People associate the secondary market with bulls and bears. They get elated when they witness the bull charge upward, appreciating the book value of their portfolios. They get distressed when they see the bear charge downward, depreciating the worth of their stock holdings. For the majority, the market is only about the bulls and the bears every green on the screen indicates the bullish moment while every red indicates the bearish moment.

But the market is not only about these two trends. The third important trend is called a non-trending or sideways market. Such a market moves horizontally, as if traveling within a rectangular box. This situation occurs when the forces of demand and supply come closer to balancing out each other. The buyers are less interested in buying above a certain price tag, creating resistance, while the sellers are unwilling to sell below a certain price tag, providing support. Neither the buyers nor the sellers are in control of the prices. The non-trending or sideways market has no clear direction. This phenomenon occurs after a prolonged bull or bear run ends or pauses. Such a market continues for some time, providing opportunity to both the buyers and the sellers to consolidate their investment or trading positions.

The sideways market ends with breakouts, either above or below the ranged market, providing a direction. The direction could either be a continuation of the previous trend or a reversal. Since September 22, NEPSE has broken its downtrend trend and entered into a non-trending zone. 

The last eight weeks saw the bourse move between a high of 1157.80 and a low of 1121.10 in intra-day trades. The gap of 36.7 points might have motivated a few swashbuckling traders to exploit the situation by venturing to profit as the index moves between the highs and lows within the box. But this gap narrowed since September 30, with a new high of 1152 and a new low of 1127. The new gap is a measly 25 points.

The trend might be unfavourable for day-traders. The risk to return ratio for quick trading is high. But for the investors both individuals and institutions it would be one of the many cautious entry points. The general feeling in the market is that this could be a time for accumulation. Still, the index does not reflect any aggressive buying stance.

Smart money would already have entered the market through a systematic accumulation process. It will be buying at each strong support zone and waiting for further bargain or clear indications of an upswing. With the majority of companies declaring and distributing the return from the previous fiscal year of 2075/76, the market has entered into the traditional off-season period. Dismal reports of many blue-chip companies for the first quarter have further triggered a decline on the demand side. 

This signalled a continuation of the bearish trend, at least until the second quarter reports do not present good results. But if the current sideways market continues for another month or two, the demand could outweigh the supply and we could witness the start of the reversal process.

Xiaomi introduces Redmi Note 8 Pro

Xiaomi, a global technology leader, announced this week the much-awaited Redmi Note 8 series of smartphones. With a multitude of world firsts, including a quad-camera setup, the Redmi Note 8 series looks set to disrupt the smartphone segment all over again.

With a powerful 64MP quad camera setup paired with an equally capable chipset, Redmi Note 8 Pro is an absolute beast. The camera setup extends to the front with a 20MP selfie shooter.

The octa-core Helio G90T mobile platform brings unprecedented gaming capability to this segment. With a refreshed Aura Design featuring an exquisite Gamma Green color and dual Corning® Gorilla® Glass 5, Redmi Note 8 Pro is a rare combination of a beautiful, ergonomic design with awesome insides. The rear facade of Redmi Note 8 Pro sports 3D curved glass, creating an ergonomic hand feel with a thickness of only 8.8 mm. All-day battery life has been a hallmark of the Note series and this time a 4500mAh battery (18W charger in box) ensures that one gets the best of gaming and photography all day long.

Redmi Note 8 Pro is available in 6GB + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 128GB storage variants for Rs 26,999, Rs 29,999 and Rs 32,999 respectively. The phone has three color variants namely Gamma Green, Halo White and Shadow Black.

Marvelous Me Season 1 ends

Vogue Lust Entertainment’s Marvelous Me Season 1 fashion show concluded this week with Prakash Mishra winning the title prize. Ten out of the 52 participants who went through a three-month-long rigorous training program presented themselves at the final event held at the Revive Hotel, Mahalaxmisthan. The final contestants then went through a talent round, a Q&A round and other activities. The panel of judges consisted of rapper/film producer/social activist Surendra Gurung (Hakim), media-person Suman Kumar Sigdel and the winner of Mister World 2019, Akshay Jung Rayamajhi.

Sunway International holds graduation ceremony

Sunway International Business School affiliated to Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur with Tribhuvan University Equivalence conducted its Grand Convocation Ceremony at the Soaltee Crown Plaza this week. A total of 35 graduates for Master of Business administration were conferred degree this year, according to the institution.

Abdul Rahman Bin Zakaria – Registrar of Infrastructure University of Kuala Lumpur was the chief guest for the ceremony. Pramod Poudel, Academic Director at Sunway International Business School in his commencement speech highlighted five aspects of leading a successful life for graduates namely kindness, purpose, career, time and happiness.

Corporate interview: Sachin Mehta

How satisfied are you with your Nepali presence and have you been reaching your sales target?

William Grant and Sons is a Family owned business, our partnerships with our distributors is very important for us. We work very closely with them across the globe, we are very glad of the partnership we have here.

Nepal has been a unique experience so far. We know the country has gone through a fair amount of churn and has its own challenges. The way people have evolved with the country’s political journey has been great. I think they should be proud of it. At the same time, one does realize that the journey and challenges is still ongoing, and there are needs that need to be met first. That said, the Nepalese are well travelled, aware of the global brands and trends at par with the people of other developing markets. That has a bearing on premium categories like ours. Consequently, we have grown well so far, thanks to the love for our liquid and our brands that consumers have over here.

Compared to other premium brands in the same price range and quality, your brand is relatively new and unknown in Nepal. How big of a challenge is this?

There is an inherent difference in the categories itself. Today the consumer continuously wants to upgrade to products and brands that offer higher value. What we bring to the table are unique products that offer consumers an opportunity to upgrade and enjoy our brands, which comes at a price. We have a wide range of products some of them operate in luxury category catering to those needs. Today the aware consumer is willing to pay more for better value and that is what we offer.

For most international brands in Nepal sales are usually focused in Kathmandu. Have you had a different experience?

We certainly have a presence in various parts of Nepal as there are relevant consumers across. But the fact remains that the majority of sales is centered in and around Kathmandu. Kathmandu has enormous consumption volumes for our brand compared to rest of Nepal. I think that is the same for other products in the category. I believe that there is an opportunity for nationwide sales, especially in areas with high tourism and industries.

Nepal is a small country with heavy taxes and strict alcohol regulations. How does that affect an international brand like yours?

Despite its size, Nepal is a developing nation in South Asia. A developing market always has huge opportunities. If you look at the average age in Nepal, it has a young population. People are traveling across the world, and they have high remuneration and exposure. This creates disposable incomes which means people now value products and brands and trends happening all over the world.

Alcohol is seen differently in different parts of the world. In many countries, alcohol is not the best cultural fit. What one cannot ignore is that governments also need revenue from this category, like other luxury and lifestyle categories.  People involved in policy making for alcohol need to have a medium to long term approach. Culturally, this is a country where drinking is not a taboo. Where alcohol is a part of tradition and culture there should not be too much control from a taxation or regulation point of view. Too much control is never good. We have all seen such practices becoming counterproductive. We work in many countries and always encourage responsible drinking.

NMB ‘Pre Approved Home Loan’ facility

NMB Bank has announced the launch of ‘NMB Pre Approved Home Loan’ facility. Customers vying for home loans can now have their loan limits approved prior to selecting the intended property. Approval of the required loan limit is based on an individual’s repayment capacity, without prior assessment of the collateral. “The loan facility intends to erase the dilemma customers face in ascertaining the loan limit, and facilitate in obtaining the most suitable option in property supplemented by their earnings,” a statement by the bank reads.

Daraz 11.11 breaks records

Daraz, Nepal’s biggest online marketplace, has successfully completed its much-awaited 11.11 campaign with record-breaking numbers. The celebration officially entered Nepal with Alibaba’s 2018 acquisition of Daraz. This year, the popular online shopping platform sold over 150,000 products during the sale out, of which 40 percent products have already been dispatched. Daraz saw orders from across the country covering more than 24 cities. On the day, Daraz engaged over 350,000 users, an increase of 75 percent compared to 2018. The Daraz website had a mammoth 5,233,344 page views during the sale.