Submit your Article

The price of gold has increased by Rs 1, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 110, 800 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 109, 800 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 110, 250 per tola. Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,450 per tola today.

Amid increasing criticism over the policy measures of the central bank, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari on Tuesday said that the central bank has no role in determining the interest rates. Adhikari's comments have come on the same day when Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Finance Minister Prakash Saran Mahat assured the private sector of lowering the interest rates. Stating that the central bank has left determining interest to the market since 1989, Adhikari said banks will determine the interest rates based on the availability of liquidity in the financial system. Addressing a press meet organized by the NRB on Tuesday, Adhikari said that it is up to the market to determine the interest rates. "If the liquidity flow in the market eases, the interest rate will automatically decrease. If the liquidity is in short supply, the interest rate will automatically increase," said Adhikari. According to Adhikari, it is wrong to say that economic activities declined due to the increase in interest rates. "This is not the first time that the interest rates have reached this level," he said, "In the past, the deposit interest rate was up to 13 percent, but people did not demand to low the interest rate. Why is there such a demand now?" Adhikari assured that the banking system in the country is safe and will not be shaken by smaller shocks. The capital adequacy ratio of banks and financial institutions is above 13 percent. "This is the strong side of Nepali banks," he said. However, the governor cautioned that the non-performing loans will increase slightly in the coming days. "The 'evergreening' of loans has been stopped and bad loans may increase due to problems in the real sector, Adhikari said, "But it will not affect the stability of our financial system." The central bank has said that the external sector of the economy has improved a lot compared to last year. Major indicators such as the current account balance, foreign exchange reserves, and remittances have shown promising signs over the last couple of months. According to Adhikari, a high-level study committee has been formed to resolve the problems of the microfinance sector. "Further decisions will be taken on the basis of the report submitted by the committee," he said.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 27.31 points to close at 1,871.33 points on Tuesday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 5. 79 points to close at 355. 45 points. A total of 3,315,720-unit shares of 262 companies were traded for Rs 945 billion. Meanwhile, Kalinchowk Darshan Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Sanima Middle Tamor Hydropower Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 3. 54 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 72 trillion.

With the Supreme Court clearing the deck, applications for new stock exchange and commodity exchange companies will be invited again. After the Supreme Court dismissed the writs filed against the license issuance on Sunday, the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) said that it would invite applications again for new stock exchange and commodity exchange while it would distribute licenses to brokerage firms based on the earlier applications. According to Sebon Chairman Ramesh Kumar Hamal, the board will hold a meeting and decide to call for proposals for the license of the new stock exchange and commodity exchange after formally receiving the court decision. "The call for licenses for new stock exchanges and commodity exchanges will be made soon," he said, adding, "Broker's license is distributed on the basis of applications already received." The board plans to open applications for stock exchange and commodity exchange with a deadline of 15 days. On September 18, 2022, Sebon issued a public notice inviting interested firms to get brokerage licenses. After the Supreme Court's interlocutory interim order in the first week of November, Sebon stopped the process of issuing new licenses to new stock exchanges, commodity exchanges, and stock brokerage firms. Currently, Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) is the only stock exchange in Nepal. Nepse is jointly owned by the government, Nepal Rastra Bank, and Employees' Provident Fund. Established with a working capital of Rs 35m, the capital of Nepse was later increased to Rs 1bn. Now the board is planning to establish another stock exchange from the private sector. The minimum paid-up of the new stock exchange has been set at Rs 3bn. As of now, commodity exchange has not yet been legally operational in Nepal. The board had previously called for proposals for granting licenses to commodity exchanges twice. The board plans to issue licenses to two commodity exchanges for now. As for the broker licenses, Nepse has issued recommendations for broker licenses to 45 companies. There is a provision that any company seeking a brokerage license from Sebon must first get a recommendation from Nepse. Most of the 45 companies that received recommendations are eligible for first-level broker services based on the capital structure set by the board. The capital requirement for a new broker license has been fixed between Rs 200m to Rs 1.5bn. Brokers will be issued three different types of licenses based on their capital structure.