Central bank postpones deadline for use of electronic cheque till fiscal year end

As the central bank has postponed use of electronic cheque till mid-July, the banks and financial institutions that are the members of the Nepal Clearing House Ltd (NCHL) are mandated to use electronic cheque clearance (ECC) service from the start of the next fiscal year.

Differing the earlier deadline, the central bank has directed the banks to issue electronically readable standard cheques by the end of the current fiscal year.

This is the second postponement as earlier in October, postponing the earlier deadline, the central bank had asked the banks to start use of machine-readable cheques by mid-January, 2014.

In April 2013, the central bank had for the first time directed the banks and financial institutions to start using the fixed mid-July, 2013.

The banks and financial institutions have to issue new cheques according to Cheques Standards and Specifications Guidelines 2011 – instead of current ordinary cheques – to make the cheques compatible for electronic clearing.

The standard cheques will have a character recognition technology that will help facilitate the processing of cheques and will have the routing number and account number at the bottom of a cheque.

Though, Nepal Clearing House started electronically clearing Nepali currency cheques from April 2012, with Automatic Check Truncation and clearing systems with the current normal cheques, it still has not been able to make all the banks and financial institutions its members. Currently, it has

"NCHL-ECC is an image-based, cost-effective, magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) cheque processing and settlement solution, where an original paper cheque is converted into an image for electronic processing of the financial transactions between participating member banks and financial institutions," according to NHCL. "The physical movement of the cheques are truncated or stopped at the presenting bank and the cheques' images are electronically moved between the presenting and paying banks resulting in a faster and easier processing of the cheque transactions.

Ministry plans to propose to declare half dozen industries sick

Ministry of Industry is planning to recommend the cabinet to declare half a dozen industries including Pokhara-based Fulbari Resort and Chitwan-based Chitwan Wildlife Lodge as sick industries.

Based on the recommendation of a technical committee, the ministry is planning to recommend necessary facilities to revive them.

The ministry has to however seek inputs from Ministry of Tourism and Forest and Soil Conservation Ministry in the case of hotel Fulbari and Chitwan Wildlife Lodge.

A high-level committee led by former National Planning Commission (NPC) vice chair Deependra Bahadur Kshetry had suggested various facilities – including passage to exit from the business, providing loans at low interest rates, tax exemption and relaxation in loans provided earlier for industries that can be operated again – based on the degree of their sickness.

The industries that are prone to turn sick, they could be provided soft loan for a year, the committee had suggested.

The ministry had earlier proposed the cabinet to endorse Nepal Boards Ltd in Bara, Basuling Sugar Mill in Kailali, Birat Leather Industries and Birat Shoes Company in Hetauda as sick industries. But the cabinet has not decided yet.

Action plan on economic diplomacy in pipeline

The government is planning to bring an economic diplomacy action plan that is expected to promote tourism and attract investment in hydropower, apart from helping solve problems of Nepali migrant workers.

The government has also formed a high-level coordination committee led by Minister for Foreign Affairs, apart from setting up an economic diplomacy desk at the ministry, and also in Nepali diplomatic missions in foreign countries.

"Economic diplomacy is one of the important aspects of foreign policy," minister for Foreign Affairs Madhav Prasad Ghimire said, at an interaction here today.

There is a need of crafting new vision and restructuring existing mechanism for its effective enforcement, he said, recommending to set up bilateral chamber of commerce by private sector in foreign countries, add more honourary consulate generals, organise trade and investment fairs and appoint tourism advisors by Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

Senior economist Prof Dr Biswambhar Pyakurel, on the occasion, stressed the need to lay emphasis on quality service and production apart from boosting foreign trade based on the principle of comparative costing.

Likewise, president of Non Resident Nepalis Association (NRNA) Shesh Ghale called for coordination on concrete agenda for economic diplomacy. "The NRNA has presence in 65 countries across the globe," he said, adding that the association is helping promote Nepal abroad.

"Nepali embassies should be made hospitable and business-friendly as Nepal has been famous for tourism in the world," advised president of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) Shyam Kachhapati, on the occasion.

The officiating secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shankar Bairagi informed about the policy-level decision and structural changes to boost economic diplomacy.

Government committed to complete Upper Tamakoshi on time

The government is committed to bring the Upper Tamakoshi hydropower into operation after mid-July 2016.

Asking the developers today to expedite the 456- megawatt Upper Tamakoshi powerhouse construction and land acquisition to build transmission lines as soon as possible secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers Krishna Hari Baskota said that the hydropower project is one of the national pride projects. "It should not face any shortages of budget or staff," he said, asking the developers to concentrate on completing construction of pen-stock shaft, powerhouse, transmission lines and sub stations on time.

The hydel project financed by the domestic resources is going to float shares to the public replicating the success of Chilime Hydropower.

After the issue of public share, the share structure of the run-of-the-river project in Dolakha district will be; Nepal Electricity Authority's 41 per cent, Nepal Telecom (six per cent), Citizen Investment Trust (two per cent), Rastriya Beema Sansthan (two per cent), public (15 per cent), locals of Dolakha (10 per cent), and clients of Employees Provident Fund, and employees of Tamakoshi Hydropower Company, NEA and lending institutions (24 per cent).

Rs 35.29 billion project has so far spent Rs 16.29 billion, Baskota informed, adding that works are underway on all four fronts of civil construction, hydromechanical and electromechanical equipment designing and installation, and building of transmission lines and substations. "Around 51 per cent of work on building concrete structure at headworks is complete."

The project has signed Power Purchase Agrement (PPA) with NEA to sell the electricity generated at  a cost of Rs 3.63 during wet season and Rs 6.98 during dry season per unit.

Nepal, Mongolia plan business promotion

Nepali and Mongolian private sector representatives today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote business and investment at the non-government level.

Arliyanhath Shendiyan Import and Export Trading Company Ms Naratasetseg Bolorma and Naratsetseg Gaanbatar and representatives of Smriddhi Bio Engineering, Safa Chuarsi Byanjan, Energy Link and Everest Energy Cooperative Hem Bahadur Bista, Suraj Giri, Tek Prasad Chaulagain and Bikram Bista signed a MoU today on behalf of their respective institutions to strengthen the business and investment relations.
The representatives of Arliyanhath Shendiyan Import and Export Trading Company, the Ullanbator- based company is running a large super store in Ullanbator from July.

The super store will set up Nepal centre, according to the agreement.