RAM CHANDRA PAUDEL, US DIPLOMAT MEET

RAM CHANDRA PAUDEL, US DIPLOMAT MEET
Kathmandu, 14 March; Leader of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party Ram Chandra Paudel and Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy, Kathmandu, Patricia A. Mahoney held a meeting at the former's residence at Boharatar on Wednesday morning, RSS reports.

During the meeting, the duo discussed the peace process, constitution-writing and state restructuring as well as other contemporary political issues, Paudel informed media after the meeting.

The US Charge d'Affaires on the occasion expressed concern whether or not the peace process would move forward in a concrete manner and whether that would impact the constitution-writing, Paudel added.

In reply, Puadel said that efforts were on among the political parties to move ahead through compromise and consensus to conclude the twin tasks on time.
nnnn

LITTLE RESPONSE TO PUBLIC OFFERING
Kathmandu, 14 March : When Manjushree Financial Institution Limited launched an initial public offering on February 23 hoping to raise Rs 60 million, many were skeptic about the market response, Rupak D. Sharma writes in Republica..

They feared the shares would be undersubscribed due to low investor confidence and watched the offering as an indicator to check the health of the country´s IPO market.

When the IPO wrapped up in the next 15 days, fears of those who were skeptic did not come true. But neither was the market response worthy to mention about.
“We did manage to raise the target amount within the stipulated timeframe but lots of efforts had to be put in to meet the goal,” Bijay Lal Shrestha, managing director of NCM Merchant Banking Limited -- the issue manager of Manjushree Financial Institution -- told Republica.

One of the biggest differences this time, according to Shrestha, was that the issue manager had to overtly rely on marketing activities to generate interest in the IPO. This was unlike in the past when word of mouth used to be enough to make investors open their wallets.

“This time around, participation of retail investors also wasn´t as per our expectation and we had to press institutional investors to purchase shares,” Shrestha said.
This experience of NCM Merchant Bank can be taken as a gauge to measure the sentiment of the IPO market which, like the share market, has now lost its charm.
The country´s share market - Nepal Stock Exchange (Nepse) - has plunged over 73 percent to 313.92 points from an all time high of 1175.38 points in August 2008, wiping over Rs 320 billion from the secondary market till date.

This depressing performance of the secondary market was creating pressure on the IPO or the primary market over the years. “But it had managed to perform relatively better until this year when it hit the rock bottom,” Shambhu Pant, spokesperson of Nepse, told Republica.

Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon) data show only three companies, including Manjushree Financial Institution, have gone to the primary market to raise capital this fiscal year. And all of them faced difficulties while selling their shares. In the last fiscal year, 16 companies had launched IPO.

Although IPOs are generally launched after mid-January, when most of the companies conclude their annual general meetings, possibilities of other companies reaching out to the capital raising market cannot be ruled out. “But they are likely to face difficulties as most of the companies that are planning to raise capital from the primary market are either development banks or finance companies,” Shrestha said.

Investor confidence on development banks and finance companies has plunged in the recent years as share prices of most of these institutions have been dropping, with many trading at below Rs 100 face value.

For instance, the share price of Manakamana Development Bank, the top gainer at Nepse on Tuesday, stands at Rs 65. Stocks of another 18 financial institutions were trading at below Rs 100 on Tuesday.

This is the first time the stock market has seen this trend in the last 13 years. “And this trend does not seem to bode well for the IPO market, as many investors simply wait for the shares to be listed on the stock market - rather than buying it from the primary market - assuming the prices would come down once they are listed on the Nepse,” Dr Manohar Krishna Shrestha, president of Nepal Investors´ Association, told Republica.

All these reasons, according to Shrestha, have brought down yields on IPO shares by more than 50 percent. "This means shares bought for Rs 100 at the IPO market, which earlier used to fetch as much as Rs 300 after being listed on the stock market now give a return of only Rs 135-Rs 150 on average," he said.
nnnn



________________________________________

SNOWFALL DOUSES FIRE ON NEPAL-TIBET BORDER; FIRE STARTED FROM POWER PROJECT BEING CONSTRUCTED BY CHINESE COMPANY UNDER CONTRACT
Kathmandu, 13 March : Heavy snowfall has doused the fire in the jungle in Lamabagar Village Development Committee (VDC) that security forces had been unable to take under control for the last three days, Ramesh Khatiwada reports in Republica from Dolakha.

While the Nepal Army team returned to the headquarters daunted by the enormity of the task, two police personnel were injured while trying to take the fire under control.

The fire had broken out near the construction site of Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Project and was triggered by sparks from a welding machine used in construction of head race tunnel.

The news came as a pleasant surprise to the local administration that had been mulling new strategy to fight the fire spreading toward the Tibetan border. “The fire was been put off by heavy snowfall throughout the night,” said Chief District Officer (CDO) Ganesh Bhattarai. He said 400 hectares of forest have been destroyed in the fire.
The fire had started from Setidevi jungle Saturday afternoon. DSP Umesh Raj Joshi said the fire had come under control before dawn.

“The only possible way to fight the fire was spraying gas or water from choppers. But we are glad that nature has assisted us,” Major at Barda Bahadur Battalion Ashok Karki said. Main contractor Sino Hydro that has been constructing the Upper Tamakoshi project had sent its chief engineer from Beijing, China to inspect the damages while a team led by the military attaché at the Chinese Embassy in Nepal had also arrived for field inspection.

Meanwhile, the Chinese company has agreed to compensate the irate locals. It has agreed to pay Rs 5,000 per day until there is alternative arrangement for six yak sheds and pasture gutted in the fire. The Chinese have also agreed to pay Rs 30,000 for every yak found dead, according to CDO Bhattarai.
nnnn