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With the country's capital market going through a bearish run, the income of commercial banks from share investments has taken a huge beating in this fiscal year. The third quarter financial report shows banks' share trading income has decreased by 36.73 percent on average. The 21 commercial banks operating in the country have earned Rs 4.08 billion from share trading till mid-April 2023 compared to Rs 6.45 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year. In the last fiscal year, the stock market was on a bullish trend which pushed the share income of banks higher. However, such income of banks has declined this year as the Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) is going through a lean period. The benchmark index is currently hovering below 1,900 points. Among the commercial banks, Standard Chartered Bank Nepal has earned the highest income from share trading by the end of the third quarter of the current fiscal year. The bank posted earnings of Rs 447.2 million during this period followed by Nabil Bank with Rs 377 million and Global IME Bank with Rs 366 million. The Agricultural Development Bank Limited has posted a loss in the share trading in this fiscal. The third quarter report shows the bank suffered a loss of Rs 22.45 million this year from share trading. The bank also incurred a loss of Rs 76.79 million in share trading during the same period of the last fiscal year. While the banks' share trading income has decreased, two banks have managed to increase such income this year. The income from share trading of Nepal SBI Bank and Machhapuchchhre Bank increased in the third quarter compared to the last fiscal year Machhapuchchhre posted an earning of Rs 273.38 million in the period, an increase of 51 percent from Rs 181.5 million in the same period of the last fiscal year. Similarly, Nepal SBI's share trading income increased to Rs 236.6 million in the third quarter, a jump of 29 percent from Rs 183.2 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 100 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 109, 200 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 109, 100 per tola on Friday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 108, 700 per tola. It was traded at Rs 108, 600 per tola. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,415 per tola today.

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), which is currently importing electricity from India to manage the power supply within the country, is gearing up for electricity export to its southern neighbor from the third week of May. As the water level in the rivers is increasing with the start of pre-monsoon rainfall and melting of snow due to summer heat, NEA has said that electricity generation from big power plants will increase, enabling it to start power export from the third week of May. The authority started to export electricity to India last year from the first week of June. As the installed capacity of electricity has increased by 700MW over the past year, NEA believes it can export more electricity this year compared to last year. NEA Executive Director Kulman Ghising said that the state-owned power utility will start exporting electricity from the third week of May. "As the pre-monsoon season is approaching, the flow of water in the rivers will increase," said Ghising, "We have started making our internal preparations accordingly." According to NEA, there have been rains across the country in the last two weeks and electricity generation has also increased. The authority claims that electricity generation will further increase after the pre-monsoon begins. Although Nepal has started exporting surplus electricity to India during the wet season, it has to import electricity in the dry season to meet the power demand. It is because almost all of the power production in the country is based on run-of-the-river hydropower plants. The dry season runs from December to April while the wet season lasts from May to November. According to NEA, the run-of-the-river type hydropower projects usually produce less than 40 percent of their installed capacity as water levels in the rivers decrease significantly during the dry season. During the wet season, when there is more water in the river, the electricity generation is also higher. At that time, the production is more than the demand in Nepal. The excess electricity is exported to India. Now, the NEA plans to export 1,200 MW this year to India. The NEA has been selling electricity in the day-ahead market of Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IX) through daily bidding. Currently, the southern neighbor has allowed Nepal to sell 452.6 MW of electricity generated by 10 hydropower projects in the Indian power market. But the approvals given to the 10 hydropower projects need to be renewed every year. NEA has forwarded the list of additional projects including the 452 MW Upper Tamakoshi Project, the electricity of which it plans to sell to India. If the southern neighbor accepts the new list, the state-owned power utility can be able to export power according to its target. As per NEA's estimation, the country's installed capacity will reach 2,800 MW by this wet season. With peak electricity demand in Nepal around 1,750 MW, the NEA believes it can export up to 1,200 MW during the wet season. Nepal earned over Rs 11 billion by supplying excess power to India from early June to mid-December, 2022. Nepal first started exporting power to India in early November 2021 through a competitive bidding process. But after exporting for a few weeks, Nepal stopped selling power to India in December amid a reduction in power generation in the dry season. Exports resumed in 2022 with the start of the monsoon in early June. The NEA sold 1.35 billion units of electricity to India since then and earned Rs 11.16 billion. The power was sold at a rate between Rs 6.58 and Rs 12.15 a unit. NEA earned Rs 2.83 billion from exports from July to the end of the last fiscal year 2021/22 and an additional Rs 8.32 billion since the start of the new fiscal year 2022/23. The authority has set a target of Rs 16 billion within the current fiscal after resuming exports in May.

The government has amended the Transport Management Procedures Guidelines 2060 BS to remove the legal hurdles to registering vehicles manufactured and assembled in Nepal. The latest move of the government came after the Nepali electric two-wheeler company Yatri Motorcycles warned to cease its production as older rules continue to prevent registration of domestically manufactured vehicles. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal instructed to amend the guidelines to remove the legal complications for domestic vehicle manufacturers. Issuing a notice on Thursday, the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) said manufacturers can now register their vehicles after the government revised the guidelines and added a point '11.1.9' to it which allows the registration of vehicles that are assembled in Nepal by importing parts from abroad or are fully manufactured in the country. After the amendment of the guidelines, producers have been exempted from submitting proof of opening the letter of credit (LC) for the registration of vehicles. The revision of the guidelines has cleared the way to register all types of electric, petrol and diesel vehicles made in Nepal.