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kathmandupost
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finance&economy
Friday, August 3, 2018 (18-04-2075) kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
Oil falls for a third day
Inside
Samsung borrows
from Chinese
playbook
Sometimes keeping
ahead of the game
means learning some
tricks from rivals—a
strategy Samsung
Electronics Co Ltd
hasn’t been too proud to
adopt in India where
Xiaomi Corp and other
Chinese brands have
made hefty inroads.
Pages pulled from their
playbooks include
becoming savvier with
online marketing to mil-
lennials as Samsung
seeks to reinvent itself
as a ‘younger brand’, as
well as providing sales
staff for smaller stores
and even finding a new
love for cricket with a
sponsorship deal.
Combined with a slew of
new models—many
aimed at undermining
Chinese dominance of
the $150 to $300 phone
segment—the new tac-
tics are paying off with
the South Korean tech
giant reclaiming the
number 1 spot in the
second quarter. Pg: II
Spanish taxis
call off strike
against Uber
Spanish taxis late on
Wednesday called off
their days-long strike
against online ride-hail-
ing services like Uber
after Madrid agreed to
let regional govern-
ments regulate the sec-
tor. The strike began in
Barcelona on Wednesday
last week and spread to
Madrid at the weekend
as drivers demanded
action against what they
believed was poor
enforcement of regula-
tions on VTCs (tourism
vehicles with chauffeur).
On Monday, it spread
even further to cities
across the country, with
taxi drivers blocking
main roads and sur-
rounding airports and
train stations. Pg: II
US ‘disappoints’
the world with
trade war
China warned the
United States on
Thursday that upping
the ante in a tit-for-tat
trade war will “only
serve to disappoint” the
world as Washington
threatened to raise the
tariff rate on the next
$200 billion of Chinese
imports. Beijing said it
would be forced to take
countermeasures to
defend Chinese inter-
ests, free trade and the
international order.
“The US has no regard
for the world... playing
both soft and hard ball
with China will not have
any effect, and only
serve to disappoint the
countries and territories
opposed to a trade war,”
China’s Ministry of
Commerce said in
a statement, adding
that it still hopes to
turn the situation
around. Pg: III
Oppo A3s set
to launch in
domestic market
Oppo, the selfie expert is
all set to introduce a
new mid-range smart-
phone, the A3s, in Nepal.
The company is looking
to target youths that are
looking for advanced fea-
tures such as dual cam-
eras, super full screen
and extensive battery at
an affordable price. The
company has not
revealed the price for
the A3s. Oppo has
equipped the A3s with
advanced features such
as dual cameras, super
full screen display and
an impressive 4,230mAh
battery. Pg: IV
Page II Oil prices fell for a third day on Thursday, following a surprise increase in US crude inventories that added to existing concern about the rapid rise in global
crude supply. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have increased production, as agreed at a meeting in June.
Upper Tamakoshi likely
to come online next year
BIBEK SUBEDI
KATHMANDU, AUG 2
More than 95 percent of the
construction work on the
Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower
Project is complete, but it may
take another year for the plant
to come online as hydro-me-
chanical works have been
delayed, project officials said.
The major reason behind
the hold-up in the hydro-me-
chanical works is the inability
and unwillingness of the
Indian contractor to execute
the task which falls under the
second package of the project.
The 456 MW Upper Tamakoshi
project located in Dolakha dis-
trict in eastern Nepal is owned
by the Nepal Electricity
Authority (NEA).
At least one of the six tur-
bines of the plant should be
churning out power by
December 2018 as per the
revised deadline set by the
government while the entire
project should come online by
April 2019. But officials work-
ing on the project say it will
not happen.
Texmaco Limited, the
Indian company hired to
implement the hydro-mechan-
ical works, is yet to start fit-
ting the penstock pipe in the
tunnel which is the major
component of its task, a pro-
ject official told the Post. The
penstock pipes deliver water
from the tunnel into the
turbines in the powerhouse
to rotate them to generate
electricity.
The contractor needs to fit
the 495-metre penstock pipe in
Gautam Buddha Airport to
have 16 parking bays
n An under construction control tower (right structure) at Gautam Buddha International Airport project in Bhairahawa. Foreground shows the
recently built parking bays. 
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 2
The Finance Ministry has
asked the Tourism Ministry to
build another 10 parking bays
at the under-construction
Gautam Buddha International
Airport in Bhairahawa as pas-
senger and aircraft move-
ments are expected to rise
sharply in the near future. Six
parking bays have been con-
structed as per the design of
the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) funded project.
The move to develop addi-
tional parking bays was
prompted by the experience at
Tribhuvan International
Airport (TIA) which has only
nine parking bays and is
plagued by severe congestion
both on the ground and in the
air. The traffic congestion is
getting worse by the day
with airlines aggressively
expanding their fleets due to
growing air travel demand in
the country.
The national pride project
in Bhairahawa has been envis-
aged to serve the fast-rising
business and industrial hub
n A general view of a construction site of the 456MW Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project in Dolakha.
the tunnel to channel water to
six turbines located in the
underground powerhouse, but
it is yet to start work. “It seems
the Indian contractor is not
willing to work as it has not
started that component of the
job despite our repeated
instructions,” said the project
official.
Apart from project officials,
the NEA management too has
been putting pressure on the
Indian company to speed up
construction. Likewise, Prime
Minister KP Sharma Oli had
directed project officials to
meet the completion deadline
of the hydropower plant dur-
ing his visit to the site in
Dolakha in April.
Stating that his administra-
tion had adopted a policy to
avoid delays, Oli underscored
of Bhairahawa and facilitate
international pilgrimage to
Lumbini, the birthplace of
Lord Buddha.
The airport will also
become Nepal’s second inter-
national airport and serve as
an alternate aerial gateway in
case TIA has to be shut down
due to bad weather or natural
disaster.
The Finance Ministry
has asked the Tourism
Ministry to add 10 parking
bays without affecting the pro-
ject deadline. The much-de-
layed scheme is scheduled to
be completed by June 2019 and
begin commercial operation
by July.
“We have received a letter
from the Finance Ministry
asking us to construct more
parking bays. It has also asked
us to submit a proposal
regarding the extra funds that
will be required to build
them,” said Om Sharma, chief
of the Gautam Buddha
International Airport project.
“We have to prepare a
design of the parking bays to
ascertain the cost,” he said,
adding that there was no prob-
the need to take the project
ahead without delaying it for
one single day. He even warned
that immediate action would
be taken against those respon-
sible for causing delays in the
construction of the project.
But that didn’t not bring any
change in the pace of work of
the Indian contractor.
The dillydallying by the
Indian contractor has affected
the work schedule of other
contractors too. For example,
the civil contractor needs to
fix the penstock pipe in posi-
tion by pouring concrete after
the hydro-mechanical contrac-
tor installs it.
Work began on the Upper
Tamakoshi project before the
2015 earthquakes, and 79 per-
cent of the civil works had
been completed before the dis-
lem in terms of space as there
was plenty of room.
Airport progress
The Gautam Buddha
International Airport project
told the ADB’s Tripartite
Portfolio Review Meeting on
Thursday that the project had
achieved 48 percent physical
progress as of mid-July, up
from 29 percent in 2017.
The highest progress of 5.5
percent was recorded in May
followed by 3.8 percent in
June. The project has planned
to achieve 3 percent physical
progress monthly during the
monsoon period ending
September, and 5 percent
monthly progress after that.
“At this pace, we expect the
project to be completed by
June 2019,” said Sharma.
“I know the project has
recorded progress in 2018, but
we have to be vigilant,” said
Diwesh Sharan, deputy direc-
tor general at the South Asia
Department of the ADB.
“Close monitoring of progress
and decisive actions are need-
ed for civil aviation to improve
and accelerate implementa-
cross currency F ORE X
USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD INR NR US Dollar 110.23
NR 110.2300 128.0500 0.9890 144.3500 110.9000 84.6500 81.2000 1.6015 Euro 128.05
INR 68.4300 79.9540 0.6119 89.8420 69.0890 52.5928 50.7480 0.6244 Pound Sterling 144.35
Japanese Yen 0.99
GBP 0.7614 0.8896 0.0068 0.7684 0.5848 0.5646 0.0111 0.0069
Chinese Yuan 16.12
JPY 111.8100 130.6400 147.0588 112.8400 85.8800 82.9200 1.6344 1.0111
Qatari Riyal 30.27
EUR 0.8556 0.0077 1.1241 0.8634 0.6571 0.6345 0.0125 0.0078
Australian Dollar 81.20
USD 1.1688 0.0089 1.3134 1.0090 0.7680 0.7416 0.0146 0.0091
Malaysian Ringit 27.04
How to read the table
The chart shows the rates of nine world currencies. Move across the table to find rates of exchange between any two
currencies. One unit of the currency mentioned horizontally is worth that amount in the currency mentioned vertically.
Saudi Arab Riyal 29.39
Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank
nPassengers on board Nepal Airlines Airbus’s A330—named Annapurna—maiden flight to Doha, on
Wednesday. The 274-seater aircraft flew 246 passengers and returned with 259.  PHOTO COUTRESY: NAC
Chitlang sizzles in new
avatar as homestay spot
aster struck. The quake and
subsequent Indian trade PRATAP BISTA increased and the trail is the traditional hospitality sys-
blockade held up tunnel con- CHITLANG, AUG 2 crowded with hikers every tem as, one day, all homestays
struction works. The national day. Sometimes, there are could turn into resorts. Land
pride project was originally Chitlang, once a vibrant stop more tourists than can be prices in Chitlang have
scheduled to be completed in on the ancient trade route accommodated in homestays, jumped sharply due to a resort
mid-July 2016, but it was linking Kathmandu and India, and they have to be put up in construction boom.
delayed due to various techni- now draws hordes of tourists tents. In 2011, the former The cable car has also led to
cal and social issues. It faced in its modern avatar as a District Development Office a rise in the number of tour-
cost overruns due to the homestay destination. The Makwanpur helped to estab- ists coming for study and
delays. growth in visitor arrivals has lish four homestays in excursion, sightseeing and
According to NEA sources, boosted homestay earnings. Chitlang. Now the number has visiting Chitlang’s traditional
the total cost of the project is The monsoon is a busy tourist grown to a dozen. Six monuments.
likely to exceed Rs50 billion, season in idyllic Chitlang. homestays will be added in the Chitlang lies 13 km from
significantly higher than the Homestay operators in current fiscal year. Kathmandu over the southern
initial estimate of Rs35.3 bil- Thaha Municipality earn The number of homestays rim of the Valley. But travel-
lion. Nevertheless, the project from Rs50,000 to Rs80,000 has been increasing with the ling to Chitlang is difficult
is considered to be a role monthly. The construction of rise in tourist arrivals, said because the construction of
model project which is being the Thankot-Chandragiri Radha Krishna Basnet, coor- the Chitlang-Thankot road
developed with domestic cable car has boosted tourism dinator of the Community has been progressing very
resources and a high level of in Chitlang as sightseers usu- Homestay Committee in slowly.
participation by project- ally like to hike from the cable Chitlang. Locals have been Mayor of Thaha
affected locals and the general car station at Chandragiri converting their homes into Municipality Lavasher Bista
public. hilltop to Chitlang Valley. The homestays, he said. said that once the road is com-
growth in domestic and for- As demand for accommoda- pleted, tourist numbers would
eign visitor numbers has tion has been swelling, a few jump drastically in Chitlang.
encouraged locals to expand homestays have been upgrad- “We have been requesting the
homestay facilities. ed to resorts. However, some Roads Department to expedite
Buddha Ratna Manandhar, operators are worried that the construction,” he said.
operator of Gurjudhara upgrading homestays to The government has also
Homestay at Chitlang, said resorts could undermine announced the construction
that in the past, domestic and Chitlang’s reputation as a of a tunnel linking Thankot
international tourists used to homestay destination. and Chitlang. With the con-
visit Chitlang only on Fridays Ram Krishna Basnet, oper- struction of the tunnel,
by walking from Thankot. But ator of Kaji Homestay, said Chitlang could become a tour-
now visitor numbers have that there was a need to save ist hub.
PHOTO COURTESY: PROJECT
tion and to ensure targets and
results can be achieved for
these flagship projects.”
According to Sharma, the
final base laying works on the
3,000-metre long and 45-metre
wide runway has been com-
pleted, and the project is all set
to blacktop it by September.
The Civil Aviation
Authority of Nepal (Caan)
awarded the Rs6.22-billion
Gautam Buddha Airport
upgradation contract to
China’s Northwest Civil
Aviation Airport Construction
Group in November 2013. The
airport was initially slated to
be ready in December 2017.
However, the project suf-
fered multiple hurdles that
pushed back the completion
deadline by one and a half
years.
Of the total project cost, the
ADB has provided $58.50 mil-
lion ($42.75 in loans and $15.75
million in grants), the
Opec Fund for International
Development (OFID) has
provided a $15 million loan
and Caan will bear the
rest of the cost as counterpart
funding.
C M Y K
Friday, August 3, 2018 | the kathmandu post world money II
news digest
Grab raises
$1b to expand Samsung borrows from BMW profits dip
on investments
Chinese playbook
in Indonesia

in electric cars
SINGAPORE: Singapore-
based Grab said on
Thursday it has secured
$1 billion in fresh fund-
ing and will consider
raising further cash, as AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
the ride-hailing firm
aggressively expands in
REUTERS
MUMBAI, AUG 2 battle for India’s smartphone market FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Aug 2

Indonesia, Southeast German high-end carmaker

Asia’s biggest economy.
The latest fundraising
comes less than two
months after it secured
$1 billion from Toyota
Motor Corp and values
the six-year-old startup
at around $11 billion, a
source close to the com-
pany said. The firm was
valued at around $6 bil-
lion earlier this year
when it bought Uber
Technologies’ regional
operations. “We will
continue opening the
financing for certain
investors that we
think will add value,”
Grab President
Ming Maa told
Reuters on Thursday,
declining to give any
funding target. (REUTERS)
Barclays back
in black in
first half
LONDON: British bank
Barclays said on
Thursday that it
returned to net profit in
the first half of 2018,
after logging a loss last
time on the sale of its
Africa division.
Earnings after taxation
stood at £468 million
($614 million, 525 mil-
lion euros) in the six
months to the end of
June, Barclays said in a
results statement. That
contrasted with a net
loss of £1.21 billion in
the same part of 2017.
Pre-tax profit however
sank almost a third to
£1.7 billion on the back
of hefty litigation and
conduct charges for the
first three months of
the year. But stripping
out those provisions,
half-year pre-tax
profits rose by a fifth to
£3.7 billion. Chief
executive Jes Staley
said the first half was
characterised by
“strong financial per-
formance and increased
profitability”. (AFP)
Suzuki posts
record profit
of $1 billion
TOKYO: Suzuki Motor
Corp on Thursday post-
ed a record-high operat-
ing profit in the first
quarter, outpacing
expectations on the
back of a strong rise in
global automobile sales,
particularly in its big-
gest market India.
Operating profit at
Japan’s fourth-largest
automaker jumped 37
percent to 116.5 billion
yen ($1 billion) for
April-June, versus 85.1
billion yen a year earli-
er. The result was
stronger than an aver-
age of 97.3 billion yen
based on seven analyst
estimates. Vehicle sales
jumped 26 percent to
464,000 units in India,
where the Swift,
Baleno and Vitara
Brezza are among the
best-selling cars.
Suzuki accounts for
roughly half the
passenger vehicles sold
in India through a
majority stake in the
country’s largest auto-
maker, Maruti Suzuki
India Ltd. (REUTERS)
Sometimes keeping ahead of
the game means learning
some tricks from rivals—a
strategy Samsung Electronics
Co Ltd hasn’t been too proud
to adopt in India where Xiaomi
Corp and other Chinese
brands have made hefty
inroads.
Pages pulled from their
playbooks include becoming
savvier with online
marketing to millennials as
Samsung seeks to
reinvent itself as a ‘younger
brand’, as well as providing
sales staff for smaller stores
and even finding a new love
for cricket with a sponsorship
deal.
Combined with a slew of
new models—many aimed at
undermining Chinese domi-
nance of the $150 to $300 phone
segment—the new tactics are
paying off with the South
Korean tech giant reclaiming
the number 1 spot in the sec-
ond quarter.
“Samsung was living in a
sort of denial of the threat
that Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo posed
but now they’ve come out of
the ostrich hole,” said
Rushabh Doshi, research man-
ager at industry tracker
Canalys. “Now they are fight-
ing back, definitely.”
Its Galaxy J6 launched in
May and the J8 sold from July
have been doing especially
well, each selling 50,000 a day,
says Samsung.
In an appeal to millennials,
the phones have a new “chat
over video” feature which
allows users to view videos
without interruption even as
they chat by text due to a
transparent keyboard.
To be sure, Samsung has
long dominated the premium
end of the smartphone market
in India and features like
“chat over video”, designed at
its Indian R&D center, under-
score its tech prowess.
It has also built up a wide
retail network in the country.
But Samsung, which logged
slower profit growth in April-
Oil falls for a third day
REUTERS
LONDON, AUG 2
Oil prices fell for a third
day on Thursday, following
a surprise increase in US
crude inventories that
added to existing concern
about the rapid rise in glob-
al crude supply.
Saudi Arabia, Russia,
Kuwait and the United
Arab Emirates have
increased production, as
agreed at a meeting in
June, to help compensate
for an anticipated shortfall
in Iranian crude supplies
once US sanctions come
into force later this year.
Brent crude futures
LCOc1 were last down 32
cents at $72.07 a barrel,
while US crude CLc1
futures fell 55 cents to
$67.11. “There’s been a lot
of bearish news over the
last week. We’ve seen the
Opec July numbers increas-
ing quite drastically
month-on-month and along
with that, Russian produc-
tion back at pre-deal lev-
els,” ING commodities
strategist Warren Patterson
said. The Organisation of
the Petroleum Exporting
Countries and partners
n A customer tries a Samsung Gear VR at a Samsung showroom in New Delhi, India. 
Pages pulled from their playbooks include becoming
savvier with online marketing to millennials as
Samsung seeks to reinvent itself as a ‘younger brand’
June, knows it has to pull out
the stops in India if it wants to
avoid harsh lessons meted out
in China.
Just five years ago, it had 20
percent of the Chinese market
only to see that fall to less
than 1 percent this year, out-
gunned by Huawei, Xiaomi,
Oppo and Vivo, particularly on
pricing.
And India is too big a prize
to lose—the world’s No. 2
smartphone market with
about 400 million users and
worth an estimated $20 billion
annually.
It’s also the world’s fast-
est-growing major mobile
phone market, expanding
about 20 percent last quarter
including Russia agreed in
late 2016 to cut output by 1.8
million barrels per day to
rebalance supply and
demand.
“Oil is holding up rea-
sonably well ... A lot of this
is the risk premium priced
in for Iran and when do we
start seeing an impact on
supply there,” Patterson
said. “At the moment, there
is a mismatch in timing,
where there is increasing
Opec supply and yet we’re
not seeing a significant
reduction in Iranian sup-
ply,” Patterson said.
The United States
believes Iran is preparing
to carry out a major exer-
cise in the Gulf in coming
days, apparently moving up
the timing of annual drills
amid heightened tensions
with Washington, US offi-
cials told Reuters on
Wednesday. US President
Donald Trump’s decision to
pull out of an international
nuclear deal and reimpose
sanctions on Iran has
angered Tehran. Iranian
officials have warned the
country would not easily
yield to a renewed US cam-
paign to strangle Iran’s
vital oil exports.
from a year earlier.
For Samsung, India is its
biggest market outside the
United States and one where it
has invested heavily, opening
the world’s biggest smart-
phone factory outside New
Delhi last month.
But Chinese brands now
account for every one in two
phones sold in India with
Xiaomi making the greatest
strides. After its 2014 market
entry, the “Mi” brand steadily
gained share to knock
Samsung from the top spot last
December.
Although Samsung
regained the title last quarter,
it was only by a hair’s
breadth—29 percent market
Spanish taxis call off strike against Uber
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
MADRID, Aug 2
Spanish taxis late on
Wednesday called off their
days-long strike against online
ride-hailing services like Uber
after Madrid agreed to let
regional governments regu-
late the sector.
The strike began in
Barcelona on Wednesday last
week and spread to Madrid at
the weekend as drivers
demanded action against what
they believed was poor
enforcement of regulations on
VTCs (tourism vehicles with
chauffeur).
On Monday, it spread even
further to cities across the
country, with taxi drivers
blocking main roads and sur-
rounding airports and train
stations.
The strike mirrors other
similar work stoppages in
European countries, as taxi
drivers across the continent
complain ride hailing compet-
itors are threatening their
livelihoods, arguing for
instance their licences are
much more expensive than
those for VTCs.
Spanish taxi federations
want the authorities to strictly
share to Xiaomi’s 28 percent,
according to research firm
Counterpoint. Samsung start-
ed selling three new phones in
the quarter while Xiaomi had
one product release.
Samsung’s India unit did not
respond to a request for com-
ment on its strategies in the
country.
To promote its $210
Galaxy On6 smartphone
launched last month, Samsung
has eschewed traditional TV
advertising.
Instead it embarked on one
of its most aggressive online
campaigns, enlisting
Bollywood heartthrob Tiger
Shroff and uploading videos
and photos to Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter.
“It’s not just one ad which
you’ll see again and again.
Because millennials will get
bored. What we want to do is
to engage them...and whichev-
enforce legislation under
which there should be 30 tradi-
tional taxis for each VTC.
The taxi strike committee
said in a statement that it had
called off the work stoppage
across Spain after the govern-
ment said it would allow the
country’s regional govern-
ments to regulate VTC licenc-
es. But it warned that taxi
drivers would “remain vigi-
lante” and “return to the
streets” if this move does not
lead to tighter controls on
ride-hailing services.
Shops and restaurants in
Madrid and Barcelona com-
plained earlier Wednesday of
a 15 to 30 percent drop in sales
due to the taxi strike.
In Barcelona, a major tour-
ist magnet, sales at shops and
restaurants in the centre were
estimated to have dropped
between 15 and 25 percent,
said Gabriel Jene, head of
Barcelona Oberta, which rep-
resents businesses located on
the main, central thorough-
fares of the city.
To make matters worse, the
taxi strike is but the culmina-
tion of a tough year for the
seaside city, which last August
suffered a deadly terror attack
followed closely by a failed
REUTERS
er platform they are on, we’ll
be there, Ranjivjit Singh,
Samsung India’s chief market-
ing officer, said in an inter-
view. But some analysts warn
that Samsung will have to
come up with creative
social media strategies if it
wants to maintain its lead over
Chinese rivals and establish a
stronger one.
“Chinese brands such as
Xiaomi, OnePlus have built a
strong presence in India by
targeting the youth with grand
fan festivals when they launch
models,” said Neil Shah,
research director at
Counterpoint.
Another new tactic has
been Samsung’s sponsorship
of the Mumbai cricket team.
Cricket has worked well for
rival Vivo, which has become a
strong player in India on the
back of its sponsorship of the
country’s cricket league.
n Taxi drivers block an avenue amid a strike in Madrid. 
secession bid in October that
triggered many large—if
peaceful—protests.
Barcelona airport was also
hit by various strikes by secu-
rity workers, or more recently
Ryanair cabin crew.
“We’ve been experiencing a
year of ‘permanent conflict’,”
said Salva Vendrell, vice-presi-
dent of RETAILcat, a group
that represents shops and res-
taurants in 10 Catalan cities
including Barcelona.
BMW on Thursday reported a
dip in quarterly profits after
ramping up spending on elec-
tric and self-driving cars.
But the group confirmed its
full-year outlook, saying its
focus on future technology
would help see it through
“challenging times” as global
trade tensions mount.
The Munich-based group
reported net profit of 2.1 bil-
lion euros ($2.4 billion) from
April to June, down 6.1 per-
cent year-on-year but slightly
better than analysts had pre-
dicted.
Revenue at the group,
which also makes the compact
Mini and luxury Rolls-Royce,
dipped nearly three percent to
25 billion euros despite record
deliveries of nearly 638,000
cars in the second quarter.
BMW said earnings were
braked by negative currency
effects and higher raw materi-
als prices.
But a 14-percent spike in
spending on research and
development, to 2.6 billon
euros, was the main drag on
the bottom line as the compa-
ny joins other carmakers in
pivoting towards cleaner,
smarter cars.
Chief executive Harald
Krueger said BMW was focus-
ing on meeting “the demands
of tomorrow” as the industry
goes through “challenging
times”.
“The BMW Group has more
than 100 years of experience
in dealing with volatility in a
changing world,” Krueger
said.
“It is crucial that we remain
focused on the key issues of
profitability, growth and inno-
vation to ensure our competi-
tive edge going forward.”
Like other major carmak-
ers, BMW is nervously eyeing
an unfolding trade war
between the United States and
China, which have hit each
other with tit-for-tat tariffs on
billions of euros worth of
goods, including in the auto
sector.
“It’s hurting the image of
the city,” he told AFP, adding
his grouping estimates sales
have dropped an average of 30
percent in Barcelona this year
due to the various events, par-
ticularly in central, touristy
areas.
In Madrid, meanwhile, Luis
Pacheco of the COCEM trade
grouping estimated sales had
dropped between 20 and 30 per-
cent due to the strike as well as
unrelated public works on the
US President Donald
Trump has also threatened
hefty duties on cars imported
from the European Union,
after already imposing steel
and aluminium tariffs.
BMW, which has factories
in the US, Europe and China,
would be among the compa-
nies hardest hit if the trade
rows escalate.
“The trade situation is
clearly volatile,” Krueger told
reporters.
Speaking during the same
conference call, BMW finance
chief Nicolas Peter said the
group was closely following
the latest developments.
“Should conditions deterio-
rate, we of course can’t rule
out an impact on our fore-
casts,” Peter added.
Looking ahead to the full
year, BMW nevertheless
remained optimistic.
It said it continued to
expect new records for unit
sales and revenue, with pre-
tax profits “at the previous
year’s level” of 10.7 billion
euros.
Krueger said the company
was on track to deliver over
140,000 electric and hybrid
BMWs and Mini cars this
year, up more than 40 percent
on 2017.
The group was also work-
ing on “significantly expand-
ing” its footprint in China, the
world’s largest car market.
It plans to begin exporting
the fully electric BMW iX3, to
be built in China by its BBA
joint venture, from 2020, and
signed a deal with Chinese
manufacturer Great Wall
Motors to produce electric
vehicles there.
Shares in BMW shed 2.26
percent to 79.66 euros by 0930
GMT, against a blue-chip DAX
index that was down nearly
1.7 percent.
AFP/RSS
main Gran Via thoroughfare.
VTC drivers have in turn
criticised their traditional taxi
peers, charging some have
been attacked.
The central government’s
office in Madrid, which met
with members of Unauto, the
grouping that represents
VTCs, said police were “prob-
ing more than 60 complaints
for physical assault, damage to
vehicles, coercion and public
disorder.”

H O L D I N G BAC K

Myanmar scales back Chinese-backed port project due to debt fears

REUTERS
NAYPYITAW, Aug 2
Myanmar has scaled back plans
for a Chinese-backed port on its
western coast, sharply reducing
the cost of the project after con-
cerns it could leave the Southeast
Asian nation heavily indebted, a
top government official and an
advisor told Reuters.
The initial $7.3 billion price tag
on the Kyauk Pyu deepwater port,
on the western tip of Myanmar’s
conflict-torn Rakhine state, set
off alarm bells due to reports of
troubled Chinese-backed projects
in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the
official and the advisor said.
Deputy Finance Minister Set
Aung, who was appointed to lead
project negotiations in May, told
Reuters the “project size has been
tremendously scaled down”.
The revised cost would be
“around $1.3 billion, something
that’s much more plausible for
Myanmar’s use”, said Sean
Turnell, economic advisor to
Myanmar’s civilian leader, Aung
San Suu Kyi.
China’s state-run CITIC Group,
the main developer of the project,
said negotiations were ongoing
and that the $1.3 billion was to be
spent on the “initial phase” of the
port, adding the project was
divided into four phases. It did
not elaborate on plans for subse-
quent stages.
A Chinese foreign ministry
spokesman, Geng Shuang, said
Monday that “according to what I
understand, at present both sides
are having commercial negotia-
tions” on the Kyauk Pyu project.
“The talks are progressing,”
Geng said at a foreign ministry
briefing in Beijing. He referred
further questions to the compa-
two berths, Set Aung said in an
interview.
He declined to elaborate on
other specifications, citing ongo-
ing technical discussions.
The Kyauk Pyu port is a key
part of China’s ambitious Belt
and Road initiative, aimed at
expanding trade links across the
world. While Beijing says Belt
and Road is mutually beneficial
for it and its partners, questions
have been raised about countries
taking on excessive debt to build
projects.
In Myanmar, the government
faces a delicate balancing act in
renegotiating the project with
China, analysts say.
n Chinese 100 yuan banknotes are seen on a counter of a branch of a The country is increasingly
commercial bank in Beijing, China.  REUTERS reliant on diplomatic support
from Beijing as it faces Western
nies involved. 25-metre deep sea port to accom- criticism over its treatment of the
The original plan was to devel- modate bigger oil tankers, but the Rohingya Muslim minority in
op around 10 berths at the size will now be revised to only Rakhine state, and needs Beijing’s
help to end ethnic conflicts on its
borders. But many in Myanmar
are also wary of becoming too
dependent on China. “There is a
strong current of opinion that is
nervous about becoming overreli-
ant on China,” said Richard
Horsey, a former U.N. diplomat
and a Yangon-based political ana-
lyst. “That debate is playing out
within the government.”
Beijing has pushed for strate-
gic opportunities in Myanmar,
including preferential access to
the Kyauk Pyu port, after being
driven to all but abandon a hydro-
electric project in the country
amid widespread local opposition
last year.
Kyauk Pyu is an entry point for
a 770-kilometre (480-mile) pipeline
delivering oil and natural gas to
China’s Yunnan province. That
gives China an alternative route
for energy imports from the
Middle East that avoids the stra-
tegic chokepoint of the Malacca
Strait.
Under the original plan, Kyauk
Pyu would have had a container
capacity to rival that of ports
such as Manila or Valencia in
Spain.
Construction on the port, and
an accompanying special econom-
ic zone, which together were sup-
posed to cost up to $10 billion,
was expected to start in 2018.
A 4,200-acre industrial park
worth $2.3 billion was planned to
attract textile and oil refining
industries.
But Myanmar officials said the
experience of Sri Lanka, where
this year the government signed
over to China the lease on a stra-
tegic port to pay off Chinese-
backed loans used to finance it,
had raised concerns the country
could be walking into a debt trap.

C M Y K
III money economy the kathmandu post | Friday, August 3, 2018

news digest seed collection record Q2 loss

Wells Fargo to
pay $2.1b fine to Carmaker Tesla
burns through
settle US probe
NEW YORK: Wells Fargo
will pay $2.1 billion to

settle US charges it mis-
represented the quality
of home loans used in
securities that led to
2008 financial crisis, the
Justice Department
announced Wednesday.
Wells Fargo originated
and sold mortgage
loans that it knew con-
tained incorrect income
information, warrant-
ing a civil penalty, the
Justice Department
said in a statement.
Between 2005 and 2007,
Wells Fargo was the sec-
ond largest originator
of residential mortgag-
es pushed hard into
sub-prime loans by
encouraging underwrit-
ers to be more aggres-
sive, according to a set-
tlement agreement
signed by Wells Fargo
and released by the
Justice Department.
Testing by the bank
showed that a
“substantial” number
of loans contained
misrepresentations
or “materially inaccu-
rate” income but the
bank still greenlighted
the loans through
the process. (AFP)
Gold prices
edge higher as
$739.5m in cash
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CALIFORNIA, AUG 2
Electric car maker Tesla Inc.
burned through $739.5 million
in cash last quarter, paving
the way to a company record
$717.5 million net loss as it
cranked out more electric
cars.
But CEO Elon Musk
pledged to post net profits in
future quarters, and on a con-
ference call, he apologised to
two analysts he cut off on the
company’s first-quarter call.
Telsa’s shares jumped 9.3 per-
cent to $328.85 in after-hours
trading.
The net loss more than dou-
bled from the same quarter a
year ago, and was slightly
larger than the first quarter.
But Tesla’s cash burn in the
second quarter slowed from
about $1.1 billion.
On the call, Musk also said
he expects the company to
avoid returning to the mar-
kets for capital and to be
“essentially self-funding on a
nPeople harvest seed pods of lotus flowers from a pond in Tancheng in China’s eastern Shandong province. The seeds are used in Asian cuisine and traditional medicine. go-forward basis.” Tesla
Mostly sold in dried, shelled form, the seeds contain rich contents of protein, B vitamins, and dietary minerals. AFP/RSS would use money generated
from sales to fund big projects
such as an estimated $2 bil-
lion new factory in China
The net loss more than
doubled from the same
quarter a year ago, and
was slightly larger than
the first quarter
Tesla spent millions as it
reached a goal of producing
5,000 Model 3 sedans per week
by the end of June. It now
says production is rising,
with the goal of 6,000 per
week by the end of August.
The company said it expects
to reach 10,000 Model 3s per
week “sometime next year.”
Cash from selling the Model
3, which starts at $35,000
but runs far higher with
options, is key to holding off
more borrowing and turning
a profit.
Tesla’s cash balance fell to
$2.2 billion in June, from $2.7
billion in the first quarter.
Musk said he expects the
company to achieve sustained
quarterly net profits from
now on, barring an unfore-
seen event, supplier problems
or economic downturn. He
also said that production effi-
ciencies should rise as more

NOC daily loss drops to Rs10m

dollar eases
BENGALURU: Gold prices
rose on Thursday, recov-
ering from the previous
session’s fall, supported
by a weaker dollar ver-
sus the Japanese yen in
Asian trade. Spot gold
was up 0.2 percent at
$1,218.23 an ounce, as of
0701 GMT, after losing
0.65 percent in the pre-
vious session. US gold
futures were little
changed at $1,226.70 an
ounce. “I think people
are just watching the
dollar. The dollar-yen is
down and gold is up,”
said Yuichi Ikemizu,
Tokyo branch manager,
ICBC Standard Bank
said, adding that the
latest headlines on the
trade war front between
the US and China had
likely induced some
buying. (REUTERS)
Brazil’s central
bank maintains
key interest rate
BRASÍLIA: Brazil’s
Central Bank main-
POST REPORT
KATHMANDU, AUG 2 NOC loses Rs280.64 per cooking gas cylinder and
The projected daily loss of
Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC)
in its oil business has fallen to
Rs10 million compared to its
previous Rs16.7 million
after receiving the revised
price list from Indian Oil
Corporation (IOC).
As per the state oil monopo-
ly, it will be maintaining cur-
rent fuel prices this time
despite racking up losses.
Currently, petrol costs Rs110
per litre while diesel and kero-
sene are available for Rs93 per
litre each.
NOC has set up a price sta-
bilisation fund. As per the
Petroleum Products Auto
Pricing System Bylaw, the
enterprise will be able to
account for fluctuations in the
price of petroleum product via
this fund. NOC’s Acting
Managing Director Sushil
Bhattarai said the enterprise’s
projected loss has come down
to Rs301 million from Rs500
million per month. “NOC will
finally get some respite this
time thanks to the new the
price lists sent by IOC on
Wednesday,” Bhattarai said.
As per the reviewed price,
NOC maintains profit in pet-
rol, kerosene and aviation
fuel.
NOC will receive a profit of
87 paisa per litre in petrol
while the loss in diesel stands
Rs1.14 per each litre of diesel while the state oil monopoly
maintains a profit in petrol, kerosene and aviation fuel
at Rs1.14 per litre. However,
the enterprise’s loss in cook-
ing gas has escalated by
Rs46.46 per cylinder and now
loses Rs280.64 per cylinder.
Despite soaring losses in the
cooking gas business, NOC
has kept the fuel price
unchanged.
Last month saw prices
of petroleum products falling,
with the cost of Brent Crude
oil coming down to $74.25 per
barrel from around $78.70 per
barrel.
An uptick in the supply of
crude oil from the US led to an
increased global supply, taking
down the fuel price in the
world’s market, according to
international media reports.
“Last month, Brent fell by
more than 6 percent and US
crude slumped about 7 per-
cent, the biggest monthly
declines for both benchmarks
since July 2016,” reads
Reuters.
In its press statement, NOC
has mentioned that the coun-
try has been facing a growing
threat of fuel smuggling due to
the variation in price of the
fuel at bordering markets
of India and Nepal. According
to the enterprise, petrol is
cheaper by Rs23.22 per litre in
Nepal compared to Indian
market. Similarly, price of die-
sel in Nepali abordering mar-
ket is lesser by Rs25.39 per
litre than in India.
and another plant in Europe,
he said.
The company also said that
Model 3 gross profit margins
turned slightly positive dur-
ing the quarter as it worked
out expensive kinks in its
manufacturing system.
Last quarter, Musk mis-
treated two analysts by call-
ing their queries about the
company’s cash needs and
Model 3 orders “so dry” and
“not cool.” The call triggered
a stock sell-off and raised
questions about Musk’s
behavior.
But on Wednesday, a con-
trite Musk apologised to both
and said he was tired from
working more than 110 hours
per week last quarter. “It’s not
right,” he told an analyst from
RBC Capital Markets. “Hope
you accept my apologies.”
In a statement released
after the markets closed
Wednesday, Tesla said it
expects to produce 50,000
to 55,000 Model 3s in the
third quarter, an increase of
at least 75 percent from the
first quarter.
Model 3s are built, and he said
that he expects to make to
around 750,000 vehicles in cal-
endar year 2020.
The company said it has cut
back on capital spending by
changing its strategy to pro-
duce the Model 3 on existing
assembly lines, one in a giant
tent, rather than adding all-
new lines.
Tesla projected total 2018
capital spending at just below
$2.5 billion. That’s substan-
tially less than the 2017 level
of $3.4 billion.
The Palo Alto, California,
company said it lost $4.22 per
share from April through
June as revenue grew 43 per-
cent to just over $4 billion.
Adjusted for stock-based com-
pensation, the company lost
$3.06 per share. That was
worse than Wall Street esti-
mates. Analysts polled by
FactSet expected a $2.88 loss
per share.
Tesla also said it’s working
on a new version of its
Autopilot semi-autonomous
software that will have great-
er safety features.

US ‘disappoints’ the world with trade war sia’s budget

tained its key Selic
interest rate steady at
6.5 percent on
Wednesday, following a
bump in inflation
prompted by the depre-
ciating real and a pain-
ful truck drivers’ strike.
The Central Bank made
12 consecutive rate cuts
ending in March, bring-
ing the Selic to a histor-
ic low. Analysts now
expect it to remain
unchanged until the
end of the year before
rising to around eight
percent next year. The
latest decision to hold
rates followed the lift-
ing of fears of inflation-
ary pressure in the
wake of the truckers’
strike. The protest
against high fuel prices
paralyzed transport
across Latin America’s
biggest country for
almost two weeks in
May, leading to empty
shop shelves and huge
lines at gas stations,
followed by a brief
spike in prices for
many goods. (AFP)
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
BEIJING, Aug 2
China warned the United
States on Thursday that
upping the ante in a tit-for-tat
trade war will “only serve to
disappoint” the world as
Washington threatened to
raise the tariff rate on the next
$200 billion of Chinese
imports.
Beijing said it would be
forced to take countermeas-
ures to defend Chinese inter-
ests, free trade and the inter-
national order.
“The US has no regard for
the world... playing both soft
and hard ball with China will
not have any effect, and only
serve to disappoint the coun-
tries and territories opposed
to a trade war,” China’s
Ministry of Commerce said in
a statement, adding that it still
hopes to turn the situation
around.
Foreign ministry spokes-
man Geng Shuang called
Washington’s actions “black-
mail” and urged the United
States “to return to rationality
and not act on impulse. It will
only hurt themselves.”
President Donald Trump
asked the US Trade
Representative to consider
increasing the proposed tariffs
to 25 percent from the planned
10 percent, USTR Robert
Lighthizer said on Wednesday.
“We have been very clear
about the specific changes
China should undertake.
Regrettably, instead of chang-
ing its harmful behaviour,
China has illegally retaliated
against US workers, farmers,
ranchers and businesses,”
Lighthizer said in a statement.
Officials, however, down-
played suggestions the move
was intended to compensate
for the recent decline in the
value of the Chinese currency,
which has threatened to take
much of the sting out of
Trump’s tariffs by making
imports cheaper.
The US dollar has been
strengthening since April as
the central bank has been rais-
ing lending rates, which draws
investors looking for higher
returns.
“It’s important that coun-
tries refrain from devaluing
currencies for competitive
purposes,” a senior adminis-
tration official told reporters.
“But I wouldn’t draw the con-
clusion that the announce-
ment we’re making today is
directly linked to any one
practice.”
Washington and Beijing are
locked in battle over American
accusations that China’s
export economy benefits from
unfair policies and subsidies,
as well as theft of American
technological know-how.
Trump has threatened to
slap tariffs on virtually all of
China’s exports to the United
States.
Officials said they remained
in regular contact with their
Chinese counterparts but
could announce no new meet-
ing. The US already imposed
25 percent tariffs on $34 billion
in Chinese goods, with anoth-
er $16 billion to be targeted in
coming weeks.
On July 10, Washington
unveiled a list of another $200
billion in Chinese goods, from
areas as varied as electrical
machinery, leather goods and
seafood, that would be hit with
10 percent import duties.
Increasing the rates to 25
percent could make them sig-
nificantly more painful.
The comment period on the
proposed penalties, which
includes public hearings
where business can ask for
exemptions, due to take place
later this month, would be
extended into September, the
officials said.
Much of American industry
and many members of
Trump’s own Republican
Party have expressed outrage
but have so far been unable to
thwart Trump’s trade policies.
airlines Scoot
to hike fares
SINGAPORE: Singapore
Airlines Ltd’s budget arm
Scoot said on Thursday it
would raise fares across its
network by an average of
about 5 percent in response
to a surge in oil prices that
had pushed up costs.
The fare hike, effective
September 1, will add $5 to
S$30 ($3.66 to $21.98) to the
cost of each one-way journey
depending on the flight dura-
tion. Carriers around the
world are attempting to raise
fares to help recoup the ris-
ing cost of fuel, with the oil
price up 40 percent to $73 a
barrel over the last year.
The airline said fuel com-
prised an average of 32 per-
cent of its operating costs
and its fuel costs had risen by
31 percent.
Scoot reported a S$1 mil-
lion profit in the June quar-
ter, down from S$3 million a
year earlier. (REUTERS)

flight disruption

Ryanair braces for new round of strikes in Europe

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
DUBLIN, Aug 2
Ryanair’s Irish pilots are prepar-
ing to strike again on Friday in a
new wave of industrial action
against the no-frills carrier
across Europe at the height of
summer travel.
Industrial action is also
planned by Ryanair pilots in
Belgium and Sweden on August
10, while German and Dutch
cockpit crew have voted to strike
but have not yet set a date.
Friday’s strike will be the
fourth in Ireland for Europe’s sec-
ond biggest airline, and will
affect 20 out of 300 flights in and
out of the country that day.
The low-cost airline in a state-
ment on Wednesday offered to
meet the Irish pilots “so we can
get down to the serious work of
resolving this dispute”.
But its chief executive Michael
O’Leary has warned the airline
may shift jobs and planes to more
profitable areas if the strikes
continue.
“These unions have to learn
that Ryanair is not some legacy
airline that’s going to roll over
every time we’re threatened with
a strike,” O’Leary told investors
on Monday, Bloomberg reported.
Unions have been highly criti-
cal of Ryanair’s combative
approach.
The Swedish pilots union
Svensk Pilotforening (SPF) said
Ryanair “had consistently
refused to meet with and negoti-
ate with representatives of SPF”,
accusing the Irish airline of
wanting to pick its own negotiat-
ing team from the union.
The SPF said around 40 pilots
a sufficient sick pay and pen-
sion”. Ryanair’s share price fell
sharply by 3.41 percent to 13.61
euros by around 1430 GMT follow-
ing the union announcements.
Germany’s Cockpit union gave
Ryanair until August 6 to submit
a proposal for negotiation, noting
that talks last Friday had broken
down with no agreement.
“Since the start of our negotia-
tions in January, Ryanair has
been playing for time and even if
Ryanair is not taking this ballot
n A Ryanair airplane takes off in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.  reuters seriously, industrial action like in
other European countries seems
at Skavsta airport, 100 kilometres and a strike in the Netherlands unavoidable in Germany as well,”
(62 miles) southwest of might be the only solution,” the the union said.
Stockholm, would go on strike. Dutch Airline Pilots Association Ryanair said it remained open
Dutch and German pilots have said in a statement. to further talks with pilot repre-
also voted by overwhelming mar- The union said that Dutch law sentatives to discuss union recog-
gins to strike unless they reach a should be applied to Ryanair con- nition and collective labour
deal with management. tracts and there should be “no agreements.
“Ryanair needs a wake-up call more bogus self-employment and “In the interim, we have
requested these pilot unions
to give us seven days’ notice of
any planned strike action so
that we can minimise the
disruption to our customers
by cancelling flights in advance
and offering them alternative
flights or refunds,” a company
statement said.
Ryanair, which flies in 37 coun-
tries and carried 130 million pas-
sengers last year, averted wide-
spread strikes before Christmas
2017 by agreeing to recognise
trade unions for the first time in
its 32-year history.
But in the months since it has
struggled to reach agreement on
terms with several of them.
The airline was hit by a round
of strikes last week affecting 600
flights in Belgium, Ireland, Italy,
Portugal and Spain.
It said the 100,000 affected pas-
sengers had all been put on alter-
native flights or would receive
refunds.
Following last week’s strikes,
the airline threatened to cut more
than 300 jobs in Ireland, blaming
a downturn in bookings caused
by the industrial action.
The airline said the overhaul
was also partly driven by the
“rapid growth” of Ryanair
Sun, its profitable Polish charter
operation.
Unions want the airline to give
contractors the same work condi-
tions as staff employees.
They are also seeking that
Ryanair staff be employed
according to the national
legislation of the country they
work in, rather than that of
Ireland as is currently the case,
which blocks the workers’ access
to state benefits.

C M Y K
Friday, August 3, 2018 | the kathmandu post bazaar money IV

Oppo A3s set to launch

shares market watch

Nepse 1,191.31pts
-0.21%
RETAIL PRICE
Vegetables Unit Price (Rs)

in domestic market
highest losers
Red Potato kg Rs55
CEFL GUFL MLBBL GRDBL MSMBS SIL
-9.67% -3.66% -3.14% -3.03% -2.98% -2.80% White Potato kg Rs48

moderate losers Onion (Indian) kg Rs48

RADHI NLG SMATA NHPC HIDCL AHPC POST REPORT RAM and 16GB internal storage. Tomato Small kg Rs43
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of up to 256GB to further expand Carrot kg Rs125
moderate gainers Oppo, the selfie expert is all set to the memory.
introduce a new mid-range smart- The Oppo A3s sports a 6.2-inch Tomato Big kg Rs55
KRBL KEBL AMFI LEMF NICGF NIBLPF phone, the A3s, in Nepal. The com- screen with a notch at the top. The
1.88% 1.91% 1.92% 2% 2.02% 2.02% pany is looking to target youths device is expected to be one of the Squash kg Rs65
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with advanced features such as sive 4,230mAh battery.
Nepal Stock Exchange dual cameras, super full screen Out of the box, the upcoming
Singhadurbar Plaza, Kathmandu Fruits Unit Price (Rs)
August 02, 2018 display and an impressive Oppo A3s will run ColourOS 5.1
4,230mAh battery. Such features There is a dual camera setup on A3s will also feature AI beauty which is based on Android 8.1. Apple kg Rs115
Trading Information Trading Price
which are more commonly found the rear of the upcoming A3s, a technology to improve photos and Other notable features include
SN Company Max Min Closing No Shares
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5 Arun Valley Hydropower Dev Co Ltd 142 139 139 1544 Cucumber kg Rs55
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Asian Life Insurance Co Ltd
Bank of Kathmandu Ltd
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265
142
104
626
257
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632
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on monsoon lull Banana Doz Rs95

10 Bhargav Bikash Bank Ltd 125 125 125 1000
11 Bottlers Nepal (Terai) Ltd 5400 5400 5400 100
12 Butwal Power Co Ltd 442 436 440 2079
13 Central Finance Co Ltd 116 114 116 1887 Lime 100Pcs Rs275
14 Century Commercial Bank Ltd 167 165 167 4939 REUTERS
15 Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 868 860 868 1833
16 Chilime Hydropower Co Ltd 752 743 743 3020 BENGALURU, AUG 2
17 Citizen Bank International Ltd 233 230 233 10187 daily commodities
18 Citizen Investment Trust 2490 2420 2421 725
19 City Express Finance Co Ltd 122 112 112 1520 Rice prices in top exporter India rose this
20 Civil Bank Ltd 149 147 149 18583 week on concerns of lower production due Commodities Unit Price (Rs)
21 Civil Bank Ltd Promoter Share 120 120 120 101650 to below-normal rainfall, while traders in
22 Civil Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 720 720 720 11
23 Corporate Dev Bank Ltd 100 100 100 1000 Thailand and Vietnam kept a close eye on Pokhreli Rice kg Rs75
24 Deprosc Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 707 697 703 1091 the possibility of flooding in major rice
25
26
Deva Bikas Bank Ltd
Dibyashwori Hydropower Ltd
131
105
125
105
129
105
5752
30 growing regions. Jeera Masino Rice kg Rs70
27 Everest Bank Ltd 670 665 665 5867 Rates for India’s 5 percent broken par-
28 Everest Bank Ltd Con. Pref. 604 604 604 64 boiled variety rose by $3 to $392-$396 per Indian Basmati Rice kg Rs120
29 Everest Insurance Co Ltd 1310 1280 1280 337
30 Excel Dev Bank Ltd 323 317 323 643 tonne this week amid modest demand, after
31 First Micro Finance Dev Bank Ltd 506 500 500 11038 Mansuli Rice kg Rs55
falling to the lowest level since April 20,
32 Forward Community Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 2120 2080 2080 816
33 Gandaki Bikas Bank Ltd 195 192 193 1105 2017 last month. Sona Rice kg Rs50
34 Garima Bikas Bank Ltd 183 179 181 3586 “In many rice growing pockets rainfall is
35 Global IME Bank Ltd 294 287 293 37623
36 Global IME Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 0 0 0 34 lower than usual. It could hit production,” Beaten Rice(Taichin) kg Rs130
37 Goodwill Finance Co Ltd 125 125 125 340 said an exporter based at Kakinada in the
38 Grameen Bikas Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 579 572 574 4080
39 Green Dev Bank Ltd 130 128 128 120
southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Beaten Rice kg Rs70
40 Gurans Life Insurance Co Ltd 860 835 835 916 Farmers in India had planted sum-
41 Gurkhas Finance Ltd 109 105 105 625 mer-sown paddy rice on 19.76 million hec- Big Mas kg Rs110
42 Hathway Finance Co Ltd 129 129 129 40
43 Himalayan Bank Ltd 562 557 557 532 tares as of July 20, down 12.4 percent from a
44 Himalayan Distillery Ltd 1290 1270 1270 174 year ago. Small Mas kg Rs90
45 Himalayan General Insurance Co Ltd 443 430 431 1028 India is likely to receive below-normal
46 Himalayan Power Partner Ltd 275 270 270 260 Big Mung kg Rs100
47 ICFC Finance Ltd 163 161 163 1235 monsoon rains in 2018, a private weather
48 IME General Insurance Ltd 848 816 848 320 forecaster said on Wednesday, raising con-
49 Jalabidyut Lagani tatha Bikas Co Ltd 165 163 163 15133
cerns over farm output in Asia’s third-big- Musuro(No. 1) kg Rs100
50 Janaki Finance Ltd 194 187 191 3433
51 Janata Bank Nepal Ltd 157 152 154 12319 gest economy.
52 Janautthan Samudayic Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 2920 2920 2920 14 Musuro(No. 2) kg Rs90
53 Jebils Finance Ltd 100 100 100 1000 Meanwhile, a senior food ministry offi-
54 Jyoti Bikas Bank Ltd 141 138 138 3280 cial from neighbouring Bangladesh, which Rahar kg Rs110
55 Kabeli Bikas Bank Ltd 213 209 213 85 emerged as a major importer of rice in 2007,
56 Kailash Bikas Bank Ltd 225 220 220 2877
57 Kalika Microcredit Dev Bank Ltd 1301 1301 1301 33 said the country does not have any plan to Chana(Big) kg Rs200
58 Kamana Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd 142 140 142 3014 import rice for now due to higher local pro-
59 Kankai Bikas Bank Ltd 128 127 128 316
60 Karnali Dev Bank Ltd 110 106 108 238 curement. Chana(Small) kg Rs150
61 Khanikhola Hydropower Co Ltd 108 105 108 112 Thailand’s benchmark 5 percent broken
62
63
Kisan Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd
Kumari Bank Ltd
1569
200
1539
199
1569
200 7845
68 rice rose slightly to $385-$393 per tonne this Chilli Powder kg Rs300
64 Laxmi Bank Ltd 249 245 246 6526 week free on board (FOB) Bangkok, from
65 Laxmi Equity Fund 8.16 8.16 8.16 1000 $380-$385 last week on a stronger bhat, but
66 Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1040 1030 1030 214
demand remained flat, traders said.
67 Laxmi Value Fund-1 10.40 10.40 10.40 200 gasoline watch
68 Life Insurance Co Nepal 1601 1588 1590 6860 “There is interest from markets like the
69 Lumbini Bikas Bank Ltd 155 153 155 10749 Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, with-
70 Lumbini General Insurance Co Ltd 529 520 520 8989
71 Machhapuchhre Bank Ltd 207 204 207 3031 out any deals ... If prices remain low, these
72 Mahalaxmi Bikas Bank Ltd 189 184 186 5852 might turn into deals,” a Bangkok-based
73 Mahila Sahayatra Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 676 650 650 865
74 Mahuli Samudayik Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 2620 2592 2595 215 rice trader said.
75 Manjushree Finance Ltd 123 119 119 3006 Thailand is in the middle of harvesting
76 Mega Bank Nepal Ltd 164 162 164 14036
77 Mero Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1050 1031 1032 147 its off-season crops. But, heavy rainfall has
78 Mirmire LaghuBitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1452 1452 1452 53 increased the risk of flooding, which could
79 Miteri Dev Bank Ltd 280 271 276 1561 pressure supplies.
80 Mithila LaghuBitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 960 925 925 46
81 Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd 380 376 376 7936 Traders are also keeping an eye on the
82 Nabil Bank Ltd 909 904 906 5552 water levels at 11 major dams, including
83 NABIL Bank Ltd Promotor Share 705 702 704 3656
84 Nabil Equity Fund 9 9 9 13471 several located upstream to the rice bowl in
85 NagBeli LaghuBitta Bikas Bank Ltd 1142 1120 1123 698 central Thailand, which have risen to near
86 National Hydro Power Co Ltd 82 81 81 600 their storage limit.
87 National Life Insurance Co Ltd 770 761 761 1012
88 National Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 2199 2121 2161 90 Authorities, however, have stressed that
89 Naya Nepal Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 735 721 721 300 flooding is not imminent.
90 Neco Insurance Co Ltd 525 518 521 1396
n Women make earthen pots at Pottery Square, Bhaktapur. The area is renowned for its earthenware “If the release of water results in pro-
91 Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd 210 205 207 3146
92 Nepal Bank Ltd 292 287 289 7872 products. POST PHOTO: KESHAV THAPA longed flooding, then it could damage crops
93 Nepal Community Dev Bank Ltd 120 120 120 275 and increase prices,” another trader said.
94 Nepal Credit And Commercial Bank Ltd 184 179 182 11035
95 Nepal Doorsanchar Comapany Ltd 734 717 720 1710
96 Nepal Hydro Developers Ltd 167 164 165 110
97 Nepal Insurance Co Ltd 559 541 550 1230 c o f f e e wa r s
98 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd 625 621 624 5179

Starbucks bets on Alibaba tie-up

99 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd Promoter Share 555 547 550 13911
100 Nepal Life Insurance Co Ltd 1014 1009 1011 2871
101 Nepal SBI Bank Ltd 505 500 502 1337
102 Nepal Seva Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 388 388 388 10
103 Nerude Laghubita Bikas Bank Ltd 628 621 628 1339
104 Ngadi Group Power Ltd 165 160 165 385

to revive China sales

105 NIBL Pragati Fund 8.06 8.06 8.06 2525
106 NIBL Samriddhi Fund 1 10.50 10.48 10.50 6400
107 NIC Asia Bank Ltd 317 314 317 5531
108 NIC Asia Growth Fund 9.07 9.07 9.07 2000
109 Nirdhan Utthan Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 987 968 971 605
110 NLG Insurance Co Ltd 870 843 843 1538
111 NMB Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1520 1515 1520 620
112 NMB Bank Ltd 328 316 318 7604 REUTERS and online payment platform
113 Om Dev Bank Ltd 171 169 169 6567 SHANGHAI, AUG 2 Alipay. Starbucks will also bullion Price Per tola
114 Oriental Hotels Ltd 500 496 497 3201
115 Pokhara Finance Ltd 139 135 139 2040 open a virtual store on Alibaba’s
116 Prabhu Bank Ltd 188 184 186 3692 Starbucks Corp is partnering platforms where customers can
117 Prabhu Insurance Ltd 505 498 499 1664
with Alibaba to deliver its coffee buy Starbucks merchandise,
118
119
Premier Insurance Co Ltd
Prime Commercial Bank Ltd
1083
287
1060
285
1061
286
1452
5644 in Chinese cities starting this they said. Fine Gold Rs56,000
120 Prime Life Insurance Co Ltd 521 516 516 6908 fall, betting the move will revive The delivery programme will
121 ProgressiveFinance Ltd 114 112 114 110
122 Prudential Insurance Co Ltd 741 730 731 2741 sales growth in its second-largest leverage Ele.me’s 3 million regis-
123
124
Purnima Bikas Bank Ltd
Radhi Bidyut Co Ltd
172
232
170
224
172
224
138
280
market that is witnessing aggres- tered riders, with an aim of Silver Rs735
125 Rairang Hydropower Dev Co Ltd 160 154 160 1630 sive local competition. delivering orders within half an
126 Rastriya Beema Co Ltd 10402 10356 10356 50 Starbucks flagged in June that hour. Starbucks will establish Source: FENEGOSIDA
127 Reliance Finance Ltd 124 120 121 3542 it was pursuing such a tie-up “Starbucks Delivery Kitchens”
128 Ridi Hydropower Dev Co Ltd 120 117 119 1488
129 RMDC Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 628 620 621 1252 after reporting a sudden slow- inside Hema stores and use the
130 RSDC Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 530 523 524 671 down in China sales growth, supermarket’s delivery system to
131 Sagarmatha Insurance Co Ltd 1330 1320 1320 945
which it blamed partly on a fulfil Starbucks delivery orders. Int’l market
132 Sahayogi Bikas Bank Ltd 199 196 196 2200
133 Samata Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1311 1304 1304 466 crackdown on third-party deliv- Starbucks had no formal
134 Sana Kisan Bikas Bank Ltd 1092 1090 1091 341 ery firms that had previously online delivery in China before Energy Price (US$)%Change
135 Sanima Bank Ltd 317 315 316 5989
136 Sanima Mai Hydropower Ltd 319 310 319 105634 helped drive orders at its cafes. this deal. Instead, unapproved Brent Crude Futr (Bbl) 71.95 -0.61
137 Saptakoshi Dev Bank Ltd 117 115 116 932 “I consider this strategic part- third-party delivery services had
138 Shangrila Dev Bank Ltd 148 144 144 3070 Gas Oil Fut (Ice) (Mt) 639.00 -0.23
139 Shikhar Insurance Co Ltd 928 920 925 2022 nership to be one that ... will just filled that gap by picking up bulk
140 Shine Resunga Dev Bank Ltd 280 272 273 2252 be rocket fuel for Starbucks’ orders for their own customers. Gasoline Rbob Fut (Gal) 203.23 -0.63
141 Shree Investment Finance Co Ltd 148 147 147 915 Natural Gas Futr (Mmbtu) 2.75 -0.33
142 Shrijana Finance (Bittaya Sanstha) 274 274 274 100 growth and continued expansion Analysts have said an official
143 Siddhartha Bank Ltd 300 296 298 3398 in China,” Starbucks Chief delivery arrangement would
144 Siddhartha Equity Fund 9.10 9.10 9.10 1000 Agriculture Price (US$)%Change
Executive Kevin Johnson told push up costs for Starbucks.
145 Siddhartha Insurance Ltd 665 652 659 493
146 Soaltee Hotel Ltd 241 240 240 3599 reporters in Shanghai on Starbucks said its delivery n A customer walks out of a Starbucks coffee shop in Beijing.  afp/rss Cocoa Future (Mt) 2,136.00 0.33
147 Standard Chartered Bank Ltd 748 740 747 2531 Thursday. menu will only contain items Coffee ‘C’ Future (Lb) 107.1 -0.88
148 Summit Micro Finance Dev Bank Ltd 925 925 925 70
149 Sunrise Bank Ltd 220 217 217 5625 The Seattle-based company that can meet its half-hour dead- Some parts of the agreement, ordering, big discounts and pre- Corn Future (Bu) 382.75 0.86
150 Surya Life Insurance Co Ltd 559 552 559 3550 will pilot delivery services from line, but did not specify whether including the Ele.me tie-up was mium pay for its staff.
151 Suryodaya Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1469 1440 1469 78 150 Starbucks stores in Beijing it will charge for the deliveries. exclusive, while others were not, Luckin said on Wednesday it Cotton No.2 Futr (Lb) 88 -0.38
152 Swabalamban Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1201 1200 1200 124
153 Swadeshi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1660 1640 1640 466 and Shanghai and plans to Its pilot delivery programme in Starbucks executives said. The planned to more than double its Rough Rice (Cbot) (Cwt) 11.88 -0.34
154 Swarojgar Laghu Bitta Bikas Bank Ltd 779 761 761 1111 expand that to more than 2,000 Manhattan and Seattle a few partnership had been discussed number of stores in China to
155 Synergy Power Dev Ltd 116 115 116 547 Soybean Future (Bu) 895.00 -0.75
156 Taragaon Regency Hotel Ltd 263 263 263 30 stores across 30 cities by the end years back fizzled partly because for more than a year, the compa- 2,000 by the end of 2018.
Soybean Meal Futr (T) 334.5 -0.45
157 Tinau Dev Bank Ltd 175 171 171 2963 of the year, Starbucks and it charged too much: $5.99 per nies said. Johnson acknowledged the
158 United Insurance Co (Nepal) Ltd 880 871 871 568 Alibaba said in a joint statement. delivery. China has offered Starbucks competition but added that the Soybean Oil Futr (Lb) 28.73 -0.76
159 United Modi Hydropower Ltd 171 166 167 3686
160 Unnati Micorfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1835 1816 1820 520 Starbucks expects to start see- Luckin Coffee, a local startup rich pickings in recent years, significant opportunity in China Sugar #11 (World) (Lb) 10.45 -0.29
161 Vijaya laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 727 726 726 110 ing some of the benefits from the that wants to go toe-to-toe with thanks to a burgeoning cafe cul- made that unsurprising.
162 Womi Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1322 1319 1319 901 Wheat Future(Cbt) (Bu) 566.75 1.52
partnership in the next quarter Starbucks, charges less than $1 ture which has helped offset sat- Starbucks’ move to offer deliv-
Total Traded Amount Rs.: 207,921,471 Sub-Indices Current Pts Change %Change and the full impact in 2019, per order and has said its deliv- uration in the United States. It ery “is in part to make sure they Industrial Metals Price (US$) %Change
Total Traded Shares: 672,368 Banking 1,017.81 0.73 0.07 Johnson said. eries took an average of 18 min- has 3,400 stores in the country don’t fall behind Luckin Coffee
Total Transactions: 2,992 Hotels 1,808.45 2.25 0.12 Copper Future (Lb) 272.15 -0.95
The companies will collabo- utes. Starbucks and Alibaba did and plans to almost double that in terms of offering high quality
Dev Bank 1,413.61 8.27 0.58 rate across businesses within the not give financial details of the number by 2022. delivery services” to a customer
Index Current Pts Change %Change Precious Metals Price (US$)%Change
NEPSE 1,191.31 2.56 0.21 HydroPower 1,430.93 1.56 0.11
Finance 608.10 1.96 0.32
Alibaba group, including deliv- partnership and declined to say But there is pressure from group of young office workers
Sensitive 251.15 0.41 0.16 Gold 100 Oz Futr (T Oz) 1,223.80 -0.31
Float 85.56 0.15 0.18 Non Life Insur 5,850.05 57.37 0.97 ery platform Ele.me, supermar- whether the companies had dis- local companies such as Luckin, who do not want to stand in line,
ket chain Hema, online retailers cussed taking equity stakes in which has expanded rapidly and said Ben Cavender, an analyst at Silver Future (T Oz) 15.45 -0.01
Base: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100 Tmall and Taobao, and mobile each other. offers cheap delivery, online China Market Research Group.

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