been in the non-nuclear parts of the reactor and there is no dan-ger from the nuclear cores despite the microcracks. “We resumed service following an audit from a US research firm, an

international firm that guaran-teed the structural integrity of the vessels,” Electrabel spokes-woman Florence Coppenolle told AFP when asked about the cracks. But Eloi Glorieux, Greenpeace’s nuclear campaigner for Belgium, insists the microc-racks in the Doel 3 and Tihange 2 pressure vessels are cause for concern because they are “one of the most vulnerable parts” of the plant. “If the reactor pressure (vessel) fails, then we have a Chernobyl and a Fukushima-type accident,” he warned.

In March 2011, an earthquake and tsunami in Japan triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima plant, the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in Ukraine 25 years earlier. It was Fukushima that persuaded Germany to phase out its own

nuclear plants. Glorieux warned that any catastrophe in Belgium would be far worse than in Fukushima or Chernobyl, because its plants are near such densely populated areas. Tihange is 20 kilometres from the Belgian city of Liege, 40 kilometres from the Dutch city of Maastricht and 60 kilometres from the Germany city of Aachen.

The authorities in Maastricht and Aachen have hired lawyers to consider possible legal action against Belgium to ensure plant safety, or even make them close down. Electrabel’s Coppenolle said the criticism of Belgium was misdirected as the Dutch have extended by 20 years the lifespan of their reactor on the Belgian border until 2033 while nine German reactors will run until 2022.

Belgium’s ageing nuclear plants worry neighboursSA F E T Y CO N C E R N S

C M Y K

They are part of a groundswell of concern in the Netherlands,

Germany and Luxembourg over the safety of Belgium’s

seven ageing reactors

future energy summit

n Directors of HK Express, Lucky Air, Urumqi Air and West Air attend a press conference for the launch of U-FLY alliance, the world’s first low cost carrier alliance, in south China’s Hong Kong, on Monday. XINHUA

Health reform realities

PAUL KRUGMAN

Health reform is the sig-nature achievement of the Obama presidency. It was the biggest expan-sion of the social safety

net since Medicare was established in the 1960s. It more or less achieves a goal -- access to health insur-ance for all Americans -- that progressives have been try-ing to reach for three gener-ations. And it is already pro-ducing dramatic results, with the percentage of unin-sured Americans falling to record lows.

Obamacare is, however, what engineers would call a kludge: a somewhat awk-ward, clumsy device with lots of moving parts. This makes it more expensive than it should be, and will probably always cause a sig-nificant number of people to fall through the cracks.

The question for progres-sives -- a question that is now central to the Democratic primary -- is whether these failings mean that they should re-litigate their own biggest political success in almost half a century, and try for something better.

My answer, as you might guess, is that they shouldn’t, that they should seek incre-mental change on health care (Bring back the public option!) and focus their main efforts on other issues -- that is, that Bernie Sanders is wrong about this and Hillary Clinton is right. But the main point is that we should think clearly about why health reform looks the way it does. If we could start from scratch, many, perhaps most, health economists would recommend sin-gle-payer, a Medicare-type

program covering everyone. But single-payer wasn’t a politically feasible goal in America, for three big rea-sons that aren’t going away.

First, like it or not, incum-bent players have a lot of power. Private insurers played a major part in kill-ing health reform in the early 1990s, so this time around reformers went for a system that preserved their role and gave them plenty of new business.

Second, single-payer would require a lot of addi-tional tax revenue -- and we would be talking about taxes on the middle class, not just the wealthy. It’s true that higher taxes would be offset by a sharp reduction or even elimination of private insur-ance premiums, but it would be difficult to make that case to the broad public, especial-ly given the chorus of misin-formation you know would dominate the airwaves.

Finally, and I suspect most important, switching to sin-gle-payer would impose a lot of disruption on tens of mil-lions of families who cur-rently have good coverage through their employers. You might say that they would end up just as well off, and it might well be true for most people -- although not those with especially good policies. But getting voters to believe that would be a very steep climb.

What this means, as the health policy expert Harold Pollack points out, is that a simple, straightforward sin-gle-payer system just isn’t going to happen.

Even if you imagine a political earthquake that eliminated the power of the insurance industry and objections to higher taxes, you’d still have to protect the interests of workers with better-than-average cover-age, so that in practice sin-gle-payer, American style, would be almost as kludgy as Obamacare.

Which brings me to the

Affordable Care Act, which was designed to bypass these obstacles. It was careful to preserve and even enlarge the role of private insurers. Its measures to cover the uninsured rely on a combi-nation of regulation and subsidies, rather than sim-ply on an expansion of gov-ernment programs, so that the on-budget cost is limited -- and can, in fact, be covered without raising middle-class taxes. Perhaps most crucial-ly, it leaves employer-based insurance intact, so that the great majority of Americans have experienced no disrup-tion, in fact no change in their health-care experience.

Even so, achieving this reform was a close-run thing: Democrats barely got it through during the brief period when they controlled Congress. Is there any real-istic prospect that a drastic overhaul could be enacted any time soon -- say, in the next eight years? No.

You might say that it’s still worth trying. But poli-tics, like life, involves trade-offs. There are many items on the progressive agenda, ranging from an effective cli-mate change policy, to mak-ing college affordable for all, to restoring some of the lost bargaining power of work-ers. Making progress on any of these items is going to be a hard slog, even if Democrats hold the White House and, less likely, retake the Senate. Indeed, room for maneuver will be limited even if a post-Trump Republican Party moves away from the scorched-earth opposition it offered President Obama.

So progressives must set some priorities. And it’s really hard to see, given this picture, why it makes any sense to spend political capital on a quixotic attempt at a do-over, not of a political failure, but of health reform -- their biggest victo-ry in many years.

—©2016 The New York Times

Should progressives re-litigate Obamacare? There are many reasons to think it just wouldn’t work

Oil prices fall below $28 after Iran dealAGENCE FRANCE-PRESSESINGAPORE, JAN 18

Brent crude fell below $28 a barrel in Asia on Monday for the first time in more than 12 years on fears about a worsen-ing supply glut after Western sanctions on Iran were lifted, allowing Tehran to resume oil exports.

Up to half a million barrels per day of Iranian crude could be added to already saturated markets after US and European leaders ended a crippling embargo put in place over Tehran’s nuclear pro-gramme. The news led to fur-ther selling of the black gold, which has fallen by about three quarters since mid-2014 owing to the supply glut, record output levels, weak demand and a slowing global economy.

Brent for March delivery tumbled to as low as $27.67, or by 4.4 percent from Friday’s close, before rebounding to trade at above $28. The last time Brent closed below $28 was in November 2003. At around 0600 GMT, the contract

was trading 49 cents, or 1.69 percent, lower at 28.44. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in February was down 41 cents, or 1.39 percent, at $29.01.

“The drop was due to the Western sanctions on Iran being lifted. This means we will be seeing a bigger oil glut with Iranian crude exports coming back to the market,” said Phillip Futures analyst Daniel Ang.

He said prices rebounded on some bargain-buying. The United States and European Union lifted the sanctions on Sunday after the UN’s atomic watchdog confirmed that Iran had complied with its obliga-tions under a landmark deal

in July to curb Tehran’s nucle-ar programme. Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said that while Iranian oil could come in quickly, suppliers still need-ed to find buyers. “Iran has quite a large storage of oil at the moment. They are in a position to sell that if they choose to do so and increase supply quite quickly.”

But “they’ve got to get the buyers and that’s one of the key questions”, he said. “I think Iran’s main priority is going to be re-establishing its customer base and re-estab-lishing its market share. They will want to be doing good, sound, attractive deals for their customers.”

Ang added that Iran is like-ly to sell first the oil it has in its storage facilities before considering to ramp up pro-duction. “They were telling the market that they have quite a bit in storage. Over the longer term, I don’t know how much more they can produce considering prices are so low,” he told AFP.

Banking group ANZ said Iran is likely to offer discounts to entice buyers, leading to “further downward pressure on prices in the near-term”.

Singapore’s DBS Bank said in a research note that adjust-ed for inflation oil is now cheaper than at any time since 1998, at the height of the Asian financial crisis. DBS said expectations are that exports from Iran will grow by 300,000 barrels per day in the short term and rise to 500,000 bar-rels per day by mid-year, which would more than offset a drop in US production over the past six months.

Analysts expect supply to continue to outrun demand over the next two years, which would keep prices low.

India exports fall for 13th month; exporters brace for tough timesREUTERSNEW DELHI, JAN 18

India’s merchandise exports fell for the 13th successive month in December, as orders from the United States and Europe shrank and exporters grappled with a competitively weaker Chinese yuan.

The deteriorating global economic growth outlook and rising volatility in currency markets have dampened Indian exports, although the blow has been softened by a collapse in the country’s oil import bill.

“We are facing terrible times as orders from the US and Europe have dried up,” said SC Ralhan, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), referring to shipments to India’s two largest markets. “The slowdown in China and depreciation of its currency have further hit exports,” he said, adding that total mer-chandise exports could fall to about $250 billion in the fiscal year ending on March 31.

Exports in December fell 14.75 percent from a year earli-

er to $22.3 billion while imports stood at 33.96 billion, data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed on Monday. India’s merchandise exports declined 3.5 percent in 2014/15 to $310 billion from the previous year while imports were down 0.5 percent to $448 billion.

Cheaper Chinese exports have undercut exports of Indian engineering goods, which constitute around a quarter of total merchandise exports. Engineering exports could fall to near $60 billion in

the current fiscal year from $72 billion a year earlier, said TS Bhasin, chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council.

“My own exports are down by more than 30 percent, forc-ing me to retrench contract workers and sell in the local market at a lower price,” he said, adding more than 100,000 employees in engineering might lose their jobs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made his Make in India programme, which seeks to attract foreign invest-

ment in export-oriented man-ufacturing, a centrepiece of an economic recovery plan that needs to create a million jobs a month to succeed.

India’s trade deficit with China widened to $35.6 billion during the April-Nov period from $32.4 billion a year earli-er. During that period, its exports to China fell to $6.2 billion from $7.9 billion a year ago, reflecting a severe imbal-ance in trade between the world’s two most populous countries. The government offered a fiscal package of about 27 billion rupees ($400 million) a year, in November to provide subsidised credit to exporters, hoping it could marginally help stabilise exports in coming months.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who will present his annual budget for 2016/17 on Feb. 29, is unlikely to provide much relief to exporters, offi-cials said, as he faces a tough challenge to meet his fiscal deficit targets.

“We do not have much hope though exporters’ survival is at stake,” Ralhan from the FIEO said.

n A file photo shows containers stacked outside the container terminal of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai, India. REUTERS

World tourism numbers hit record ‘1.18b’ in 2015AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEMADRID, JAN 18

The number of international tourists rose by 4.4 percent worldwide in 2015 to hit a record 1.18 billion despite con-cerns over terrorism, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation said Monday.

Tourism arrivals were up by 5.0 percent in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas but fell by 8.0 percent in North Africa where nations like Tunisia were hit by terrorist attacks, it said in a statement. It is the sixth consecutive year of above average growth in global tourism since the 2009 economic crisis, the Madrid-based body said.

The UN World Tourism Organisation had predicted international tourism arrivals would increase by 3.0-4.0 per-cent in 2015, after expanding by 4.7 percent in the previous year. Global tourism figures were hard hit by the global financial crisis, declining 4.0 percent in 2009 as an outbreak of swine flu also contributed to cash-strapped people stay-ing at home but have risen in

each year since.Tunisia’s tourism industry

was badly shaken in March by an attack on the Bardo muse-um in Tunis, followed by one in June in the resort of Sousse, that killed a total of 59 tour-ists. These attacks and others in the region came as North African and Middle Eastern countries struggle to regain the trust of holidaymakers scared off by the Arab Spring

uprisings that swept the region in 2011.

“We are facing now a global threat,” the head of the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, told a news conference before appealing for governments to do all they can to boost securi-ty. The UN World Tourism Organisation predicts inter-national tourism arrivals will increase by 4.0 percent during this year.

n Tourists walk along the beach as fishermen paddle their boat near the shores of the Indian Ocean in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa on Monday. REUTERS

moneybazaar IVTuesday, January 19, 2016 | thekathmandupost

Russian markets, ruble tumbleMOSCOW: Russian stock markets and the ruble fell fur-ther on Monday as the currency edged closer to a histor-ic low on the back of a fresh slump in oil prices. The ruble dropped at the start of trading to 78.85 to the dollar, nearing its record of just over 80 that it hit when the cur-rency tumbled dramatically in December 2014. Russia’s dollar-denominated RTS index fell by some 2.96 percent in early trading by around 07:20 GMT, meaning that it has shed some 16 percent since the start of the year. Russia—whose energy-reliant economy has already been pushed into recession by low oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine—has been rocked again by a fur-ther slump in prices. A barrel of Brent crude dropped briefly below 28 dollars on fears of oversupply after the international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear pro-gramme were lifted. (AFP)

US to pay Iran $1.7b in debt, interestWASHINGTON: The United States is to repay Iran a $400 million debt and $1.3 billion in interest dating to the Islamic revolution, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday. The repayment, which settles a suit brought under an international legal tribunal, is separate from the tens of billions of dollars in frozen foreign accounts that Iran can now access after the end of nuclear sanc-tions. But the timing of the announcement, one day after the implementation of the Iran nuclear accord, will be seen as pointing to a broader clearing of the decks between the old foes. US President Barack Obama defended the settlement in a televised statement from the White House, saying it was for “much less than the amount Iran sought.” “For the United States, the settle-ment could save us billions of dollars that could have been pursued by Iran. There was no benefit to the United States in dragging this out,” he said. (AFP)

Wipro posts 2 percent profit riseBENGALURU: Wipro Ltd, India’s third-largest software ser-vices exporter, posted a 2 percent rise in quarterly net profit on Monday, in line with street estimates, as it added 39 new customers during the quarter. The operat-ing margins for its IT services business, however, fell to 20.2 percent in the quarter ended December, from 21.8 percent a year earlier, due to heavy flooding in Chennai city, where it employs about 13 percent of its staff. Wipro forecast its IT services revenue to be in the band of $1.88 billion to $1.91 billion for the March quarter, an up to 4 percent rise over the preceding quarter, after it grew by a moderate 0.3 percent in the December quarter over the July-September period. Wipro earlier this month named Abidali Neemuchwala as its new chief executive, as it looks to regain market share from larger local outsourc-ing competitors. Neemuchwala will start in his new role from Feb. 1. (REUTERS)

Singapore exports slide in DecemberSINGAPORE: Singapore exports fell more than expected in December as a slump in sales to China deepened, adding to worries that global headwinds will keep the trade-de-pendent economy on a wobbly footing this year. The data could revive expectations that the central bank will ease its monetary policy again in April or in an off-cycle move before that, especially as oil prices continue to tumble. Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) slid 7.2 percent in December from a year earlier, trade agency International Enterprise Singapore said in a statement on Monday, missing the median forecast of a 5.1 percent contraction in a Reuters poll. That compared with a 3.4 percent con-traction in November. “Today’s NODX print reinforced our view that risks to the growth outlook is clearly skewed to the downside and could possibly elicit a fur-ther calibration in policy settings,” said Weiwen Ng, an ANZ economist in Singapore. (REUTERS)

Reliance Com, Jio to trade 4G airwaves MUMBAI: Reliance Communications Ltd has agreed to trade airwaves in nine service areas with the upcoming 4G telecommunications venture of Reliance Industries Ltd, the companies said on Monday. Reliance Communications, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, will also share its airwaves in the 800 megahertz band with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd in 17 service areas, the companies said in separate statements, without disclos-ing the financial details. Reliance Industries, controlled by Anil’s elder brother and India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, is preparing for the commercial launch of the nation’s biggest 4G broadband network. (REUTERS)

Nifty posts 20-month closing lowMUMBAI: Indian stocks posted their lowest close in 20 months on Monday, dragged down by index heavyweight Reliance Industries after crude oil fell to its lowest since 2003, while data showed the country’s exports shrunk for a 13th straight month. The Nifty ended 1.17 percent lower at 7,351, its lowest close since May 30, 2014. The Sensex ended 1.09 percent lower at 24,188.37, its lowest close since May 16, 2014. Both indexes marked their third con-secutive session of losses. (REUTERS)

India wants NALCO to buy back sharesNEW DELHI: The finance ministry wants state-run NALCO to buy back 25 percent of its shares from the government worth 32.5 billion rupees ($481 million), a senior govern-ment official told Reuters, as the government’s plans to raise about $10 billion from asset sales fall way short of targets. “The market scenario for divestments is not good,” Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar said on Monday. “NALCO had already agreed to buy back 10 per-cent but their board will now decide whether to purchase more.” Last week the finance ministry wrote to the mines ministry, which controls the government’s 89 per-cent holding in NALCO, seeking help to raise more much-needed funds. The government has managed to raise less then a fifth of the roughly $10 billion it had projected in divestments for 2015-2016. (REUTERS)

BIZLINE

C M Y K

veggie market

n A general view of the Kalimati vegetable market in Kathmandu on Monday. POST PHOTO: SHALIGRAM TIWARI

MARKET WATCH

Vegetables Unit Price (Rs)

Fruits Unit Price (Rs)

Red Potato Kg Rs 45White Potato Kg Rs 35Onion (Indian) Kg Rs 45Tomato Small Kg Rs 35Tomato Big Kg Rs 55Squash Kg Rs 45Cabbage Kg Rs 28Egg Plant Long Kg Rs 55Cow Pea Kg Rs 85

DAILY COMMODITIES

Apple Kg Rs 105Pomegranate Kg Rs 165Mango Kg Rs 120Water Melon Kg Rs 65Orange Kg Rs 75Pineapple 1Pc Rs 95Cucumber Kg Rs 95Pear Kg Rs 190Papaya Kg Rs 75Banana Doz Rs 85Lime 100 Pcs Rs 475

Pokhreli Rice Kg Rs 70Jeera Mashino Rice Kg Rs 70Indian Bashmati Rice Kg Rs 100Mansuli Rice Kg Rs 55Sona Rice Kg Rs 50 Beaten Rice (Taichin) Kg Rs 120Beaten Rice Kg Rs 55Big Mas Kg Rs 260Small Mas Kg Rs 250Big Mung Kg Rs 220Musuro (No 1) Kg Rs 180Musuro (No 2) Kg Rs 170Rahar Kg Rs 240Chana (Big) Kg Rs 160Chana (Small) Kg Rs 150Chilli Powder Kg Rs 350

Commodities Unit Price (Rs)

INT’L MARKET

Energy Price (US$) %Change

Agriculture Price (US$) %Change

Industrial Metals Price (US$) %Change

Copper Future (Lb) 195.95 -0.84

Precious Metals Price (US$) %Change

Gold 100 Oz Futr (T Oz) 1,084.00 0.97Silver Future (T Oz) 13.85 0.71

Cocoa Future (Mt) 2,857.00 -1.21Coffee ‘C’ Future (Lb) 115.9 0.96Corn Future (Bu) 356.75 -0.35Cotton No.2 Futr (Lb) 61.73 -0.27Rough Rice (Cbot) (Cwt) 10.9 0.18Soybean Future (Bu) 877.00 -0.60Soybean Meal Futr (T) 271 -1.17Soybean Oil Futr (Lb) 29.71 -0.13Sugar #11 (World) (Lb) 14.88 2.83Wheat Future(Cbt) (Bu) 466.75 -0.43

RETAIL PRICE

Brent Crude Futr (Bbl) 30.23 -2.10Gas Oil Fut (Ice) (Mt) 283.75 0.18Gasoline Rbob Fut (Gal) 106.13 -0.66Natural Gas Futr (Mmbtu) 2.14 -0.19

GASOLINE WATCH

BULLION

SOURCE: FENEGOSIDA

Rs 49,900

Rs 49,650

Rs 675

Gold edges higher as stocks, oil slumpREUTERSLONDON, JAN 18

Gold edged higher on Monday as crude oil prices slid to 12-year lows and European stocks fell on persistent wor-ries about global growth, prompting investors to seek assets considered a safe store of value.

Gains were limited, howev-er, as the dollar firmed and oil inched up from earlier lows, pointing to a slight cooling of the risk aversion that lifted gold 1 percent on Friday. Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,089.90 an ounce at 1035 GMT, while US gold futures for February delivery were down 90 cents at $1,089.80.

Prices have risen nearly 3 percent so far this year after weak economic data in China and a fresh move lower in the yuan in early January prompt-ed a sell-off in Chinese stocks,

which spilled over into global markets. “There is always a very negative correlation with gold when you have tur-moil in stock markets,” LBBW analyst Thorsten Proettel said. “Right now we are seeing consolidation, but as we shift

perspective towards February and March, this swing to high-er prices will go on.”

Oil prices hit their lowest since late 2003 as the market braced for additional Iranian exports after the lifting of sanctions against the country

over the weekend. European shares fell 0.1 percent on Monday and Asian equities tumbled to their lowest since 2011 overnight as investors shunned risky assets after weak US economic data.

US retail sales fell in

December along with indus-trial production. The renewed weakness in the world’s top economy raises doubts about whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again in March.

“Clearly there are growing doubts among market partici-pants that the US Federal Reserve will implement a fur-ther rate hike in March,” Commerzbank said in a note. “If interest rates are not raised in the short term, the opportunity costs of holding gold will remain low for longer.”

Hedge funds and money managers switched to their first bullish bet in COMEX gold in two months in the week to Jan. 12, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday. Platinum fell to a seven-year low overnight at $817.50, hurt by fears over global growth.

QUALCOMM, CHINA PROVINCE IN $280M JVREUTERSNEW YORK, JAN 18

Qualcomm Inc and the provincial govern-ment of Guizhou in southwest China unveiled on Sunday a $280 million joint venture for the design, development and sale of advanced server technology, as the U.S. chipmaker deepens its Chinese relations.

Qualcomm officials in Beijing signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the government of Guizhou province and announced the Guizhou Huaxintong Semi-Conductor Technology Co Ltd, a joint venture with initial capital of 1.85 billion renminbi.

Qualcomm also will establish an invest-ment company in Guizhou that will serve as a vehicle for future investments in China, the company and the provincial government said in a statement. The joint venture, cooperation agreement and formation of an investment company are important steps for Qualcomm as it deepens its cooperation and investment in China, said Derek Aberle, president of Qualcomm Inc.

Aberle said in addition to its capital invest-ment, Qualcomm was licensing its server technology to the joint venture.

WhatsApp to drop subscription feesREUTERSSAN FRANCISCO, JAN 18

Mobile messaging service WhatsApp, owned by Facebook Inc, said it will no longer charge annual subscription fees and plans to test tools to allow users to communicate directly with businesses and organizations via the app.

WhatsApp, which has 900 million users worldwide and works across different types of phones, said it does not plan to launch third-party adver-tising to generate revenue.

It only charges an annual subscription fee of 99 US cents or the equivalent, which is waived for the first year, and said it would end its subscription fees over the next several weeks.

It will test tools that allow users to communicate with businesses and organizations on WhatsApp, rather than through text messages and phone calls.

“That could mean communicating with your bank about whether a recent transaction was fraudulent, or with an airline about a delayed flight,”

WhatsApp said on its blog on Monday. WhatsApp was one of the first apps

to let people send and receive text messages on smartphones, bypassing network charges, making it increas-ingly popular among younger users. It is facing growing competition from messaging app services offered by Google among others.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSEMUMBAI, JAN 18

India’s largest car maker Tata Motors on Monday appointed its first permanent chief executive since its previous head fell to his death from a hotel in Bangkok two years ago.

In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Tata Motors, the owner of luxury British brand Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), said former Airbus CEO Guenter Butschek would take over as chief executive and managing director from February 15.

Cyrus Mistry, chairman of the sprawling tea-to-software Tata Group, has been acting CEO since former chief Karl Slym apparently committed suicide in the Thai capital in January 2014.

“I am confident that Mr Butschek’s ability to lead high performing teams will enable our company to achieve sus-

tainable, profitable growth,” Mistry wrote in the statement.

Butschek will be tasked with turning around the domestic operations of Tata Motors. The Mumbai-based firm’s profits have become hugely reliant on revenues from JLR, which it bought for $2.3 billion from Ford in 2008.

NT unveils MEET social networking platformPOST REPORT KATHMANDU, JAN 18

State-owned telecom giant Nepal Telecom (NT) has unveiled a social network-ing platform named MEET, which is also expected to help NT devel-op a unified communica-tion system (UCS) to inte-grate the varied services and facilities it provides.

Minister for Infor mation and Communication Sher Dhan Rai released the web address www.meet.net.np amid a programme on Monday.

The social networking platform MEET, which has been developed at a cost of Rs102 million, per-mits people to share text,

pictures, audio and video, the telecommunications service provider said. The newly introduced product also allows the company to interact with its subscribers.

NT subscribers can log on to the platform directly through the website or through a MEET applica-tion available from Google Play Store and App Store. They have to use their

valid GSM or CDMA phone numbers to regis-ter.

Customers can send up to 10 SMS daily without charge. They can use the bulk SMS facility which allows them to send up to 5,000 SMS at a time.

“I am sure this new plat-form will help people con-nect and get closer to NT. The platform will also help to make people more aware,” Rai said, address-ing the inaugural ceremo-ny. The minister stressed the need to enhance the quality of NT’s service and increase access to remote areas.

NT Managing Director Buddhi Prasad Acharya said the company had been striving to provide

better quality service and enhance its capability to serve its customers better. “This product is in line with the company’s vision of providing new and value added services,” Acharya said. “We will continue upgrading it and introducing new facili-ties.”

As per the Nepal Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Authority (NTA), NT had 13,244,356 voice telephony subscribers as of mid-Sep-tember 2015. Among them, 11,156,138 were subscrib-ers of its GSM service. The NTA’s data shows that NT shares the leading spot in telecommunication ser-vices with Ncell. The two companies have a market share of 46 percent each.

Tata Motors gets first CEO in 2 yrs

WhatsApp, however, does not plan to launch third-party

advertising to generate revenue

n A sales woman displays a gold bracelet as she poses for pictures at a jewellery shop in Lin’an, Zhejiang province, China, July 29, 2015. REUTERS

n A handout photo shows participants of a press conference in Kathmandu on Monday.

Former Airbus CEO Guenter Butschek will take over as Tata Motors chief executive and managing

director from Feb 15