After the problem of liquidity crunch started being felt in the market, the banks and financial institutions have revised the interest rates offered on fixed deposit of various tenures. According to the available data, all the banks have increased the interest rates on fixed deposit. And the highest increase is as much as 225 basis points. Everest Bank has revised the interest rates on fixed deposits twice within a fortnight, increasing the interest rates on fixed deposit by 200 to 225 basis points.
Standard Chartered Bank’s rates are found to be the lowest on all deposits. Everest Bank has increased the rate the highest. For the fixed deposits of one month to six months, it raised the rate by 200 to 225 basis points making it 5%. Nepal Investment Bank, Sunrise Bank, Siddhartha Bank and Prime Bank have maintained the same rate as earlier on the one month fixed deposits. For the period of three months, Laxmi and Nabil both have increased the rate by 125 basis points. For the tenure of six months, Nabil Bank has increased the rate by 150 basis points.
On one year fixed deposit, Everest Bank, Nepal Investment Bank, Laxmi Bank and Prime Bank offer the highest interest rates. Machhapuchhre Bank and Bank of Kathmandu have both raised the rate on this tenure by 150 basis points while Everest Bank marked the highest increase by 200 basis points.
For the tenure of two years, Everest Bank, Nepal Investment Bank, Prime Bank and Laxmi Bank offer the highest interest rates. Bank of Kathmandu, Himalayan Bank, Laxmi Bank and Nabil Bank have raised the interest rates by 150 basis points for the tenure of 2 years. Kumari Bank, Laxmi Bank, Everest Bank, Nepal Investment Bank and Prime Bank offer the highest interest rates on fixed deposits of three years and above.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Briefs
# CP Khetan, director of Khetan Group, one of the biggest businesses houses of the country, has been appointed Honorary Consul General of Turkey in Nepal. The position had fallen vacant after CP’s father late Mohan Gopal Khetan passed way recently. Among the other major positions held by CP are the Secretary General of Nepal India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) and Managing Director of Gorkha Brewery (P) Ltd.
# Nepal Electricity Authority has issued 1.5 million units of debentures with face value Rs. 1000 each to finance development of Marshyangdi, Chamelia, Kulekhani and other hydropower projects. The debentures issued against the security of 4896 thousand units of shares NEA holds in Chilime Hydropower Company Ltd. will mature in five years and carry a 7% annual rate of interest to be paid out every six months. Nepal Merchant Banking and Finance Company is the manager and trustee of the issue.
# The government’s programme to divest 10 percent of the shares of it holds in Nepal Telecom is drawing enthusiastic participation, says Citizens Investment Trust that is managing the sales of these shares. According to the Trust, about 150,000 applications are expected to be filed by February 26, the last day for the submission of the applications.
Nepal Telecom has a paid up capital of Rs. 15 billion out of which 10 percent is being divested.
# Nepal Electricity Authority has issued 1.5 million units of debentures with face value Rs. 1000 each to finance development of Marshyangdi, Chamelia, Kulekhani and other hydropower projects. The debentures issued against the security of 4896 thousand units of shares NEA holds in Chilime Hydropower Company Ltd. will mature in five years and carry a 7% annual rate of interest to be paid out every six months. Nepal Merchant Banking and Finance Company is the manager and trustee of the issue.
# The government’s programme to divest 10 percent of the shares of it holds in Nepal Telecom is drawing enthusiastic participation, says Citizens Investment Trust that is managing the sales of these shares. According to the Trust, about 150,000 applications are expected to be filed by February 26, the last day for the submission of the applications.
Nepal Telecom has a paid up capital of Rs. 15 billion out of which 10 percent is being divested.
Clean Energy Devt. Bank gets JV Partner
Clean Energy Development Bank Ltd. (CEDBL) has entered into agreements with FMO (Financierings Maatschappij-voor Ontwikkelingslanden) of The Netherlands as a Foreign Joint Venture Partner and TREDF (Triodos Renewable Energy for Development Fund - a Renewable Energy Fund managed by Triodos Bank of The Netherlands) as a Development Partner.
Under the agreement, FMO is taking 14% as equity investment in CEDBL. They are also financing clean energy projects in Nepal through CEDBL by way of subordinated loan upto US Dollars 5 Million, states a press release by the bank. Besides, they are also providing an initial amount of USD 500 thousands as “Capacity Building Fund” and “Access to Energy Fund” for capacity building of micro finance institutions dedicated to rural financing in Nepal, it adds.
CEDBL is a national level development bank specialized in the development of clean energy and hydropower sector in Nepal. Besides debt financing, the Bank also offers assistance to the clean energy and hydropower projects by way of private equity and advisory and consulting services. CEDBL also has a “Strategic Alliance Agreement” with DFCC Bank and DFCC Consulting (P) Ltd. of Sri Lanka.
Under the agreement, FMO is taking 14% as equity investment in CEDBL. They are also financing clean energy projects in Nepal through CEDBL by way of subordinated loan upto US Dollars 5 Million, states a press release by the bank. Besides, they are also providing an initial amount of USD 500 thousands as “Capacity Building Fund” and “Access to Energy Fund” for capacity building of micro finance institutions dedicated to rural financing in Nepal, it adds.
CEDBL is a national level development bank specialized in the development of clean energy and hydropower sector in Nepal. Besides debt financing, the Bank also offers assistance to the clean energy and hydropower projects by way of private equity and advisory and consulting services. CEDBL also has a “Strategic Alliance Agreement” with DFCC Bank and DFCC Consulting (P) Ltd. of Sri Lanka.
Laxmi Bank Offers Stock Option
The recently held AGM of Laxmi Bank Ltd. has approved a proposal of the Board to offer stock option to the employees of the bank when the company issues more shares to raise capital further. If the proposal is approved by the relevant authorities of the government, this will be the first instance of such shares in Nepali corporate history.
The bank plans to set aside shares equivalent to one percent of the existing number of shares for the purpose of employees’ stock option, states a press release from the company. The bank’s employees were provided shares also when it had made the IPO.
The bank is issuing right shares this year at the ratio of 4:1 in a process to raise the paid up capital to Rs. 2 billion by the year 2010. According to the company, after the proposed right issue and employees’ stock option, the paid up capital of the company will reach Rs. 932.32 million.
The bank recorded 85.31 percent increase in its net profit in the fiscal year ended on mid-July 2007. In the six months ended mid-January 2008, the bank made an operating profit of Rs. 98.03 million and a net profit of 60 million recording a 146 percent rise over the net profit of the same period in the previous year. The annual target for the fiscal year ending on mid-July 2008 is to earn an operating profit of Rs. 240 million, states the press release
The bank plans to set aside shares equivalent to one percent of the existing number of shares for the purpose of employees’ stock option, states a press release from the company. The bank’s employees were provided shares also when it had made the IPO.
The bank is issuing right shares this year at the ratio of 4:1 in a process to raise the paid up capital to Rs. 2 billion by the year 2010. According to the company, after the proposed right issue and employees’ stock option, the paid up capital of the company will reach Rs. 932.32 million.
The bank recorded 85.31 percent increase in its net profit in the fiscal year ended on mid-July 2007. In the six months ended mid-January 2008, the bank made an operating profit of Rs. 98.03 million and a net profit of 60 million recording a 146 percent rise over the net profit of the same period in the previous year. The annual target for the fiscal year ending on mid-July 2008 is to earn an operating profit of Rs. 240 million, states the press release
DRAGONAIR Voted HURUN ‘Best Of The Best’
Dragonair has been voted “Best Asian Airline” at the 2007 annual Hurun Report Best of the Best Awards.
The Hurun Report Best of the Best Awards are selected in a survey of brands preferred by the growing army of multi-millionaires in the Mainland China. Six-hundred and sixty Chinese entrepreneurs worth 10 million RMB or more were interviewed for the awards.
“We are delighted to receive this accolade from Hurun, which is recognition of the quality services we provide to our business passengers,” said Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Kenny Tang.
In December, Dragonair was named Best Airline ( China) by TravelWeeklyChina magazine. Also last year, the carrier was named Best Airline – China in the worldwide Skytrax passenger survey for the sixth consecutive year.
Dragonair, an affiliate member of oneworld, is a Hong Kong-based airline operating a fleet of 31 passenger aircraft and eight freighters serving 34 regional destinations, including 21 cities in Mainland China. Dragonair is part of the Cathay Pacific Group.
The Hurun Report Best of the Best Awards are selected in a survey of brands preferred by the growing army of multi-millionaires in the Mainland China. Six-hundred and sixty Chinese entrepreneurs worth 10 million RMB or more were interviewed for the awards.
“We are delighted to receive this accolade from Hurun, which is recognition of the quality services we provide to our business passengers,” said Dragonair Chief Executive Officer Kenny Tang.
In December, Dragonair was named Best Airline ( China) by TravelWeeklyChina magazine. Also last year, the carrier was named Best Airline – China in the worldwide Skytrax passenger survey for the sixth consecutive year.
Dragonair, an affiliate member of oneworld, is a Hong Kong-based airline operating a fleet of 31 passenger aircraft and eight freighters serving 34 regional destinations, including 21 cities in Mainland China. Dragonair is part of the Cathay Pacific Group.
Powder Milk Factory at Lalbandi Too
Responding to the announcement made in this year’s government budget, the Central Dairy Cooperative Organisation (CDCO) has approached the Dairy Development Board (DDB) with a proposal to set up a powder milk plant at Lalbandi of Sarlahi district.
In the budget proposals, the government had promised to provide either 25 percent subsidy on equipment cost or 80 percent subsidy on the loan for all the dairy cooperatives if they wanted to set up a powder milk factory. According to the Board, CDCO’s is the only proposal received within the stipulated deadline.
The CDCO has proposed to set up a factory that will have a capacity to process 125,000 litres of liquid milk per day and needs an investment of Rs. 378 million to set up. CDCO has asked for 25 percent subsidy on the equipment cost.
According to the proposal, the factory will have a share investment of Rs. 302.8 million from milk cooperatives and Rs. 10 million each from the National Cooperatives Development Board and National Cooperative Bank.
In the budget proposals, the government had promised to provide either 25 percent subsidy on equipment cost or 80 percent subsidy on the loan for all the dairy cooperatives if they wanted to set up a powder milk factory. According to the Board, CDCO’s is the only proposal received within the stipulated deadline.
The CDCO has proposed to set up a factory that will have a capacity to process 125,000 litres of liquid milk per day and needs an investment of Rs. 378 million to set up. CDCO has asked for 25 percent subsidy on the equipment cost.
According to the proposal, the factory will have a share investment of Rs. 302.8 million from milk cooperatives and Rs. 10 million each from the National Cooperatives Development Board and National Cooperative Bank.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
The Road to Vegas: $55 and 70 Years
Nelson will preside over a 70th anniversary celebration in Las Vegas this week for Carlson, the travel, lodging, restaurant and marketing business that began as the Gold Bond Stamp Company in 1938.
Peter van Stolk
Ms. Nelson’s father, Curtis L. Carlson, started the company in Minneapolis with a $55 loan, according to the Carlson Web site. In 2006, the company, which is still based in Minnesota, had sales of $37.1 billion; it employs almost 200,000 people under operations that include T.G.I. Friday’s and Radisson Hotels.
In 1998, Ms. Nelson took over the chief executive post from her father, who died the next year. Last month, the company named Hubert Joly, head of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, to succeed Ms. Nelson as chief executive; she will remain chairwoman.
That announcement came after a legal battle began between Ms. Nelson and her son, Curtis Carlson Nelson, former president and chief operating officer. Mr. Nelson left the company in 2006 and contended that he had been led to believe he would become chief executive. The company and a spokesman for Mr. Nelson both said that all legal issues had been resolved. The company would not comment further.
In a phone interview last week, Ms. Nelson, 68, said she was disappointed that a family member would not be running Carlson. She said she expected that over time, the job would be held at various times by “family candidates and external candidates, whoever can best lead what has become a very large company.”
The Las Vegas celebration will include speeches by Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the departing chief executive of Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister; and Klaus Schwab, founder of the An evening gala will feature entertainment by the appropriately Minnesotan A CHARITY REMEMBERED When chief executives resign, their severance agreements usually reflect a concern for them and only them. But Peter van Stolk, the founder and departing chief executive of , appears to have considered people less fortunate than himself when he negotiated the terms of his departure this month.
Along with $450,000 in severance, Jones agreed to pay $100,000 to Mr. van Stolk to give to Vitamin Angels, a charity focused on the nutritional health of children in underdeveloped countries. He has supported Vitamin Angels through Jones for years.
Last year, the company posted a video on YouTube and pledged to give 25 cents to the charity every time somebody watched the video, up to a limit of one million viewings. PATRICK McGEEHAN
RUSSIAN TYCOONS TANGLE Alisher Usmanov, a Russian billionaire who made a fortune in distressed assets of mines and steel mills, has entered a takeover struggle for Norilsk Nickel, one of the world’s largest producers of nickel and platinum group metals.
It is the most ambitious maneuver yet for Mr. Usmanov, who rose from inside in the 1990s and survived a purge at the company after President came to power in Russia.
Now, Mr. Usmanov’s ties to Gazprom are seen as auspicious in Moscow, where reliable connections to the Kremlin are essential for business survival and success.
Mr. Usmanov’s entry threatens the ambitions of another of Russia’s richest men, the aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska, who is trying to gain control of Norilsk.
The two longtime owners of Norilsk, Vladimir Potanin and Mikhail D. Prokhorov (each worth about $21 billion, according to Finans magazine in Russia) said last year that they would divide their assets, setting off the current struggle. Mr. Prokhorov subsequently sold most of his stake to Mr. Deripaska.
Norilsk, which is based in Siberia, began as a gulag slave labor camp. Today it has a market capitalization of $57 billion. ANDREW E. KRAMER
PAY DELAY Many corporations allow their senior executives to defer the receipt of some of their pay and collect it later, plus interest. For Ara K. Hovnanian, the chief executive of , the company’s deferred-compensation program has not been a can’t-lose proposition.
The value of Mr. Hovnanian’s deferred-pay account dropped more than $13 million last year, according to the company’s proxy statement. To some degree, he suffered with the shareholders as the battering of the home-building industry took more than 75 percent off the price of Hovnanian’s stock in 2007. But unlike the rest of them, Mr. Hovnanian was able to cushion the blow with a gain of $4.6 million from exercising options on the company’s stock.
Peter van Stolk
Ms. Nelson’s father, Curtis L. Carlson, started the company in Minneapolis with a $55 loan, according to the Carlson Web site. In 2006, the company, which is still based in Minnesota, had sales of $37.1 billion; it employs almost 200,000 people under operations that include T.G.I. Friday’s and Radisson Hotels.
In 1998, Ms. Nelson took over the chief executive post from her father, who died the next year. Last month, the company named Hubert Joly, head of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, to succeed Ms. Nelson as chief executive; she will remain chairwoman.
That announcement came after a legal battle began between Ms. Nelson and her son, Curtis Carlson Nelson, former president and chief operating officer. Mr. Nelson left the company in 2006 and contended that he had been led to believe he would become chief executive. The company and a spokesman for Mr. Nelson both said that all legal issues had been resolved. The company would not comment further.
In a phone interview last week, Ms. Nelson, 68, said she was disappointed that a family member would not be running Carlson. She said she expected that over time, the job would be held at various times by “family candidates and external candidates, whoever can best lead what has become a very large company.”
The Las Vegas celebration will include speeches by Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the departing chief executive of Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister; and Klaus Schwab, founder of the An evening gala will feature entertainment by the appropriately Minnesotan A CHARITY REMEMBERED When chief executives resign, their severance agreements usually reflect a concern for them and only them. But Peter van Stolk, the founder and departing chief executive of , appears to have considered people less fortunate than himself when he negotiated the terms of his departure this month.
Along with $450,000 in severance, Jones agreed to pay $100,000 to Mr. van Stolk to give to Vitamin Angels, a charity focused on the nutritional health of children in underdeveloped countries. He has supported Vitamin Angels through Jones for years.
Last year, the company posted a video on YouTube and pledged to give 25 cents to the charity every time somebody watched the video, up to a limit of one million viewings. PATRICK McGEEHAN
RUSSIAN TYCOONS TANGLE Alisher Usmanov, a Russian billionaire who made a fortune in distressed assets of mines and steel mills, has entered a takeover struggle for Norilsk Nickel, one of the world’s largest producers of nickel and platinum group metals.
It is the most ambitious maneuver yet for Mr. Usmanov, who rose from inside in the 1990s and survived a purge at the company after President came to power in Russia.
Now, Mr. Usmanov’s ties to Gazprom are seen as auspicious in Moscow, where reliable connections to the Kremlin are essential for business survival and success.
Mr. Usmanov’s entry threatens the ambitions of another of Russia’s richest men, the aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska, who is trying to gain control of Norilsk.
The two longtime owners of Norilsk, Vladimir Potanin and Mikhail D. Prokhorov (each worth about $21 billion, according to Finans magazine in Russia) said last year that they would divide their assets, setting off the current struggle. Mr. Prokhorov subsequently sold most of his stake to Mr. Deripaska.
Norilsk, which is based in Siberia, began as a gulag slave labor camp. Today it has a market capitalization of $57 billion. ANDREW E. KRAMER
PAY DELAY Many corporations allow their senior executives to defer the receipt of some of their pay and collect it later, plus interest. For Ara K. Hovnanian, the chief executive of , the company’s deferred-compensation program has not been a can’t-lose proposition.
The value of Mr. Hovnanian’s deferred-pay account dropped more than $13 million last year, according to the company’s proxy statement. To some degree, he suffered with the shareholders as the battering of the home-building industry took more than 75 percent off the price of Hovnanian’s stock in 2007. But unlike the rest of them, Mr. Hovnanian was able to cushion the blow with a gain of $4.6 million from exercising options on the company’s stock.
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