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With dynamic changes taking place in the energy sector, the government has started preparations to amend the Hydropower Development Policy, 2001. The two-decade-old policy is being revised in order to incorporate the latest developments and changes in the energy sector as Nepal gradually moves toward becoming a net energy exporter from a net energy importer. The Policy Research Institute (PRI), a government think tank, has been mandated with groundwork for a new hydropower development policy. For this purpose, PRI on Monday initiated discussions with the concerned stakeholders. Government officials said the current policy covers only the hydropower sector. With new technologies being practiced for electricity generation such as solar, and wind, there is a need to incorporate the concept of energy mix. "There is a need to increase domestic electricity consumption as well as investments in the sector," said Buddha Gurung, Joint Secretary at Prime Minister's Office. During the discussion organized by PRI, stakeholders stressed the need to make the policy private-sector friendly. "The investment of the private sector in hydropower has increased lately. But the government's policy is not private sector friendly," said Ganesh Karki, Vice-president of Independent Power Producers' Association, Nepal (IPPAN). "Currently, the private sector contributes 80 percent to the electricity production. Still, the private sector is ignored. If we fail to complete the hydro project on time, we have to pay a fine to the Nepal Electricity Authority. But when the NEA doesn’t construct a transmission line on time, our power goes wasted. Should we also be paid for the loss?” he said. "So the existing policy is just one-sided." Likewise, the private sector representatives also mentioned the need to allow the private sector to engage in power trading. "The participation of the private sector in electricity production has brought Nepal to this stage. Within a few years, Nepal's installed capacity will reach 8,000 MW, however, all the electricity generated will not be consumed in Nepal. It needs to be sold to India and Bangladesh, for which government initiative alone is not enough,” he said. "Now, we need the participation of the private sector to take a leap in the power trading business." During the discussion, private power producers highlighted the need to ease the overall process of hydropower development. According to them, developers have to visit multiple ministries and departments to get clearance for the hydropower project. According to them, there should be a one-desk policy. They also demanded the government bring policies to encourage the private sector to undertake large-scale power projects. Currently, hydropower projects are being developed at an average cost of Rs 200 million per MW, though in some projects it has reached up to Rs 400 million per MW. According to power producers, the private sector is ready to undertake major projects at a lower cost and the government should introduce policies to incentivize such initiatives. Speaking on the occasion, Gokarna Rajpanth, Secretary at Electricity Regulatory Commission, said the policy should be revised to cover not only hydropower but the entire energy sector. “Preparations are being made to introduce a new electricity act. The new policy should incorporate the issues not addressed by the new electricity act but also brought in such a way that would help in the implementation of the new act," he said. Netra Gyawali, CEO of Rastriya Prasaran Grid Co. Ltd. suggested that the new policy should incorporate the aspect of improving the electricity distribution system. "While we are now emphasizing increasing electricity consumption, our distribution system is not efficient," he said. "These issues should also be addressed by the new policy." Buddhi Paudel, Joint Secretary at Ministry of Forest and Environment was of the view that hydropower projects should also pay attention to water conservation. "If water and the environment are protected, the lifespan of hydropower projects will also be long," he said, "We are trying to amend the laws necessary to facilitate environmental impact assessment of hydropower projects." Arjun Kumar Gautam, CEO of HIDCL said power generation, transmission, distribution, and investment should be kept in one basket. "Earlier, the policy was introduced to increase electricity generation but the other parts were not cared for. That is why, electricity production has been increasing but consumption has not increased," he said, adding, "Along with power generation, equal focus should be given to transmission, distribution, consumption, and investment issues."

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 1, 100 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the yellow bullion is being traded at Rs 110, 000 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 111, 100 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 195, 500 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,370 per tola today.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 100 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 111, 100 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 111, 000 per tola on Monday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 110, 450 per tola. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,375 per tola today.

With a new stock exchange promoted by the private sector coming in the near future, the government-owned Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) is moving ahead with its restructuring to bring in a foreign strategic partner and domestic investors. Nepse had assigned an external expert to draft a report on its restructuring. The report has proposed to offload the ownership of the government and government agencies by adopting the practice of international capital markets. NEPSE spokesperson Murahari Parajuli said that the restructuring process has been started by changing the share structure of the stock exchange. The report has suggested keeping the company’s ownership of a single promoter not exceeding 15 percent. It is also mentioned that Nepse’s paid-up capital will reach Rs 3bn, as per the new regulatory requirement. According to the new regulation introduced by the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon), the minimum paid-up capital of the stock exchange company should be Rs 3bn. Accordingly, the report has proposed to increase Nepse's paid-up capital from the current Rs 1bn to Rs 3bn. The report has proposed to bring a foreign strategic partner in Nepse giving a 15 percent stake which will bring the government's stake down to 33.33 percent from the current 58.66 percent and give 21.67 percent to domestic institutional investors. The report suggested Nepse issue the initial public offering (IPO) amounting to 30 percent of its paid-up capital. A Nepse board meeting on April 30 has already passed a resolution in this regard and forwarded it to the Ministry of Finance for approval. “We have submitted a proposal to the ministry to change the share structure by bringing in private investment and foreign partners,” said Parajuli. “The process will move ahead after the proposal is approved by the ministry.” Nepse has planned to bring foreign strategic partners with the objective to introduce new technologies and business strategies. It also plans to bring in domestic institutions having a good track record of corporate governance. Companies like Standard Chartered Bank Nepal, Nabil Bank, and Unilever Nepal could be brought in as domestic partners. Nepse has been trying to bring in private investments since 2007. In the FY 2010\11 budget, the government theoretically agreed to privatize Nepse. However, the progress has been very slow. With Sebon now all set to issue a license for the second stock exchange, Nepse has expedited the restructuring process.