KATHMANDU: A procurement process has begun to materialize the government plan of launching the railway service from Kurtha of Janakpur to Jaynagar of India.

The Cabinet meeting of January 13 decided to go with the procurement process. The Department of Railways under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has started preparations to purchase the rails.

It may be noted that the government in the current fiscal year allocated Rs 500 million to purchase two trains for the service, but the Department says the budget is not sufficient. It needs at least 1.5 billion two purchase rails.

The Cabinet granted the permission in principle to the Ministry to go with the procurement process, said Department spokesperson Aman Chitrakar. The Department has proposed the Indian government companies towards that end, and some of them have responded to the proposals.

It has been planned to operate the service in a total distance of 35 kilometers in the first phase. The trial of first phase has been already carried out. The Department is not in the position of predicting the date for launching the service until the rails arrive. The total length of the Bardibas-Janakpur-Jaynagar-Kurtha-Bijayapura is 69 kilometers.

(RSS)

KATHMANDU: Altogether  369 products manufactured by 250 different industries have received the Nepal Standard(NS) Mark provided by the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology so far.

The Bureau provided NS Mark to twenty five goods meeting the criteria produced by 71 cement factories, 25 goods from 25 steel bar factories, 23 products from 23 PVC cable, 10 products from 10 LPG, 13 products from 12 PVC pipe factories, and 29 goods from 29 HTPD pipes among others.

The Department started awarding NS Mark to the products manufactured from abroad since last year. Towards this end, 14 goods manufactured from 9 industries in India and one good manufactured from China has received the NS certification, according to Director General of the Department, Bishwa Babu Pudasaini.

Pudasaini stated that an applicant is entitled to get a recognition of Nepal Standard for any materials, products or services provided that criteria were met. According to him, some industries whose products were granted NS mark in the past had not renewed their licenses. So far, 19 goods from 16 industries have been granted NS mark as of now in the current fiscal year.

SINDHUPALCHOWK: Reconstruction works have been expedited to bring into operation the Tatopani checkpoint, an important Nepal-China border checkpoint, by the first week of May.

The Tatopani checkpoint had been closed following the 2015 earthquake that devastated physical infrastructures on both sides of the checkpoint.

Chinese SCRC Construction Company has been entrusted to reconstruct damaged physical infrastructures at the Tatopani checkpoint.

It has been almost four years since the checkpoint was closed after the mega earthquake destroyed its infrastructures including facilities on April 25, 2015.

The infrastructures of historical Nepal-China border checkpoint suffered further damages following the Bhotekoshi floods that occurred on July 6, 2016. The floods damaged Kodari Highway, delaying the construction works further.

The floods had damaged Miteri bridge connecting Nepal to China. The reconstruction of this historical bridge is underway. “We will complete the reconstruction works of infrastructures by the last week of April and that the Tatopani checkpoint will probably come into operation by the first week of May,” said an official of SCRC.

According to an official at the Department of Roads, the China government has expedited reconstruction of infrastructures including roads and customs office buildings.  Nepal government has also directed the Department of Roads to complete the infrastructure on Nepal side as soon as possible.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had signed a deal with China government in this regard. During Oli’s official visit to China last year, Foreign Secretary Shaker Das Bairagi and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou had signed a deal on bringing Tatopani checkpoint into operation, including the construction of Miteri bridge.

Prior to the devastating earthquake, Nepal used to import goods worth over 20 billion through this checkpoint, yielding about Rs. 2 billion in revenue for Nepal.

TOKYO: Asia stocks were barely moved on Monday, staying near a four-month high after Wall Street’s tepid pre-weekend performance, while the dollar was supported against the yen following strong U.S. jobs and manufacturing data.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was basically unchanged, capped below the four-month peak scaled on Friday.

Japan’s Nikkei added 0.4 percent.

China’s financial markets are closed all week for the Lunar New Year holiday. Wall Street ended mixed on Friday, as optimism from a surge in January U.S. job growth was offset by a weaker-than-expected outlook from Amazon.com Inc that battered retail stocks.

The Dow nudged up 0.26 percent while the Nasdaq shed 0.25 percent. “Key points for the markets this week will be how the remaining U.S. corporate earnings releases turn out, and whether they are in line with recent upbeat data,” said Junichi Ishikawa, senior FX strategist at IG Securities in Tokyo.

“While corporate earnings and fundamentals remain key, political developments, notably the U.S.-China trade situation, remain potential risk factors,” he said. A U.S. Labor Department report on Friday showed nonfarm payrolls jumped by a stronger-than-forecast 304,000 jobs last month, the largest gain since February 2018.

That report, along with better-than-expected ISM manufacturing activity numbers for January, pointed to underlying strength in the world’s biggest economy. The robust economic data triggered a sharp rebound in U.S. Treasury yields, in turn lifting the dollar.

On Monday, the U.S. currency was a shade higher at 109.55 yen after advancing 0.6 percent on Friday. The euro was little changed at $1.1455 after getting pulled back from a high of $1.1488 on Friday. The Australian dollar was steady at $0.7250 after slipping 0.4 percent the previous session. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was at 2.691 percent after climbing nearly 6 basis points on Friday to pull away from a four-week low of 2.619 percent earlier last week.

U.S. crude oil futures inched down 0.04 percent to $55.24 per barrel after surging 2.7 percent on Friday. Nissan scraps plan to build new X-Trail model in Britain. Oil prices had rallied on the upbeat U.S. jobs report, signs that Washington’s sanctions on Venezuelan exports have helped tighten supply and data showing U.S. drillers cut the number of oil rigs.

(REUTERS)

KATHMANDU: ‘CAN Info-tech’ – an annual fair of information technology – this round has drawn around 400,000 visitors. Ranjeet Kumar Poddar, general secretary, Computer Association of Nepal (CAN), informed there was exciting presence of visitors at the information technology fair that kicked off on 29 January.  As many as 100,000 people had observed the fair in its concluding day on 3 February (Sunday), the host confirmed.

The 25th edition of six-day CAN Info-tech held at Bhrikutimandap in the capital had showcased the use of drone for drugs transportation, distance learning, smart home and technological uses in agriculture sector.
Named as ‘SUBISU CAN Info-tech-2019 in Association with e-Service’, the fair had also exhibited innovative ICT technology and equipments, new software, security instruments and home-grown technological innovations of Nepal.

Hementa Chaurasiya, Chair, CAN Federation, shared the rationale behind the fair has become more pronouncing with spurt in the production and development of Nepali technology. Arrangement was made for the government school students, senior citizens and people with disability to visit the fair free of cost. In the Robot Battle competition under mini push category, Suraj Patwari won the medal while Pawandev Sharma became first-runner-up. Likewise, Sonam Ghimire got the winner title and Pawandev Sharma first-runner-up in combat robot battle. Under autonomous robot battle category, Rajesh Ghusu, Rabin Parajuli, Sushil Shrestha and Saroj Gurab registered their wins while Sanjeeb Gosai, Prakash Shrestha, Bijaya Kumar Phuyal and Sagar Kharel became first runner-up.

LONDON : Japanese carmaker Nissan is cancelling plans to make the next model of its X-Trail sports utility vehicle in Britain, less than two months before the country is due to leave the European Union, broadcaster Sky News said on Saturday.

Nissan first said four months after Britain voted in June 2016 to leave the EU that it would manufacture a new model of the SUV in Britain, which was seen as a major vote of confidence in the country’s manufacturing future.

The main production plant for the current X-Trail is in Japan, while Nissan’s plant in Sunderland, northeast England, makes the smaller Qashqai SUV and other models. “Precise details of Nissan’s impending announcement were unclear this weekend, but sources said it was likely to initially involve abandoning the X-Trail production plans which had been announced in the autumn of 2016,” Sky reported.

A UK-based spokesman for Nissan declined to comment. Sky said the announcement due on Monday was not expected to lead to immediate job losses at the Sunderland plant, as the X-Trail is not currently made there, but would raise doubts about further Nissan investment in Britain.

As well as the X-Trail, Nissan said in 2016 it would build the next generation Qashqai SUV in Britain after receiving government assurances over Brexit, in what was seen at the time as a boost for Prime Minister Theresa May.

Tesla to sell cheaper Model 3 in China
However, the failure of Britain’s government so far to negotiate a smooth exit plan from the European Union has made car manufacturers less willing to use Britain as a European manufacturing center. Investment in Britain’s car industry halved last year, data showed on Thursday, and car production by Nissan in Britain fell by more than 10 percent.

Industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said leaving the EU on March 29 without a transition deal to preserve the smooth flow of parts and finished vehicles across EU borders would cause “permanent devastation” to the British car industry.

(Reuters)

General Motors Co said on Saturday it is negotiating “feasibility conditions” to invest 10 billion reais ($2.73 billion) in Brazil from 2020 to 2024, after having warned last month that new investments would depend on returning to profit. The automaker also said it is completing an investment plan of 13 billion reais between 2014 and 2019.

“As market leaders, we are taking on the responsibility of facing the challenges of competitiveness that the industry.

Valor reported that GM would invest in its product line until 2022, and then the following year, the company would start to enjoy tax rebates. Valor, which also reported that GM’s losses in Brazil last year totaled 1 billion reais despite being the country’s market leader, did not specify the exact amount GM would expect to generate in tax incentives. 

(REUTERS)

Chinese state-owned firms bought at least 1 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans on Friday, a day after high-level bilateral talks yielded progress toward a trade deal and a Chinese commitment to buy more U.S. soybeans.

The purchases are slated for shipment between April and July, with a large share expected from U.S. Gulf Coast export terminals, three traders with knowledge of the deals said.

One trader with direct knowledge of the deals said total purchases were around 2.2 million tonnes. The other two traders said the sales were similar to three recent waves of buying in which state-owned firms booked 1 million to 1.5 million tonnes of soybeans.

But the market’s gains were restrained by worries that Chinese purchases will hardly dent massive soybean stockpiles in the United States and around the world. The looming harvest of a large soy crop in Brazil, the world’s top supplier, further capped prices.

“It certainly is good to see some concessions and more buying interest from China, but this is a concession in terms of a larger trade agreement. Brazilian offers are cheaper than we are so it’s just part of the negotiation,” said Terry Linn, analyst with Chicago-based brokerage Linn & Associates.

Friday’s purchases by state-owned firms were believed to be destined for China’s state reserves, and thus immune from high import tariffs on U.S. beans. The 25 percent tariffs, imposed last summer in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, remain in place for U.S. soy imports by commercial crushers in China.

Exports to China have plummeted this season during a bitter trade dispute, with swelling supplies sending prices to near decade lows last autumn and U.S. farmers struggling to turn a profit.

China has been buying most of its soybeans from Brazil, which is in pace to harvest a bumper crop in the coming months.

Friday’s sales bring China’s total purchases of the 2018 U.S. soybean harvest to at least 6.5 million tonnes, a fraction of its traditional annual haul from the United States of more than 30 million tonnes.

Trump hails progress in trade talks with China
Through January of 2017, more than 29.4 million tonnes of that season’s harvest had already been shipped to China, with another 4 million tonnes sold and awaiting shipment, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

Benchmark Chicago Board of Trade March futures climbed to $9.31-1/4 a bushel on Friday, the highest point for a most actively traded soy contract Sv1 since mid-June. Beijing slapped steep tariffs on U.S. soybeans on July 6, effectively halting all U.S. shipments to their top customer.

Before Friday’s sales, China had previously booked an estimated 5 million tonnes of U.S. soybeans in three waves of purchases since U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a trade war detente on Dec. 1.

After high-level trade talks in Washington this week, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He announced on Thursday China would buy an additional 5 million tonnes.

(REUTERS)

KATHMANDU: The national flag-carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has obtained an air operator’s certificate (AOC) by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) to conduct flights to Japan. According to NAC assistant spokesperson Nawaraj Koirala, its new A 330 wide-body aircraft was granted the AOC for Kathmandu-Osaka flights on Friday.

The NAC had purchased two wide-body aircrafts on different dates in the past eight months. The NAC would very soon seek permission from an aviation regulating body abroad (Japan) towards that end. It plans to launch the Kathmandu-Osaka flight in the next one month.

It dreams of operating the Kathmandu-China flight as well by the end of March. The NAC has already managed human resources to handle the flights in both destinations. A list of NAC presently available foreign flights includes New Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangkok and Qatar.

The process is underway to connect China, South Korea, and the Saudi Arabia with the NAC straight flights in near future. It presently owns two international wide-body aircrafts, two narrow-body aircrafts and one Boeing for the operations of international flights.

KATHMANDU: Almost 24,000 people have applied for the post of Employment Coordinator of the Employment Service Centre to be established in every local level. As of Friday, 23,986 people had applied for the post across all the seven provinces, according to Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security. The post available is one each in the 753 local level government units.
The applicants will now be shortlisted through an automated computer system based on the set criteria, said Coordinator of Prime Minister Employment Program Prakash Dahal. After the preliminary screening, the selected candidates will go through computer skills examination.
The employment coordinator will work to collect data of the unemployed persons in the respective local level, update it and provide identity card to the listed unemployed person. It will also facilitate employment opportunities for them while making recommendations for various kinds of skills oriented training.