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While there has been growth in the number of five-star hotel properties in the country over the years, very few of them are publicly listed companies. As of now, only four hotel companies are listed on Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse). Now, one more hotel is planning to go public. City Hotels Limited which runs the five-star property Hyatt Place has received permission from the Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) for the initial public offering (IPO). The board has permitted the company to issue 1.674 units of ordinary shares worth Rs 167.4m at a base price of Rs 100 per share. The company is issuing 10 percent shares of its issued capital of Rs 1.674bn to the general public. City Hotels, a Golyan Group company, developed and brought the 153-room Hyatt Place into operation in Kathmandu one and a half years ago. Once the company completes IPO issuance, City Hotels Limited will be the fifth hotel company to be listed on Nepse. Till now, the hotel sector has been represented by four companies, namely Orients Hotel Ltd, Taragaon Regency Hotels Limited, Soaltee Hotel Limited, and Chandragiri Hills, in the domestic stock market. All four companies listed on the Nepse have posted net profits in the second quarter of FY 2022/23. Soaltee Hotel Limited posted a profit of Rs 251.43m in the second quarter of this fiscal, according to the company’s statement. The company posted a profit of Rs 40m during the same period of FY 2021/22. Orients Hotel Ltd. which runs a five-star property Radisson has recorded a profit of Rs 36.57m in the second quarter of FY 2022/23, compared to a loss of Rs 80m in the same period of FY 2021/22. Taragaon Regency Hotels Limited, which operates the Hyatt Regency Hotel has posted a profit of Rs 106.16m in the second quarter of this fiscal compared to a loss of Rs 1.25m in the same period of the last fiscal. The Chandragiri Hills, which operates a cable car and a five-star luxury resort in Kathmandu, reported a net profit of Rs 51.48m in the second quarter of 2022/23. The company which is the new entrant in the Nepse posted a net loss of Rs 5.8m in the second quarter of 2021/22. Among these four companies, only Soaltee Hotel Limited has announced dividends to its shareholders. The company's 48th annual general meeting decided to distribute a 26.31 percent dividend from the last fiscal year's profit.

The price of gold has dropped by Rs 2, 000 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 107, 800 per tola today. The yellow metal was traded at Rs 109, 800 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 107, 300 per tola. Similarly, the price silver has dropped by Rs 5 and is being traded at Rs 1,335 per tola today.

Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) is planning to introduce a new index 'Nepse 50' for share trading. The country's sole stock exchange aims to launch the 'Nepse 50' within the current fiscal year. According to stock exchange officials, a preliminary draft of the new index titled 'Procedures for Development, Management, and Regulation of Index, 2079' has been prepared and is currently being discussed internally within the Nepse. A senior official close to the matter said that the proposed procedure related to 'Nepse 50' is being discussed with the board of the Nepse. "Preliminary discussions are being held about this now. We are planning to launch the index next month (April)," he said. The Nepse is currently updating the data of the last five years of all the listed companies. It is said that after the data is ready, it will be tested and only after the complete procedure is ready, it will be conducted. Nepse has envisioned Nepse 50 as an index based on the share trading of 50 selected companies. The new index will comprise the top 50 companies in Nepse in terms of market capitalization and liquidity and will serve as a barometer for the Nepali stock market. According to Nepse officials, the NEPSE 50 Index will be calculated based on the market capitalization of common shares of 50 listed companies that are eligible for trading and clearing multiplied by the share trading price of that company. The companies which will be included in the Nepse 50 Index must have traded 25 percent or more of the shares to the general public. Similarly, they should have an average daily turnover of Rs 2.5 million or more for the period of six months. They should have an average daily transaction of 5,000 shares or above. The companies should have a minimum of more than 75 percent of trading days in the six months period. According to Nepse officials, the proposed index will have criteria such as maintaining the presence of companies from all sectors in the index ranging from the minimum to the highest amount, turnover share, number of turnovers, and companies with turnover. The Nepse 50 Index can later be traded as a derivative instrument.  

Nepal is preparing to propose to further enhance cooperation between India and Nepal in the energy sector during the proposed visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to the southern neighbor. While the formal announcement of Dahal’s visit to India is yet to be confirmed, Nepali officials say that the visit could take place next month. Nepali officials have started a groundwork for setting Nepal’s agenda for the upcoming visit of the Prime Minister. According to a senior official of the Ministry of Energy Water Resources and Irrigation, signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the development of the 480MW Phukot Karnali hydroelectric project could be on the list. Nepal is also seeking India’s approval for selling 50MW of Nepal’s electricity to Bangladesh through the southern neighbor’s existing transmission infrastructure. “We are holding internal discussions on keeping these matters on our agenda for discussion during the Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to India,” said the official. When it comes to exporting electricity to Bangladesh is concerned, India had earlier said that it would allow passage for exporting 50MW of power to Bangladesh provided Nepal proposes the project whose power will be sold to Bangladesh. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has recently proposed to the Indian side that it seeks to sell the power generated from the Likhu-4 Hydropower Project to Bangladesh. “This can be accomplished during Prime Minister Dahal’s visit to India,” the energy ministry official said. Nepal and Bangladesh in August last year had decided to request the southern neighbor to allow the export of 40-50 MW of Nepali electricity to Bangladesh in the initial phase by using the high-voltage Baharampur-Bheramara cross-border power transmission links. Nepali officials said that even though the export of 50MW of power from Nepal to Bangladesh would largely be a symbolic move, it would be a milestone for setting the ground for trilateral energy cooperation between Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. The energy-hungry Bangladesh has also been urging India for the pathway to import hydropower from Nepal. As Indian territory lies between the two countries, it is necessary that the southern neighbor facilitates the power trade between Nepal and Bangladesh. Currently, talks are going on between Nepali officials and India's NHPC Limited for the latter's involvement in the development of the Phukot Karnali Hydropower Project. The government-owned Vidyut Utpadan Company Limited (VUCL) is developing the project which is located in the Sannitriveni Rural Municipality of Kalikot district. As per the understanding reached with India, VUCL and NHPC will now jointly develop the project. Once the formal agreement is signed, the construction of the project will start by establishing a joint venture company between VUCL and NHPC. During the Energy Secretary-Level Joint Steering Committee meeting held in India last month, it was decided that the NHPC will join the VUCL as a co-developer to develop the project. An energy ministry source earlier had told the Annapurna Express that a draft Memorandum of Understanding was prepared during the meeting. “Once it is approved by the Cabinet, a formal MoU will be signed,” said an official of the ministry. According to energy ministry sources, NHPC will have a 51 percent stake in the joint venture. It has been proposed that Nepal will get 21.9 percent free electricity from the project. NHPC will have to arrange loan investments and guarantee the market for electricity generated from the project. VUCL received the license to develop the Phukot Karnali Hydropower Project in 2017. The company has already started the works including the acquisition of land. The company was looking for a foreign investment partner to take the project ahead. The Phukot Karnali will be the third hydropower project in Nepal in which the NHPC is involved. Last year, the company signed an MoU with Investment Board Nepal (IBN) to develop the 750 MW West Seti Project and 450 MW SR-6 Project. The Indian company has already received a survey license for the West Seti and SR-6 Joint Storage Hydroelectric Project.