KATHMANDU: The Supreme Court (SC) issued a writ of mandamus asking the government to collect the due applicable Capital Gains Tax (CGT) from the proprietary transfer of Ncell and its purchaser Malaysian company Axiata.
A full bench of Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana and justices Mira Khadka, Biswamber Prasad Shrestha, Dr Ananda Mohan Bhattarai, and Tanka Bahadur Moktan, issued the orders to the telecommunication company to deposit the amount.
Ncell had been facing allegations of evading profit tax while repatriating a sum of income to its home country.
It should be noted that Ncell did not make available the applicable CGT between Ncell and TeliaSonera worth Rs143 billion. Since then, Ncell, which had been in pressure, had paid Rs21 billion CGT to the government in 2018.
The SC on Wednesday issued the orders upon hearing the cases filed separately by five petitioners, including one of the then Ncell (P) Ltd shareholders Renolds Holdings, and former secretary Dwarika Dhungel.
KATHMANDU: The National Vigilance Center (NVC) has advised the government to bring corruption of private sector under the purview of law. The center put this suggestion before the government through its annual report submitted today to Prime Minister KP Oli.
It may be noted that the private sector corruption is also the concern of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) which in its reports recommended the government to look into the matter.
The Center in the report stated Nepal is a member party to the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the government should reach the private sector to intervene in corrupt acts prevalent in private sector.
The Corruption Prevention Act of Nepal- 2059 BS does not allow the Center and CIAA to look into the private sector corruption. Public have investment of millions of rupees in the private sector, and a wide-range corruption is estimated to be prevalent there. That’s why it should be brought under the purview of law.
The Convention calls for preventive measures and the criminalization of corruption in both and private sectors.
But the government still does not seem serious to respond to the advices. No noticeable concern is shown from anywhere to supervise private sector affairs. CIAA the then Chief Commissioner Suryanath Upadhyaya had in 2004 signed on the UN document on behalf of Nepal. As Center Spokesperson Bishnu Raj Lamichhane said though private sector has been marred by corrupt acts, there is no regulatory body to deal with the issues.
Government intervention in private sector corruption would highly contribute to good governance and this is the need of the time as well, he added.
The Corruption Prevention Act of Nepal- 2059 BS does not allow the Center and CIAA to look into the private sector corruption. Public have investment of millions of rupees in the private sector, and a wide-range corruption is estimated to be prevalent there. That’s why it should be brought under the purview of law.
A new law is not required to take preventive measures against private sector corruption; only a slight amendment to the Act is enough to pave the way for the government to look into the issues. “The way is possible if the definition of public post states that it does mean the private sector post as well”.
Banking, financial and transport sectors are all public sectors and they should be incorporated in the definitions of the Act. CIAA spokesperson Rameshwor Dangal said the CIAA in its every report recommends the government to criminalize the private sector corruption.
Transparency International Nepal’s chair and former administrator Khem Raj Regmi stressed on the need of formulating a law to put a tab on the private sector corruption as Nepal is already a Member State to the UN convention.
“Private sectors illegally pay a hefty amount to bureaucrats to influence them to take decisions in their favour. Corruptions of millions of rupees including tax evasion are prevalent in private sector, such acts must be punished,” he said.
BANKE: Some government agencies and local governments were found to have procured goods and services without soliciting bids. The 2018/19 report of the Office of Auditor General – the constitutional budget oversight agency has painted a bleak picture of most of the government agencies based in the district.
It is mandatory for the concerned public entity to call quotations for open competition. Nevertheless, the competition has been made among limited forms and entities. Such practices have created ample spaces for fiduciary malaises, the report stated. According to the OAG report, most of the district-based government offices were found to have purchased the goods in bit and piece against the procurement rule.
According to the Public Procurement Act, the procurement of goods worth above a certain limit should be done at once. Most of the government offices and local governments are found to proceed the procurement without master plan and annual procurement plan. The offices were also found to have apathetic to execute the given responsibilities, reads the report. It has affected revenue collection and protection of public properties as well as relegated the public service to backburner.
The status of fiscal transparency is worse in local government than in government offices. However, the government offices are also found working in an unsystematic manner. The Treasury Single Account Office also noted that some offices were found maintaining database in a haphazard way. Even the District Administration Office is not found systematic in genuinely maintaining data and records for monitoring the government offices and taking actions.
RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and the United Arab Emirates Central Bank (UAECB) clarified that one of the objectives of launching the common digital currency project “Aber” is for use in financial settlements between Saudi Arabia and UAE through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies, according to aawsat.com.
In a joint statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, they explained that this is part of the “Proof-of- concept” framework that can be summed up in closely understanding and studying the dimensions of modern technologies and their feasibility through practical application and the determination of their impact on the improvement and the reduction of remittances costs and the assessment of technical risks and how to deal with them.
This is in addition to the qualification of cadres that will deal with the technologies of the future and understanding the requirements of issuing a digital currency for use by the two countries, the report said.
Furthermore, it will establish an additional means for the central financial transfer systems of the two countries and enable banks to directly deal with each other in conducting financial remittances.
Regarding the joint launching of the project, the statement pointed out that central banks in some countries have already started pilot projects to explore the dimensions of Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies applied in circulation of digital currencies.
SAMA and the Central Bank of UAE share the same desire to launch pilot projects in the use of these technologies to identify them and learn how to benefit from them.
The statement attributed the agreement to launch this project jointly rather than independently in each country to the fact that the two countries have in place central systems for remittances and domestic transactions which have evolved overtime and proved their feasibility.
According to the statement, SAMA and UAECB hope that their pilot projects will benefit everyone locally and internationally. Based on this desire, the two countries do not only aspire to be the forerunners in the application of modern technologies, but also in their adaptation, development and delivery to the world. Hence, the two countries embarked on carrying out the experiment of issuing a common digital currency for use across borders to carry out remittances, it added.
As for the mechanism agreed upon by SAMA and UAECB for the implementation of “Aber” project, the statement emphasized that efforts in the initial stages will focus on technical aspects. The use of the currency will be restricted to a limited number of banks in each state. In case that no technical obstacles are encountered, economic and legal requirements for future uses will be considered.
(Agencies)
KATHMANDU: The Greenlife Hydropower Limited (GRHPL) is issuing initial public offerings (IPOs) of worth Rs. 180 million next week.
According to the company, 1.8 million units of ordinary shares will be issued for public from February 5 to 19. The deadline will be extended to till March 19 if the issued number of shares goes unsold in this period, the company said.
The project is based in Dolakha and 20 units are fixed as a minimum quantity for apply while the maximum quantity is 9,000 units.
The company is the developing the 40-megawatt Khanikhola Hydropower Project. The project is expected to start the power generation in two months.
SINGAPORE: Asian markets were lower on Tuesday after the U.S. Justice Department unsealed criminal charges against China’s Huawei, its subsidiaries and a top executive ahead of trade talks.
KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index tumbled 1 percent to 20,448.47 and the Kospi in South Korea shed 0.4 percent to 2,169.42. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 0.8 percent lower at 27,370.58. The Shanghai Composite index fell 1 percent to 2,572.39. Australia’s S&P ASX 200, reopening after a holiday, eased 0.6 percent to 5,870.80. Stocks fell in Taiwan and Singapore but rose in Indonesia.
WALL STREET: U.S. stocks fell Monday on signs that slowing Chinese growth was affecting corporate America. Caterpillar, considered an economic bellwether, reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter of 2018. The company said it expects the growth of construction equipment sales in China to be flat this year. Chipmaker Nvidia slashed its fourth-quarter revenue estimate, citing slowing demand in China among other reasons. The S&P 500 index lost 0.8 percent to 2,643.85. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.8 percent at 24,528.22 and the Nasdaq composite gave up 1.1 percent to 7,085.68. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks lost 0.6 percent to 1,473.54.
HUAWEI CHARGES: The U.S. criminal charges against Chinese tech giant Huawei allege that it violated U.S. sanctions by using a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment in Iran. The company is also accused of stealing trade secrets, including technology behind a robotic device that T-Mobile used to test smartphones. Several of Huawei’s subsidiaries and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou were to also face criminal charges. Meng was arrested while changing flights in Canada last month. China has demanded her release and warned of retaliation against American and Canadian executives.
US-CHINA TALKS: According to Bloomberg, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said at a briefing Monday that President Donald Trump is set to meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Washington. Negotiators from both countries are expected to sit down for two days of trade talks starting Wednesday. While a meeting with Trump may show that the U.S. is serious about striking a deal, charges against Huawei could cast a cloud over negotiations going forward.
ANALYST’S TAKE: Charges against Huawei “illustrate the risks attached to the U.S.-China relationship,” DBS Group Research strategists Philip Wee and Eugene Leow said in a commentary. “The actions by the DOJ show that it would not be enough for China to buy more U.S. goods. America wants China to make structural reforms especially on its intellectual property practices,” they added.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 20 cents to $52.19 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped $1.70 to settle at $51.99 per barrel on Monday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 15 cents to $59.96 per barrel. It lost $1.78 to $59.81 per barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar was trading at 109.12 yen down from 109.35 yen late Monday. The euro strengthened to $1.1430 from $1.1428.
(AP)
LONDON: Omega Diagnostics Group (LON:ODX)‘s stock had its “corporate” rating reiterated by stock analysts at FinnCap in a report issued on Tuesday.
ODX stock opened at GBX 13.25 ($0.17) on Tuesday. Omega Diagnostics Group has a 12 month low of GBX 15 ($0.20) and a 12 month high of GBX 28.01 ($0.37).
Omega Diagnostics Group PLC, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes medical diagnostics products. The company operates in three segments: Allergy and Autoimmune, Food Intolerance, and Infectious Diseases and Other.
The Allergy and Autoimmune segment engages in the research, development, production, and marketing of in-vitro allergy and autoimmune tests used by doctors to diagnose patients with allergies and autoimmune diseases.
Companies in the United States accounted for more than 60% of the clean energy deals signed by corporations worldwide last year, according to BloombergNEF. A proposed renewable portfolio standard for Chinese business, though, could turn the picture upside down in a year’s time.
Analysts at Bloomberg NEF announced today global businesses last year smashed the record for the amount of clean energy purchased through power purchase agreements.
With corporates having bought 6.1 GW of clean energy through PPAs in 2017, Bloomberg researchers said that figure more than doubled to 13.4 GW last year, with the U.S. leading the way.
And it was not just the usual suspects that dominated, with the authors of today’s 1H 2019 Corporate Energy Market Outlook report finding 34 new businesses signed their first clean energy PPA last year, to account for around 31% of the 8.5 GW purchased in the U.S. In many cases, new converts joined forces with bigger concerns who acted as ‘anchor tenants’ on green energy supply deals.
With the amount of U.S. corporate clean energy secured through PPAs almost trebling year on year, Facebook-led the way with more than 2.6 GW – mostly in the form of green tariffs agreed with utilities – and bought more than three times the clean energy of its nearest peer AT&T.
ExxonMobil became the first oil major to sign a clean energy PPA in the country as it signed up for 575 MW of wind and solar power in Texas.
China RPS holds the key
The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) market may have been the world’s second biggest, with a total 2.3 GW in 2018, but the authors of today’s report highlighted the potential of the “imminent passing of a renewable portfolio standard [RPS]” in China to transform the nascent, 2 GW Asia Pacific corporate PPA market.
The 2 GW seen in 2018 in the Asia-Pacific region was more than that bought by businesses in the previous two years and was led by India, with 1.3 GW of corporate clean energy PPAs, and Australia, with 700 MW.
With off-site PPAs now available to business in nine provinces of China – according to BloombergNEF – the renewable requirement linked to the green certificate trading schemerecently mentioned by the Chinese authorities could, say the authors of today’s report, see around 30,000 large commercial and industrial concerns in China aiming to achieve renewable energy targets. With a rise in renewable energy target activity seen in Japan last year, the Asia-Pac region could be the one to watch this year.
A first for Poland
The EMEA market for corporate PPAs also more than doubled, from 1.1 GW in 2017, with wind power in the Nordic nations of Europe again prominent and aluminum manufacturers Norsk Hydro and Alcoa Corp leading the way. Big tech companies Facebook, Amazon and Google, however, also contributed in 2018.
And with the French and German markets showing promise for this year, the U.K. saw a return of activity following a lull caused by the end of its FIT subsidy program, Denmark and Finland saw their second corporate clean energy PPAs signed, and Polish companies made their debut.
BloombergNEF, in a statement announcing publication of the report added, the RE100 campaign to persuade signatory businesses to commit to 100% renewable energy could see 102 GW of new solar and wind capacity installed worldwide by 2030 in order for member companies to hit their targets.