Weekly Economic Updates (30 June 2023- 6 July 2023)
1) ADB to Furnish US$ 50 Million Loan to Nepal: Asian Development Bank (ADB) decided to bestow a loan worth US$ 50 million to Nepal. The loan was approved so as to facilitate Nepal’s internal and external trade.
Source: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/adb-to-provide-50-million-us-dollars-loan-to-nepal/
2) NOC reduces fuel prices: The Nepal Oil Corporation has reduced the fuel prices from July 4. The corporation has slashed prices from NPR 5–7.5 depending on various locations in Nepal. The current price for petrol in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Dipayal is NPR 170.
Source: https://kathmandupost.com/money/2023/07/03/nepal-oil-corporation-slashes-fuel-prices-1688398926
3) Tourist Number Surges in First Half of 2023 in Nepal: A total of 476,000 tourists have visited Nepal in the first half of 2023. This number is an increase by 83% since the pre-pandemic year of 2019 and 97.79% increase from the same period last year.
Source: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/nepal-tourism-rebounds-with-476-000-tourists-in-h1-2023/
4) Parallel Taxiway Worth NPR 4 billion to be built in GBIA: The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal(CAAN) awarded a contract worth NPR 3.99 billion to build a parallel taxiway at Gautam Buddha International Airport(GBIA). The contract was awarded to a company named Ashish-Kshamadevi-Buddha Himali JV.
5) Over 740,000 get Permit for Foreign Employment: The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) revealed over 740,000 individuals have taken permit for foreign employment in the last 11 months of this fiscal year. Records from DoFE show 2,044 individuals leave Nepal on a daily basis in search of foreign jobs.
6) 147,000 acquire passports in Jestha
According to the Department of Passports, around 147,000 people got new passports and their passports renewed in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June) alone, the highest number on a monthly basis.
7) Airfare of domestic flights reduced
On July 3, Nepal Oil Corporation reduced the price of aviation fuel by NPR 14 per liter. Hence, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), the airfare has been reduced from a minimum of NPR 60 to a maximum of NPR 750 for domestic flights on the basis of the route.
Source: https://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/airfare-of-domestic-flights-reduced/
8) Birgunj Customs Revenue Collections Meet 60% of Target: Birgunj Customs has collected only 60% of their target revenue this fiscal year. As of mid- June, Birgunj Customs collected NPR 142 billion, which is 59.90% of the target amount of NPR 237 billion.
9) Six tech giants registered in Nepal’s tax system
International companies working in the field of IT and rendering digital services such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft have been registered in Nepal’s tax system. Likewise, three other international companies registered are NCS Pearson Inc, EBSCO, and Meta.
10) NOC makes profits in LPG after a year
The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has made a profit of NPR 7 per cylinder on LPG sales after a one-year period. The price of LPG has reached NPR 161 per cylinder and the corporation has made a profit of NPR 1.75 billion in the last 15 days as of July 2, 2023.
