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The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 200 per tola in the domestic market on Thursday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 111, 800 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 110, 600 per tola on Wednesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 111, 250 per tola. It was traded at Rs 110, 050. Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1,445 per tola today.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 9. 18 points to close at 1,857.23 points on Wednesday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 1. 19 points to close at 355. 83 points. A total of 2,155,586-unit shares of 265 companies were traded for Rs 620 billion. Meanwhile, Atmanirbhar Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 6. 09 percent. Likewise, NIBL Growth Fund was the top loser with its price dropping by 5. 35 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 70 trillion.  

For the first time in the history of the Nepali capital market, banks are all set to receive licenses to operate stock brokerage services. With the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) issuing letters of intent (LoIs) to 16 brokerage firms including seven subsidiary companies of commercial banks on Monday, the deck has been cleared for banks to get into stock broking. The subsidiary companies of seven commercial banks, namely Nabil Bank, Nepal Investment Mega Bank, Citizens Bank, Kumari Bank, NMB Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank, and Sanima Bank will be allowed to operate stock brokerage transactions. Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) was established in Nepal on January 13, 1994. In the same year, the first stock brokerage firm Sewa Securities was established. At present, there are 50 brokerage companies operating in Nepal including one stock dealer company. Banks have long sought to get permits for stock brokerage services that they intend to provide through their subsidiary companies. Sebon in 2007 introduced a policy of granting brokerage licenses to subsidiaries of BFIs. However, the plan failed after the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) issued instructions that the bank's subsidiary companies could not operate as stock brokers. Similarly, influential stock brokers also lobbied heavily to stop banks from getting stock brokerage licenses. In 2017, Sebon and the Finance Ministry again started preparations to grant brokerage licenses to BFIs. The central bank, through the monetary policy, introduced a policy that brokerage licenses could be given to the subsidiaries of BFIs. However, it again got stalled after the Parliamentary Finance Committee stopped the process. After the Finance Committee’s green signal, the Sebon amended the necessary regulations and invited applications in the third week of September last year for the new stock brokerage licenses. A total of 45 companies including the subsidiaries of the commercial banks applied for the licenses. Of the 16 companies that received LoIs from Sebon for stock brokerage licenses, 7 were the subsidiaries of commercial banks. These include Nabil Securities, Mega Stock Market, CBIL Securities, KBL Securities, NMB Securities, RBB Securities, and Sanima Securities. Nabil Securities, which has a paid-up capital of Rs 1.5 billion, has received LoI for trading of shares, and to work as a share underwriter and as a qualified institutional investor. Similarly, Mega Stock, which has paid-up capital is Rs 600 million, has received LoI to manage the investment and act as a depository member.

The recovery in tourist arrival has continued as Nepal welcomed 98,773 foreign visitors in April 2023. The latest statistics from the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) show that tourism in Nepal has largely recovered from the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The tourist footfall in April 2023 is 90.28 percent compared to April 2019 when 109,399 foreigners visited Nepal. The tourist arrival has surged by 132.67 percent in the first four months of 2023. According to NTB, 326,528 tourists visited Nepal in the first four months of 2023 compared to 140,336 during the same period of 2022. Nepal welcomed 55,074 international visitors in January, 73,255 in February, and 99,426 in March. While the number of Chinese visitors is gradually improving, Nepal received the highest number of tourists from India, the US, and the United Kingdom in April. According to NTB, 31,437 Indian tourists and 8,413 US visitors came to Nepal in April. The country welcomed 5,409 tourists from the United Kingdom, 4,770 from China, 3,828 from Australia, 3,246 from Germany, and 3,211 from France. While there has been a huge improvement in tourist arrivals this year, it is yet to touch the pre-Covid level. Nepal received 420,446 tourists in the first four months of 2019. The arrival of foreigners in the first four months of 2023 is 77.66 percent compared to the same period in 2019. With the easing of travel restrictions and China reponing outbound travel for its citizens, Nepali tourism entrepreneurs are pinning high hopes for 2023. NTB on its 24th anniversary announced that it aims to attract at least one million foreign tourists in 2023. In 2022, tourist arrivals reached over 600,000 without any significant contribution from China. Only 9,595 Chinese tourists visited Nepal in 2022. Tour operators say they are receiving increasing fresh inquiries from major source markets including China. While the FITs (free independent travelers) have already started coming to Nepal, group travelers from the northern neighbor arrived in the second week of April, the first group tour from China after the Covid-19 pandemic. The arrival of 180 Chinese trekkers in Nepal on April 13 has rekindled hopes for Nepal's tourism sector. They were the first of four batches of nearly 8,00 Chinese trekkers to visit Nepal to trek on the Poon Hill trail located some 270 kilometers west of Kathmandu. This visit has come after China included Nepal on a second list of 40 destinations for group tours that Chinese nationals could visit starting from March 15. After China reopened its door to its citizens to visit Nepal, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Nepali travel trade entrepreneurs are visiting various Chinese cities to promote Nepal tourism. Travel trade entrepreneurs say that a significant contribution of Chinese tourists would be required if Nepal wants to meet the target of one million visitors in 2023. Tourist arrivals