Weekly Economic Update (26 August 2022 to 1 September 2022)
1. MoICS continues import ban: The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies (MoICS) has decided to continue the import ban of luxury goods after a meeting held on August 26. The amount in reserves increased from USD 9.28 billion in mid-May to USD 9.54 billion in mid-July after the ban.
(Source: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/moics-to-continue-import-ban-on-10-items/)
2. India may allow Nepal to use new ports: The Indian Government is considering the possibility of allowing Nepal to carry out exports and imports by using the Mundra Port in Gujarat and Dhamra Port in Odisha by revising the bilateral transit treaty.
3. Dordikhola Hydropower Project begins testing: The Dordikhola Hydropower Project in Lamjung has begun test production from August 28. The test production will continue for four to five days and commercial production will begin after a successful test.
(Source: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/dordikhola-hydropower-project-begins-power-generation/)
4. NEA builds new EV charging station: The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has built an electric-vehicle (EV) charging station at its head office in Ratnapark, Kathmandu. The NEA has also been constructing 51 charging stations across the country to encourage the use of EVs.
5. IB opens licenses for micro insurers: The Insurance Board (IB) has opened licenses for micro insurance companies, contradicting its own policy to reduce the number of insurers operating in the country. The regulator has fixed a requirement of NPR 750 million as paid up capital for the new insurers.
6. Cargo trucks stuck in Nepal-China border: More than 400 trucks carrying goods imported from China have been stranded at the Nepal-China borders for more than a month due to the restrictions on trade imposed by the Chinese government.
7. Five cooperatives sign merger deal: Five Kathmandu Valley-based cooperatives signed an agreement for a merger under the name “National Ideal Yamuna Savings and Credit Cooperative’. The total share capital will be NPR 300 million.
(Source: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/five-cooperatives-ink-merger-deal/)
8. TU and Samsung sign MoU: Tribhuvan University’s (TU) Institute of Engineering (ToE) and Samsung have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to train youth in Nepal on future tech skills as part of its global CSR initiative ‘Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC)’.
9. WB gives Nepal loan for GRID project: The World Bank (WB) and Nepal signed a concessional financing agreement for USD 100 million for the Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) project. This is the first out of three concessional loans that is being provided to Nepal.
10. Jazeera Airways to operate daily flights from GBIA: Kuwait-based airlines Jazeera Airways is set to operate flights on a daily basis at the Gautam Buddha International Airport (GBIA) from September 16. The airline is operating flights to and from Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Europe.
