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Smart Telecom has lost its telecom license after failing to clear the dues and renewal fees it owes to the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA). The embattled telco's license got revoked automatically as it failed to pay the dues within the stipulated time of Sunday. Smart Telecom has to clear Rs 28bn in dues to NTA to renew its license. With the company losing its operating permit, NTA has advanced the process of asset management of Smart Telecom. A board meeting of the telecommunications sector regulator on Monday decided on the takeover of the company by the government on the basis of Property Management Regulations, 2079 BS. The government on the second week of December last year issued the Regulations for managing the property of telecommunications services providers who do not have valid licenses. The NTA board meeting decided to instruct Smart Telecom to hand over its telecommunication infrastructure, systems and network in accordance with Rule 9 of Sub-rule 1 of the Regulations. The company is required to pay Rs 23bn for license renewal and Rs 5bn as dues. According to NTA Co-spokesperson Achyutananda Mishra, the license of Smart Telecom was automatically revoked following non-payment of renewal fees and dues. After the cancellation of the license, the NTA has written a letter to Smart Telecom to hand over the property within 15 days. According to Mishra, a committee led by NTA board member Gokarna Sitaula will oversee the takeover of Smart Telecom. In the first phase, the authority has planned to proceed with the property evaluation of the company. Smart Telecom received the basic telephone services operating license on April 15, 2013, and had to renew the license by paying dues and renewal fees before the permit term expires. However, the company had defaulted in clearing the dues in the past and had sought an extension from the government several times. The then KP Sharma Oli-led government had allowed the company to clear the dues in five installments. Even then, Smart Telecom was not able to clear the outstanding amount. The Singapore-based Lal Sahu Distribution Pte. Ltd. has a majority stake of 70 percent in Smart Telecom. By using political influence, the company in the past had been successful in getting extensions to pay dues as well as securing its license even when the regulator revoked it. This time also, the promoters of the company did intense political lobbying to secure the license, but to no avail. On July 29, 2019, NTA revoked the license of Smart Telecom. However, the company succeeded in rolling back the authority's decision after it filed a review application at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology within five months. Smart Telecom moves court While the NTA has set a deadline of 15 days for the transfer of assets, Smart Telecom has gone to court to safeguard its license. The company had filed a case at the Patan High Court demanding to reserve the license. On behalf of Smart Telecom, Ramnath Bantha Tharu filed a case in the Patan High Court on Thursday making the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, NTA, and its chairman the defendants. However, the Patan High Court has issued only a show cause notice in the case filed by Smart Telecom not the interim order. A bench of Justice Dipendra Bahadur Bam's bench issued a show cause order on Monday and called for a discussion on the interim order. Only after the discussion, the court will decide whether or not to issue an interim order. The show cause order of the court will not stop NTA to proceed with work related to the takeover of Smart Telecom.

The Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA) has planned to extend the deadline for insurance companies to increase their paid-up capital by three months. As the majority of insurance companies' paid-up capital is below the regulatory requirement, the NIA extended the deadline to mid-July, 2023. The authority is pushing for a consolidation drive in the insurance sector by increasing the minimum paid-up capital requirements for both life and non-life insurance companies. A year ago, NIA required non-life insurers to have Rs 2bn in paid-up capital, while it is Rs 5bn for life insurance companies, by mid-April 2023. According to the NIA Chairman Surya Prasad Silwal, the companies failing to meet the new capital requirement have been given one chance. NIA has said that insurance companies such as Prabhu Insurance, Asian Life Insurance, and Rastriya Beema Company have not made substantial efforts to raise capital. These companies have to go for mergers to increase their paid-up capital. The authority is discouraging companies to issue the right shares for the purpose of capital increment. After the NIA issued the directive on paid-up capital increment, only four insurance companies raised their capital as per the regulatory requirement. Among the life insurance companies, the paid-up capital of Nepal Life Insurance Company is above Rs 5bn. Three non-life insurance companies - Shikhar Insurance, Siddhartha Premier Insurance, and Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance have also met the regulatory obligation. With NIA pushing for capital increment, the majority of insurers have opted for mergers. Of the 19 insurance companies involved in the merger process, six companies have merged to become three and have started their integrated business while 13 others are still in the process of completing their mergers. NIA has recently given its final approval to the merger between IME General Insurance and Prudential Insurance. Similarly, Sanima Life Insurance and Reliance Life Insurance have also received a final nod for the merger from the regulator. In the case of insurance companies having foreign investments such as MetLife, and The Oriental Insurance, their foreign promoters are said to be injecting additional capital to meet the regulatory requirement. Meanwhile, Citizen Life, Sun Nepal Life, IME Life, and Reliable Life are yet to issue initial public offerings (IPOs).  

At a tourism promotion program organized by the Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents, Gandaki Province with the assistance of Pokhara metropolis, discussion was held with Indian tourism entrepreneurs on the agendas such as tourism potentials of Pokhara and its hospitality services. On the occasion, tourism entrepreneurs of Pokhara said Pokhara was a must-visit destination naturally and culturally. Likewise, tourism entrepreneurs of Patana had reflected their experience and feeling in Pokhara. On the occasion, Pokhara Tourism Council Chairperson Pom Narayan Shrestha said Pokhara was one of the beautiful destinations of the world, adding their notion of welcoming guests as God has added value to the tourism culture of the area. “Pokhara is a potential tourism destination where the general public of neighboring India can easily visit and take joy of its scenic beauty”, he said, adding, “Nepal has a geographical proximity with India. Besides, both the nations have enjoyed mutual fraternity since time immemorial”. Highlighting tourism activities, including sight-seeing of majestic Himalayan range and tourism adventures in Pokhara, he expressed readiness to ever welcome Indian tourists. NATTA Gandaki province chairperson Hariram Adhikari said India was the important tourism source market for Pokhara and Nepal. Pokhara was worth visiting and exploring in any season, he said, adding the objective of the promotional programme was to know problems experienced by Indian tourists during their visit to Pokhara if any and design solutions in coming days. Also speaking on the occasion, Secretary of Tourism Association of Bihar, Prakash Chandra termed Pokhara as one of their preferred destinations. Most of the Indian tourists generally spend a good amount of money during their visits, he suggested the entrepreneurs to make online payment easy and smooth in Pokhara. Senior tourism consultant of Patana, Sanjaya Sharma stressed the need to enhance Pokhara-Patana connectivity through direct flights. He highlighted the importance of efforts from both sides for direct air connectivity. He also suggested making road connectivity between Pokhara and Patana easier and convenient to promote tourism. Vice-chairperson of Pokhara Metropolis Tourism Development Committee, Rabindra Raj Poudel urged Indian tourists to come to Pokhara to take joy in diverse tourism activities including religious visits and adventurous tourism engagement. On the occasion, the entrepreneurs also discussed business to business (B2B) partnership and collaboration for tourism promotion. As informed, the Nepali delegation would reach Banaras today and discuss with the local tourism entrepreneurs and media persons. The delegation would return to Pokhara on April 21 after completing promotional programs in Ayodhya and Gorakhpur after Banaras.  

The gold is being traded at Rs 110, 000 per tola in the domestic market on Tuesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 109, 500 per tola. However, the price of silver has dropped by Rs 35 and is being traded at Rs 1,435 per tola today.