KIST BANK GETS APPROVAL TO SEEK STRATEFIC FOREIGN PARTER

KIST BOARD GETS APPROVAL TO SEEK FOREIGN STRATEGIC PARTNER

Kathmandu, 21 Oct. Board of Kist Bank has got approval to seek a foreign strategic partner.
A special annual general meeting Wednesday gave such approval
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PREPARATIONS AFOOT FOR CHINESE PREMIER WEN’S NEPALL VISIT
Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: A series of high-level exchanges between Nepal and China beginning next month are likely to pave the way for the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Kathmandu, according to a highly-placed source, Anil Giri writes in The Kathmandu Post.
Two high-level visits from China next month, followed by the visit of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha to Beijing, will open up high-level visits from China, most possibly by Premier Wen Jiabao, a senior government official said.
No Chinese prime minister has visited Nepal in more than 10 years, the last being in May 2001 by Zhu Rongji.
Ai Ping, the Vice Minister at the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), will be in Kathmandu for four days beginning November 8 on a preparatory visit. Ai is a familiar face in Kathmandu's political circle and has held a series to talks with various political leaders when he accompanied Zhou Yongkang, a powerful Standing Committee member of the CPC Political Bureau, to Kathmandu in the second week of August. Ai will be accompanied by more than two dozen officials, who will land in a chartered flight, including a senior member of the CPC.
On Saturday, Chen Zhimin, vice minister at the Ministry of Public Security of China, visited Kathmandu and held talks with senior government officials including Home Secretary Sushil Jang Bahadur Rana.
Ai is likely to be promoted as the leader of the China Ministry of Foreign Affairs--the foreign minister--in near future.
While in Nepal, Ai will meet President Ram Baran Yadav, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and other senior politicians. Nepal's stability and prosperity is beneficial not only for its own people but also for cooperation between China and South Asia, Ai recently told the Post in an interview. China is keen to develop good relations with its neighbours in an attempt to build partnerships with these economies, he said.
After Ai returns, DPM Shrestha will visit Beijing to extend invitation to Premier Wen to visit Nepal. "Recently, the Chinese side has suggested that a senior Nepali official visit Beijing to extend invitation to the Chinese Premier,” said a senior government official. The visit could take place in November-end or early December, said an official.
A military delegation from the Tibet Autonomous Region arrives in Kathmandu on November 9 on a two-day visit. Deputy Chief of Chinese People's Liberation Army of the Tibet will lead the delegation for, among other things, keeping tab on the preparations of the Premier's visit.
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PARTIES CLOSE TO DEAL ON INTEGRATION

Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: Though they failed to sign a deal on integration despite marathon negotiaions on Wednesday and Thursday, the three major parties have struck consensus on integrating former Maoist combatants by forming a new directorate with a non-combat mandate as proposed by the Nepal Army, Phanindra Dahal wrirtes in The Kathmandu Post.
The Maoist leadership consented to a non-combat mandate only after non-Maoist parties agreed that the directorate, apart from its initial mandate, could also undertake other responsibilities given by the state in the future. The Maoists had earlier expressed reservations over the limited manadate that included national level infrastructure construction, forest security, industrial security and rescue and relief operations prescribed for the directorate.
"We have agreed to accept the directorate with the mandates proposed by the Nepal Army. We had an agreement that the combatants will get the responsibilities similar to that of a regular Army and can undertake other responsibilities prescribed by the state," Maoist Special Committee member and Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun said. He said his party is mindful of the Army's sensitivity and does not intend to erode the professionalism of the national army in pushing ahead with the integration process.
Pun, along with Nepali Congress General Secretary Krishna Prasad Situala and UML leader Bhim Rawal, worked throughout Wednesday night to prepare a draft of an agreement on contentious issues of the peace process. The proposal outlining recommendations on numbers, modality, rank determination, norms of integration and the rehabilitation package was briefed by Rawal to the top leaders of the three parties at Baluwatar on Thursday morning.
A UML leader who attending the three-party talks confirmed that the major parties had resolved the differences on the mandate of the directorate that would integrate the former combatants. "The Maoist Chairman himself had consented to the mandates when the proposal was prepared by the Army, but he later backtracked following pressures from hardliners within his party," the leader said.
The Mohan Baidya faction of the Maoist party is demanding that the directorate be given a complete military mandate and the same role as that of Army soldiers. The Army plans not to provide peacekeeping role and access to weapons to the newly integrated combatants.
Leaders, who attended Thursday's talks said the parties have 'almost settled' their differences on numbers, modality and rehabilitation package, but are yet to find a meeting point on rank determination and norms of integration. Negotiators refused to divulge details of the resolved issues.
Maoist Chairman Dahal himself urged party leaders not to publicise the contents unless there is an agreement on a package deal. Talking to the Post before departing for New Delhi, Pun said the parties were close to consensus on integrating 6,000-7,000 combatants, offer rehabilitation package worth Rs 500,000 and voluntary retirement package worth Rs 700,000 for the combatants.
During talks held on Wednesday night, the Maoists urged the opposition leaders to provide a position of brigadier general as a 'symbolic gesture' to conclude the peace process. They also assured that the combatant, who will be conferred with the 'symbolic rank', will later voluntarily retire from the Army.
The NC is still reluctant to offer a rank senior to a lieutenant colonel and has proposed a 'minus one approach' for fixing the norms of integration. According to this, combatants should at least pass grade 10 to be qualified for the position of officer (which requires at least intermediate degree in the Army) and should pass grade seven to be selected a sepoy.
The NC had shared its draft with the Maoists on Sunday that proposed integration of 5,000 combatants and cash package between Rs 200,000 and Rs 400,000 for those opting for rehabilitation and a voluntary retirement package worth between Rs 300,000 and Rs 600,000.
The NC is learnt to have received the consent of the Army on its proposal before it was handed over to Maoist leaders.
On Tuesday, the Maoists submitted their proposal to NC leaders calling for integration of 7,000 combatants, rehabilitation package between Rs 600,000 and Rs 1,000,000 and voluntary retirement package between Rs 600,000 and Rs 900,000. NC leader Krishna Sitaula said talks were headed for a positive direction and that there could be a "result" after Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai returns from India.
"We felt that the Maoists are yet to complete discussions within their party," Sitaula said. "If there is consensus, there will not be a partial deal but a package agreement on all the contentious issues."
Sitaula, Ram Sharan Mahat, and Minendra Rijal held initial rounds of talks with Maoist leaders Pun, Janardan Sharma and Krishna Bahadur Mahara after Dashain to prepare a groundwork of the ongoing cross party discussions. The NC team urged the party leadership to hold talks with the Maoist brass after its second layer leaders said they were not completely authorised to settle the contentious issues.
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PROTECTION OF INVESTOR INVESTMENT PLAN MOOTED
Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: The stakeholders of Nepali capital market are rooting for establishment of funds to compensate the investors of losses arising from defaults from the other parties, The Himalayan Times reports.

“Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse), along with Securities Board of Nepal (sebon) is preparing a mechanism for the establishment of Investment Protection Fund and Trade Guarantee Fund to protect investors’ and stakeholders’ interest,” said managing director of Nepse Shankar Man Singh.

Sebon has already started the necessary procedures for establishing Investor Protection Fund in coordination with Company Registrar Office.

Investor Protection Fund will compensate the investors incase broker defaults on payment on the behalf of the client resulting in cancellation of order or investors incurring losses due to some technical failure of the stock exchanges’ or brokers’ trading system.

Similarly, Trade Guarantee Fund, on the other hand will ensure timely execution of settlements of contracts and protect the interest of investors and the other stakeholders.

“The creation of these funds is supposed to inculcate confidence in the minds of secondary market participants,” Singh pointed out.

The main objective of Trade Guarantee fund is to guarantee settlement transactions of the members of the exchange that is no brokers or sub-brokers default any payments. All the members of stock exchange are required to make initial contribution towards Trade Guarantee Fund.

Almost all of the major stock exchanges worldwide have such funds to reimburse or compensate the losses of investors and the members in case of technical failure or human error. The regulators have even made it mandatory for the stock exchanges to create protections funds.

“The stock exchange and brokers can contribute small portion of the transaction fee for the funds,” Singh said, adding that the unclaimed dividends of the listed companies can also be included as a part of the fund.

Moreover, the capital market has been opened for Non Resident Nepalis (NRN), stock market has to put in place the mechanisms that safeguard the investors’ interest to attract large number of international players in the capital market.

“The investors with exposure to international market are cautious about the existence of such protection funds that will build confidence in the market,” he added.

The existence of Investor Protection Fund will also be indispensable once the regulator permits the brokers to undertake margin lending to clients.

“Incase a client fails or refuses to pay the lent amount, if the market swings to unfavourable direction, brokers will incur heavy loss, so we need guarantee funds in the market,” informed president of Stock Brokers Association of Nepal (SBAN) Anjan Raj Poudel.

Under the margin lending, the brokers give partial loan to client in order to cover a larger investment than one’s capital could directly cover.

Poudel also pointed out that investors and brokers had borne losses earlier too, when the buyers have defaulted on payment and even provided cheques that bounced.

27 firms yet to pay renewal fee

Twenty seven listed companies are yet to pay their listing dues to Nepse to revoke their suspension. The listed companies that have failed to pay the annual renewal fee by the third month of new fiscal year are suspended from trading since last three days.. There are seven manufacturing companies, seven development banks, two finance companies, one hotel, two trading companies and Nepal Film Development Company yet to pay their renewal fees. On Tuesday, Nepse has suspended the trading of 47 listed companies for failure to make payment for annual listing fees, six of these paid the listing fees on the very day while seven made payment yesterday. Today six financial institutions have cleared their dues with stock exchange getting their trading resumed.
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INFORMAL SECTOR WORKERS DEMAND SOCIAL SECURITY
Kathmandu, 21 Oct.: Informal sector workers demanded social security here today [Thursday], The Himalayan Times reports.

Informal sector workers like domestic workers and home-based workers should also be incorporated in the law that the government is formulating for the formal sector, they demanded in an interaction organised by Homenet Nepal here today.

South Asian governments should guarantee social security to home-based and other informal sector workers, said president of Homenet South Asia Renanaben Jhabvala. “India has started to provide medical, maternity and unemployment benefits to informal sector workers,” she said, adding that other countries should follow it.

Trade union leader Ramesh Badal from General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (Gefont) supported. “The government should build counterpart fund in Social Security Fund Act focusing informal sector,” he said, presenting a paper on possible security measures taken for the benefit of informal sector workers in the interaction.

“We can add informal sector workers in social security network in near future,” said joint secretary of Ministry of Labour and Transport Management Purna Chandra Bhattarai. Currently, the ministry is formulating law to regularise the Social Security Fund for formal sector workers that established three years ago.

Director of the fund Mahesh Baral said that his team is developing the fund secretariat as manager of the different welfare fund. “Social Security Fund is exploring benefits to informal sector workers. But it is not possible to operate in a couple of year,” he said, adding that social security to informal sector workers could be possible in next three/four years.

Meanwhile, home-based workers today raised their demand of identity and social security organising a rally in Kathmandu on the occasion of South Asian Home-based Workers Day.

About 1,100 home-based workers from South Asian countries – Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – participated in the rally, said assistant programme manager of Homenet Nepal Shristy Dhakal. About 2.2 million Nepalis are informal sector workers and 80 per cent of them are women, according to Homenet Nepal.
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