Nepalis require visa to enter India via China, Pakistan

Nepali nationals must have visa, if they are entering India from Pakistan, China, Hong Kong and Macau, according to a notice issued by the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi.
Likewise, Nepalis travelling to Gulf countries – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Lebanon – are required to acquire No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the respective Nepali Embassies, it reads, adding that a traveller is required to submit an application to the respective embassy along with relevant documents, including employment permit to get the NOC. “A citizen of Nepal must have a visa for India, if he or she is entering India from China, Macau, Hong Kong and Pakistan.”

SAFE to organise third conference

South Asian Federation of Exchanges (SAFE) is holding the third edition of its flagship conference 'South Asian Capital Markets Conference-2010' in Mauritius on April 22-25.

The conference is being jointly organised by SAFE with the support of the Global Board of Trade (GBOT) Mauritius, MCX-SX-India's new stock exchange, the Stock Exchange of Mauritius Ltd and with Knowledge Partners; Financial Technologies Knowledge Management Co (FTKMC).

The SAFE conference is being held in the perspective of growing international recognition of South Asia and adjoining countries as a region of rapid growth and development. The rapid growth of economy and finance in India, the potential of consistent development in Pakistan, the economic dividend that Sri Lanka is likely to experience in the wake of its recent victory against the separatists, the inclusive growth approach of Bangladesh, and the emerging prospects for developments in economies like Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan; make the South Asian region a great prospect and promise for international investing community.

The South Asian region attracted nearly $20 billion in portfolio flows into stock markets, making it one of the most favoured destinations in the emerging markets, according to the data. With global and domestic policy working towards greater harmony and stability in the region, South Asia is expected to have an accelerated growth of financial markets and also engage a larger per cent of the population in the financial market activity.

The conference is being designed with the theme 'Expanding Asset Classes: South Asia'. It is expected to be attended by a galaxy of CEOs and heads of various corporates, banks, and financial institutions in South Asia and other regions, with technical sessions engaging in cutting-edge discussions on critical aspects of deepening of the South Asian Financial Markets.

The SAFE -- also called South Asian Dow Jones -- is an initiative towards regional and global integration of the regional capital markets. It's a non-profit association fashioned under the umbrella of SAARC to endorse the growth of securities market in the region. The existence of SAFE is truly a milestone towards an integrated and amalgamated South Asian securities market with a common objective of development and affluence of the capital markets' stakeholders in and outside the region.

SAFE has in April reviewed list of South Dow Jones SAFE 100 Index that is developed by Dow Jones for South Asian Federation of Exchanges -- a SAARC recognised forum of 23 stock exchanges and other capital markets institutions from eight South Asian countries and the UAE.

Dow Jones SAFE 100 Index has revised the South Asian index delisting nine Indian companies and eight Pakistani companies. Bajaj Holdings Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Siemens India Ltd, Suzlon Energy Ltd, Tata Motors Ltd and Unitech Ltd are the Indian companies dropped from the index.

Pakistani companies delisted are Adamjee Insurance Co Ltd, Askari Bank Ltd, Bank of Punjab, DG Khan Cement Co Ltd, Faysal Bank Ltd, Indus Motor Co Ltd, Nishat Mills Ltd and Pak Suzuki Motor Co Ltd.

These 17 companies have been replaced by an equal number of companies --- six from Bangladesh, nine from India and two from Pakistan --- in the Dow Jones SAFE 100 Index.

According to SAFE, Dow Jones SAFE 100 Index represents the collective movement, direction and trend of regional stock markets and would enable global investors to use the same as a benchmark for the performance of their investments in the region. The index would also promote the region as an important asset class in the investment portfolio of the regional and international fund managers.

In Europe, there is Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) that represents 42 Securities Exchanges (in equities, bonds, and derivatives) through 23 Full Members from all EU Member States and Iceland, Norway and Switzerland as well as 7 Corresponding Members from European emerging markets.

FESE is one of the founding members of the European Capital Markets Institute (ECMI) and is a member of the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI). Through its members' activities on a global scale, FESE enjoys links with the regulatory community and industry from around the world and works closely with the European Association of Central Counterparty Clearing Houses (EACH) and European Central Securities Depositries Association (ECSDA) in particular in the context of the Code of Conduct on Clearing and Settlement.

In Africa there is African Securities Exchanges Association (ASEA) that is a non-profit company limited by guarantee that was found in Kenya in November of 1993, according to Chapter 486 of the Laws of Kenya, with the aim of establishing systematic mutual cooperation and exchange of information among its members.

The association started with Nairobi Stock Exchange as the first member in 1993, followed by Mauritius, Uganda and Dar-es-Salam Stock Exchanges in the 90's. The association is currently represented by 20 exchanges in 27 African countries.

2010 begins with surge in tourists’ arrival

Nepal continued to enjoy the sustained positive growth in the international visitor arrivals that has started since June 2009 in the first month of this year too.
According to the Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), visitor arrivals in January, compared with the same month last year, have increased by 18.8 per cent to 26,071.
Almost all the sector has shown positive growth in the first month of 2010. India, which constitutes the major market, has recorded positive growth of 9.9 per cent. In the SAARC region, arrivals from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have registered positive growth by 43.3 per cent, 37.3 per cent and 9.9 per cent respectively.
In aggregate the South Asian segment has registered a positive growth of 15.6 per cent.Arrivals from Asia -- other than South Asia -- have also recorded positive growth in aggregate but countrywise the region has shown mixed performance. Visitor arrivals from Japan, Malaysia and South Korea have registered a positive growth by 19.5 per cent, 57.2 per cent and 87.2 per cent respectively.
However, China, Thailand and Singapore have registered negative growth of 18.3 per cent, 25.1 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively. In aggregate the Asian segment has registered a positive growth of 15.4 per cent, the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) saidAn overall positive growth of 34.9 per cent has been observed from the European markets with arrivals from major generating markets such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland up by 12.6 per cent, 17 per cent, 25.8 per cent, 40.9 per cent, 92.2 per cent, 62.4 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively. Tourist arrivals from Australia, Canada and USA have also registered robust growth of 17.5 per cent, 69.2 per cent and 10.2 per cent respectively.“The figures reflect confidence among visitors and tour operators to Nepal,” said the NTB.
Last year India showed mixed performance in visitor arrivals to Nepal however the start of the year has begun with positive note. The sustained positive growth will undoubtedly be effective in turning Nepal Tourism Year 2011 a grand success.A total of 31,672 foreign tourists departed from TIA in January 2010. The number of Nepalis arrivals stood at 57,894 while 65,383 Nepalese departed from TIA in January 2010.

Nepal slips to 121st from 96th as business destination

Nepal slipped 25 places down to rank 121st on the list of the world's best countries for business, compiled by the Forbes. Nepal lost ground in areas like property rights, innovation, technology, red tapism and personal freedom.
Nepal has moved down from its previous 96th position in Forbes' annual list, which ranks 127 nations on the basis of business climate in a country for entrepreneurs, investors and workers. Denmark topped the chart -- for the consecutive second year -- followed by the US that saw an improvement from last year's fourth position.
"This is not a tally of economies with high gross domestic product (GDP) growth, or low unemployment. The goal is to quantify for entrepreneurs and investors the often-qualified information about dynamic economies and what they would consider desirable conditions for business," said the Forbes.
In the South Asian region, all other countries except Bangladesh slipped from their last year's position. India has slipped 11 places to rank 75th while Sri Lanka slipped to 83rd postion from last year's 67th. Pakistan slipped to 101st spot from last year's 83rd. However, Bangladesh moved up four places to 106th position from last year's 110th.
All the South Asian countires posted a negative performance in personal freedom and increased red tapism. But amazingly, Nepal has done better in protection of investors' interests in comparison to other South Asian countries, where they have dismal performance, according to Forbes.
Canada and Singapore moved up four places each to number three and four respectively. Other countries in the top 10 this year include New Zealand, the UK, Sweden, Australia, Hong Kong and Norway. New Zealand, Australia and Norway joined the top 10 list this year while Finland, Ireland and Switzerland were dislodged from this league.
Big movers included New Zealand (no 5, seven places up), followed by Jordan (no 33, 28 places up), Australia (no 8, five places up), the UAE (no 46, 28 places up) and Malaysia (no 25, 13 places up).
According to the report, Nepal has considerable scope for exploiting its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas of recent foreign investment interest. "Prospects for foreign trade or investment in other sectors will remain poor, however, because of the small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, civil strife and its susceptibility to natural disaster," said Forbes that gives more points to personal freedom.
Amid financial turmoil this year, Forbes added stock market performance to reflect the extent of disrepair in countries' banking systems as well as investor confidence in a recovery. Intellectual property rights, the promotion of free trade and low inflation, combined with low taxes on income and investment, give a snapshot of the conditions for business in each.
Sliding down the most this year was Ireland (no 14, 12 places down), which even saw plans for a Guinness mega-brewery shelved by parent Diageo as exports slowed. Uruguay (no 66, 22 places down), Armenia (no 94, 31 places down), Paraguay (no 99, 29 places down) and Latvia (no 45, 13 places down) rounded out this year's losers.


Nepal's score-card
Trade Freedom - 113
Monetary Freedom - 43
Property Rights - 92 (down)
Innovation - 120 (down)
Technology - 123 (down)
Red Tapism - 79 (down)
Investor Protection - 48
Corruption - 96
Personal Freedom - 94 (down)
Tax Burden - 71
Market Performance - Not Available