Oil up as Iran welcomes output freeze Page III Oil prices extended gains in Asia on Thursday as traders welcomed comments from Iran’s oil minister praising a conditional agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia to freeze output levels, fuelling hopes for stability in the commodity market.

Ins IdeIBN: Compensation as per international standardsLocals displaced by the Arun III hydropower project will be compen-sated as per international standards, Investment Board Nepal (IBN) said. During an interaction held in Sankhuwasabha, the board said that the project developer, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL), has been planning to distribute compensa-tion as per international practices. The Rs104-billion project will directly affect 265 households in four village development committees. Pg: II

China consumer inflation quickens in JanuaryChina’s consumer inflation rate climbed higher in January, official data showed Thursday, as the world’s second-largest economy struggles with slower growth. The consumer price index (CPI)—a main gauge of inflation—rose 1.8 percent last month from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a state-ment, slightly below the median fore-cast of 1.9 percent in a survey of economists by Bloomberg News. It edged up from December’s 1.6 percent increase and was the highest rate since August last year. Pg: III

Barter stores bring mkts to farmers’ doorstepA few youth entrepreneurs have opened barter stores where they offer goods like sugar, cooking oil, salt and garments to farmers in exchange for farm products. Although barter is the main feature of such shops, they also accept and pay cash depending on the customer’s wish. There are 14 barter stores, 12 in Gulmi and one each in Argheli, Palpa and Sukhkhanagar, Butwal. The store chain is operated by a firm named Paicho Pasal Pvt Ltd. Its main outlet is located at Baletaxar, Gulmi. These shops buy agricultural goods and forest products from farm-ers by going door-to-door. Pg: IV

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2016 (07-11-2072) kathmandupost.ekantipur.com

moneymoneyfinance&economyfinance&economy

kathmandupostthecross currency

US Dollar 109.96

Euro 122.46

Pound Sterling 157.42

Japanese Yen 9.67

Chinese Yuan 16.87

Qatari Riyal 30.20

Australian Dollar 78.79

Malaysian Ringit 26.40

Saudi Arab Riyal 29.32How to read tHe tableThe 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 vertically is worth that amount in the currency mentioned horizontally.

USD EUR JPY GBP CHF CAD AUD INR NR

NR 109.9600 122.4600 9.6700 157.4200 110.9100 80.4400 78.7900 1.6015

INR 68.515297 75.874001 0.6013 98.245003 68.813004 49.980801 49.035 0.6244

GBP 0.697301 0.7718 0.006121 0.6997 0.5089 0.4978 0.0102 0.0064

JPY 113.879997 126.099998 163.3720 114.120003 83 81.2200 1.6631 0.1034

EUR 0.902853 0.0079 1.2957 0.9064 0.6597 0.6453 0.0132 0.0082

USD 1.1076 0.0088 1.4341 1.0049 0.7307 0.7147 0.0146 0.0091

F o r e X

Exchange rates fixed by Nepal Rastra Bank

C M Y K

n Recently-constructed bridge along the Postal Road in Parsa district. Post Photo: Bhushan Yadav

praying for good harvest

n Farmers perform dragon dance in a tea garden at Dongshangai Village of Anji County, east China’s Zhejiang Province, on Thursday, to pray for good harvest of tea in the new year. The event was also held as celebrations of the upcoming Lantern Festival on Feb 22, which marks the last day of the lunar New Year celebration. Xinhua

OECD slashes global growth forecastREUTERSPARIS, FEB 18

The OECD poured cold water on any lingering hopes of a pick-up in global economic growth this year on Thursday, slashing its forecasts for the United States, Europe and Brazil and urging world lead-ers to act collectively to strengthen demand.

The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a think tank funded by wealthy countries, cut its 2016 global growth fore-cast to 3.0 percent in its inter-im economic outlook, from the 3.3 percent it forecast in November.

That would mean global growth this year would be no higher than in 2015, itself the slowest pace in the past five years. Trade, investment and

wage growth remained too weak, the OECD said, urging world leaders to deploy all pol-icy levers to stimulate growth

urgently. “Monetary policy cannot work alone,” it said. “A stronger collective policy response is needed to strength-

en demand,” it added, urging countries with room for fiscal expansion to raise public investment in infrastructure projects.

The United States and Germany suffered the biggest downgrades among major developed economies, with the OECD slashing its 2016 forecast by half a percentage point for both countries to 2.0 percent and 1.3 percent respec-tively.

The OECD now expects US and eurozone growth to slow from the previous year, to 1.4 percent for the latter, and to pick up only marginally in 2017 to 2.2 percent and 1.7 per-cent respectively.

The OECD left its forecasts for Chinese growth unchanged for the next two years, but still expects growth to slow to 6.5 percent in 2016 and 6.2 percent in 2017.

In the eurozone, the posi-tive effect of lower oil prices on activity has been less than expected, the OECD said, while very low interest rates and a weaker euro had yet to lead to sustained stronger investment.

Across the Atlantic, US growth slowed in the second half of last year under the weight of a stronger dollar which dragged on exports, and the impact of lower oil prices on the country’s large oil and gas industry.

Among the largest emerg-ing economies, Brazil was seen as a major victims of falling commodity prices, with a recession expected to be deeper than feared at -4.0 percent this year. In a rare bright spot, the OECD raised its 2016 forecast for India’s growth by 0.1 percentage points to 7.4 percent.

Govt says will miss economic targets

POST REPORTKATHMANDU, FEB 18

The government has said it will miss the targets for economic growth, expenditure and revenue collection for this fiscal year due to the Indian trade embargo that affected economic activities in the first half.

Economic activities were affected severely in the absence of fuel, con-struction materials, raw materials and chemical fertilisers during the blockade that lasted for four and half months starting from September 22, 2015. Although border

crossings were eased after three months, blockade at major border point of Birgunj was lifted only on February 4, 2016.

Unveiling the mid-term review of the budget on Thursday, Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel said the government expected just over 2 per-cent growth this fiscal year, far below the targeted 6 percent.

As a result of the blockade, farm-ers could not get chemical fertil-isers, affecting agriculture output, the budget review states, adding sup-ply constraints caused by the embar-go also affected economic activities in the non-agriculture sector.

“We will make efforts to achieve more than 2 percent growth as the situation has eased after the lifting of the embargo,” said Poudel.

Presenting a White Paper on the economy on November 24, 2015, the government had predicted economic growth of below 2 percent.

In the first six months of the fis-cal year, public expenditure stood at just 21.94 percent of the allocated budget, while capital expenditure amounted to RS15.55 billion—7.18 percent of the allocation.

A big portion of the capital budget is meant for reconstruction, which is yet to begin. The government expects total expenditure of Rs700.01 billion at the end of the fiscal year—85.66 per-cent of the allocation.

Poudel said the expenditure would grow immensely in the days to come as earthquake-damaged infrastructure would be reconstruct-ed and work on the major develop-ment projects would be expedited.

With imports slumping in the first six months, the government expects to miss the revenue target by Rs45 billion this fiscal year. Nepal’s revenue collection is largely depends on imports, which fell 25.7 percent during the review period.

According to the Finance Minister, the government will reprioritise development projects and allocate resources for those spending well.

“The government has formed ‘Infrastructure Projects Monitoring and Direction Committee’ to speed identify infrastructure projects, determine priority and reprioritise them and coordinate and ease their implementation,” said Poudel.

mid-term review of budget

n Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel (left) releases the mid-term review of the budget in Kathmandu on Thursday. Photo: sanJoG ManandhaR

India not to inject fresh funds into Postal Road

DEVENDRA BHATTARAI IN NEw DElHI & BHUSHAN YADAV IN BIRgUNJFEB 18

Just ahead of a planned sign-ing of new memorandum of understanding (MoU) to revive the venerable 1,700km Postal Road, India has said it will not be able to allocate additional budget for the project. It has also put forth a condition that an Indian consultant be appointed.

Signing of the new MoU to expedite the tattered Postal Road that extends along the length of the southern Tarai plains has been among the top agendas during the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to India on Friday.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday forward-ed its latest position on the project to Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Indian Embassy in Nepal.

India has agreed to Nepal’s proposal of building 600km of the road in the first phase with Indian financial assistance, but the southern neighbour has disagreed to the proposal of expanding the road into two lanes and injecting additional funds. Under the proposed new MoU, government offi-

cials had predicted the costs for first phase of the project to increase to IRs9 billion from previously-estimated IRs7 bil-lion. The total project cost would also swell from the pre-vious estimate of IRs29 bil-lion. Around 130 bridges have to be built along the road.

The improvement of the Postal Road that has been accorded priority for the development of Tarai-Madhes began in 2010 after the signing of a bilateral agreement in 2007. However, the project failed to make progress due to the negligence of the contrac-tor. The road that stretches from Jhapa to Kanchanpur has not been maintained for the last two years after the construction company and the consultant abandoned the pro-ject without notice.

The road connects 20 Tarai districts, and around 75 per-cent of the Tarai villages will

be connected with the road network, technicians said. So far, 30 percent of the project has been completed, and vehi-cles have been plying the dirt road.

Parsa Chief District Officer Keshav Raj Ghimire said that a majority of landowners had already received compensa-tion. “Work had been delayed due to the Tarai protest and border obstruction,” said Ghimire.

According to the District Administration Office, Rs80 million has been distributed in compensation till date.

The contractor fled while working on the Laxamanwa-Thori stretch in Birgunj.

Parsa Wildlife Reserve, through which the Postal Road passes, has forbidden the authorities to construct bridg-es within the protected area.

Engineer Manish Singh said they had been unable to complete the construction of four bridges in Thute Khola and other places.

Vishwa Construction of Hyderabad, India, which had been contracted to build the sections in Bara and Parsa dis-tricts, had walked out two years ago without completing the contract.

Nepal and India are set to sign a new MoU to expedite

the much-talked about plan to revive the 1,700km

venerable highway

moneyeconomy IIFriday, February 19, 2016 | the kathmandu post

Nestle profits plunge 39pcVEVEY: Swiss food giant Nestle said on Thursday its net profits had plunged by a low-er-than-expected 39 per-cent last year due to a strong Swiss franc. Net profit stood at 9.1 billion Swiss francs, lower than the 9.8 billion Swiss francs (8.2 billion euros, $ 9.1 billion) forecast by analysts. The company said the lower net profits were “mostly due to the one-off impact from the disposal in 2014 of part of the L’Oreal stake.” The French cosmetics firm in 2014 bought back an eight-percent stake that Nestle owned in L’Oreal, boosting the share of the family of heiress Liliane Bettencourt in the com-pany to 33.3 percent. But the Vevey-based firm said organic growth, the real measure of a compa-ny’s performance, was good at 4.2 percent and was “supported by increased momentum in real internal growth combined with contin-ued margin improve-ment,” said CEO Paul Bulcke. (AFP)

HNA to buy Ingram for $6bSHANGHAI: Chinese con-glomerate HNA will buy US technology distribu-tor Ingram Micro for $6.0 billion, a statement said, the latest firm to snap up a foreign entity as part of Beijing’s outward investment drive. Tianjin Tianhai Investment, a unit of HNA, will pay $38.90 per share in an all-cash transaction, New York-listed Ingram Micro said in a statement, rep-resenting a 31 percent premium to its Wednesday closing price. The move comes as Beijing looks to encour-age companies to invest abroad to secure raw materials and seek out reliable returns as the economy at home strug-gles. State-owned China National Chemical Corp. this month offered $43 billion for Swiss pesti-cide and seed giant Syng-enta—which would be the biggest-ever overseas acquisition by a Chinese firm if completed. (AFP)

Venezuela hikes gasoline priceCARACAS: Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro Wednesday ramped up gasoline pric-es for the first time in two decades, from $0.01 to $0.60 per liter, and devalued the bolivar cur-rency in a bid to salvage the economy from crisis. The oil giant’s socialist leader said the pump price of premium gaso-line would jump from just under 0.1 bolivars per liter to six bolivars—an increase of roughly 6,000 percent from the current super-low level. Under the new exchange rate gasoline will cost the equivalent of $0.60 per liter—still the cheapest fuel in the world. Venezuela has the biggest known oil reserves in the world and has been practically giving gasoline away at the pump over recent years. But it has suffered from the plunge in world oil prices since mid-2014. (AFP)

news digest

Nepal Stock ExchangeSinghadurbar Plaza, Kathmandu

February 18, 2016

1 Ace Development Bank Ltd 358 345 355 147172 Agricultural Development Bank Ltd 596 588 588 207513 Alpine Development Bank Ltd 480 471 473 8694 Api Power Company Ltd 488 480 480 38505 Araniko Development Bank Ltd 264 256 256 14006 Arun Valley Hydropower Dev Company Ltd 300 294 296 77357 Asian Life Insurance Co. Ltd 1399 1320 1345 58008 Barun Hydropower Co. Ltd 359 345 347 5109 Bhaktapur Finance Co. Ltd 172 157 172 80010 Bhargav Bikash Bank Ltd 340 337 337 90011 Biratlaxmi Bikash Bank Ltd 385 377 378 90412 Butwal Power Co. Ltd 608 599 599 254013 Century Commercial Bank Ltd 347 341 344 1082114 Chhimek Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 1865 1840 1850 86815 Chilime Hydro power Co. 1385 1360 1383 946816 Citizens Bank International Ltd 633 623 628 2022117 Cosmos Development Bank Ltd 408 400 400 53518 Country Development Bank Ltd 215 209 215 248919 Dev Bikas Bank Ltd 223 215 219 416820 Diprox Development Bank 2100 2075 2100 157221 Everest Bank Ltd Convertible Preference 1470 1395 1395 53122 Everest Bank Ltd 2400 2375 2375 346723 Everest Insurance Co. Ltd 1020 1000 1010 546724 Excel Development Bank Ltd 670 669 670 148925 First Microfinance Development Bank Ltd 950 933 933 104026 Garima Bikas Bank Ltd 347 339 343 508427 Global IME Bank Ltd 473 465 470 2551128 Goodwill Finance Co. Ltd 221 213 221 167929 Guras Life Insurance Co. Ltd 650 635 643 258330 Hama Merchant & Finance Ltd 183 183 183 1031 Himalayan Bank Ltd 1137 1060 1112 1580832 Himalayan Gen.Insu. Co.Ltd 800 775 785 874533 ICFC Finance Ltd 265 250 260 1798334 ILFCO Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1069 1015 1035 189535 Jebils Finance Ltd 184 181 181 157636 Kalika Microcredit Development Bank Ltd 1570 1509 1530 320737 Kalinchowk Development Bank Ltd 236 227 236 123238 Kanchan Development Bank Ltd 391 390 390 22939 Kankai Bikas Bank Ltd 332 332 332 10040 Kasthamandap Development Bank Ltd 238 227 238 525541 Laxmi Bank Ltd 636 621 625 1410742 Laxmi Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 2050 2000 2040 194443 Laxmi Value Fund-1 11.2 10.95 11.2 3850044 Life Insurance Co. Nepal 3505 3501 3501 352045 Lumbini General Insurance 681 668 668 55046 Maha Laxmi Finance Ltd 300 300 300 15147 Mahakali Bikas Bank Ltd 256 249 255 474548 Malika Bikash Bank Ltd 355 342 348 456949 Mirmire Microfinance Development Bank Ltd 2704 2630 2704 10050 Miteri Development Bank Ltd 611 610 610 30051 Muktinath Bikas Bank Ltd 825 820 825 77052 Nabil Balance Fund 1 16 15.8 15.9 37574853 NABIL Bank Ltd Promotor Share 1490 1475 1482 304054 Nabil Bank Ltd 1898 1887 1893 322855 Narayani National Finance Co. Ltd 355 339 340 378256 National Hydro Power Co. 168 162 166 5679057 National LifeInsu. Co.Ltd 2690 2670 2680 648358 Naya Nepal Laghubitta Bikas Bank Ltd 1525 1500 1525 6059 Neco Insurance Co. 1032 1023 1024 909060 Nepal Bangladesh Bank Ltd 540 519 535 9781761 Nepal Bank Ltd 385 355 375 12665562 Nepal Community Development Bank 338 338 338 1163 Nepal Doorsanchar Company Ltd 709 700 700 1296064 Nepal Grameen Bikas Bank Ltd 484 466 466 50065 Nepal Insurance Co.Ltd 721 700 721 303066 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd 935 924 932 3873067 Nepal Investment Bank Ltd Promoter Share 841 825 835 3182668 Nepal Life Insurance Co. Ltd 3189 3156 3164 441669 Nepal SBI Bank Ltd 1445 1400 1440 387970 Nerude Laghubita Bikas Bank Ltd 2275 2210 2275 27671 NIBL Samriddhi Fund 1 10.5 10.5 10.5 15389072 NIC Asia Bank Ltd 738 709 733 2117673 Nirdhan Utthan Bank Ltd 1730 1725 1730 120074 NLG Insurance Company Ltd 940 922 922 95075 NMB Bank Ltd 555 537 541 3420776 Premier Insurance Co. Ltd 1150 1115 1128 664577 Prime Commercial Bank Ltd 539 520 531 4104178 Prime Life Insurance Company Ltd 1647 1617 1647 734679 Professional Diyalo Bikas Bank Ltd 219 215 215 195580 Progressive Finance Ltd 178 178 178 2081 Prudential Insurance Co. 785 770 784 1071782 Raptibheri Bikas Bank Ltd 233 229 233 34783 Reliable Development Bank Ltd 357 343 350 934184 Reliance Lotus Finance Ltd 238 230 233 302085 Ridi Hydropower Development Company Ltd 405 400 400 43686 Rural Microfinance Development Centre Ltd 839 820 833 312787 Sagarmatha Finance Ltd 265 255 260 756488 Sagarmatha Insurance Co.Ltd 1189 1085 1170 440789 Sana Kisan Bikas Bank Ltd 1579 1550 1579 158890 Sanima Bank Ltd 735 724 729 1435991 Sanima Mai Hydropower Ltd 870 856 863 335692 Seti Finance Ltd 280 280 280 1093 Sewa Bikas Bank Ltd 326 322 322 148894 Shangrila Development Bank Ltd 363 351 351 85595 Shikhar Insurance Co. Ltd 1738 1715 1735 403596 Siddhartha Equity Oriented Scheme 11.2 11 11.1 170666797 Siddhartha Finance Ltd 229 221 229 256698 Siddhartha Investment Growth Scheme-1 18.36 18.2 18.2 4510099 Sindhu Bikas Bank Ltd 338 338 338 150100 Soaltee Hotel Ltd 333 325 330 7198101 Standard Chartered Bank Ltd 2679 2637 2669 2574102 Subhechha Bikas Bank Ltd 336 324 324 787103 Summit Micro Finance Development Bank Ltd 2450 2440 2440 630104 Sunrise Bank Ltd 480 440 477 145350105 Surya Life Insurance Company Ltd 804 785 787 2806106 Swabalamwan Bikash Bank 2110 2076 2100 1336107 Synergy Finance Ltd 112 107 107 3668108 Taragaon Regency Hotel 222 218 222 250109 Tinau Development Bank Ltd 391 363 370 4081110 Tourism Development Bank Ltd 306 294 296 5575111 Triveni Bikas Bank Ltd 294 294 294 578112 Union Finance Ltd 125 124 124 306113 United Finance Ltd 345 345 345 300114 United Insurance Co.(Nepal)Ltd 677 666 670 5790115 Vijaya Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 1387 1387 1387 10116 Western Development Bank Ltd 415 409 412 3463117 Womi Microfinance Bittiya Sanstha Ltd 747 747 747 10118 Yeti Development Bank Ltd 173 165 167 11697

Trading informaTion Trading PriceSn comPany max min cloSing no ShareS

Nepse 1273.28pts 0.57%

REDBL MDBL KDBL NICL SBI LVF13.86% 3.57% 3.48% 3.15% 2.86% 2.75%

BFCL SRBL SIC NBB HBL KCDBL9.55% 8.41% 8.23% 5.11% 5% 4.89%

highESt gaiNErS

SAFL MDB NIBSF1 SMFDB WDBL RHPC-1.89% -1.93% -1.96% -2.36% -2.37% -2.44%

NGBBL JEFL SADBL KMCDB SYFL EBLCP-2.71% -3.21% -3.57% -4.38% -4.46% -6.94%

highESt loSErS

modEratE loSErS

modEratE gaiNErS

Base: 16/07/2006, (Adjusted on 10/04/2007) = 100

Sub-Indices Current Pts Change %ChangeCommercial 1168.62 12.52 1.08Development 1257.55 0.07 0.01Finance 611.27 0.64 0.1Hotels 1760.84 26.75 1.54Hydropower 2263.99 14.22 0.63Insurance 5562.21 -5.23 -0.09

Total Turnovers (Rs.) 657,362,698Total Traded Shares 3,345,358Total Transaction 3,032

Index Current Pts Change %ChangeNEPSE 1273.28 7.2 0.57Sensitive 274.85 1.68 0.62 Float 91.67 0.74 0.81

shares

REUTERSBEIJING, FEB 18

China’s central bank has come under fire since last year’s surprise currency devaluation for not explaining its policies to the mar-kets, but its reticence is less a prod-uct of poor PR than its Ltd powers and a speculative onslaught.

Unlike the US Federal Reserve or European Central Bank, the People’s Bank of China enjoys only Ltd oper-ational independence, leaving its governor Zhou Xiaochuan to imple-ment policies ultimately decided by the cabinet in Beijing, without the authority to lead debate, risk dissent or shed light on decision-making.

In such circumstances, silence is often the safest policy, though Zhou broke that silence in an interview at the weekend and expressed a will-ingness to improve communication.

Zhou has been especially sparing

with words in the heat of battle with currency speculators as China’s economy plumbs its slowest growth in 25 years, it eats through its reserves at a record pace and capital flows offshore. “For speculators, the relationship is like opponents in a game,” Zhou told financial maga-zine Caixin. “How is it possible for the central bank to tell them all its operational strategies? It’s like play-ing a chess game, you cannot tell the opponent all your tricks.”

After the PBOC engineered a near 2 percent depreciation in August, it said—and has repeated—that there is no basis for the yuan to keep falling, and that China would keep it stable versus a basket of cur-rencies while allowing greater vola-tility against the dollar.

But it arranged another smaller drop in early January, and the cur-rency is down about 5 percent over six months. Offshore, the yuan has

at times been valued as much as 2 percent lower as speculators made a more pessimistic judgment.

In December, the PBOC launched an index on the yuan’s exchange rate weighted against a basket of trade-related currencies, and the market has been keen to understand how that regime is managed.

The PBOC has not been forthcom-ing, prompting a ticking off last month from International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde for a “communication issue, which mar-kets do not like”.

Zhou acknowledged the difficul-

ties when he broke the silence in his weekend interview. “The central bank has a clear and strong desire to improve its communica-tion with the public and market,” he told Caixin. “At the same time, it’s not easy to do a good job in com-munication.”

On key policy decisions, the PBOC does not publish full meeting minutes like the Fed or Bank of Japan to help manage market expec-tations, and it has yet to develop a market-based benchmark interest rate that might also give guidance.

“In terms of transparency, there are two areas—one is transparent operations and rules, another is for-ward-looking guidance. The PBOC cannot meet such requirements,” said an economist at a top govern-ment think-tank, though he added that no central bank can be abso-lutely transparent, nor needed to be.

The PBOC declined to comment.

While global markets saw a big sell-off last week, China’s markets were closed for the Lunar New Year celebrations, so Zhou’s Caixin inter-view was full of pre-emptive reas-surance about maintaining the reserves and the stability of the yuan, which contributed to the relative calm when markets re-opened on Monday.

“Communication between the monetary authority and the market is very important. Governor Zhou gave a long interview recently; I think it’s a very good move,” said Long Guoqiang, vice head of the Development Research Centre, the cabinet’s think-tank.

Market analysts nevertheless are not expecting the PBOC to embrace Western-style policy transparency, and certainly not to reveal how much it could allow the yuan to fall or the “safe” floor for the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Silence the wisest word for China’s central banks low d ow N co N c e r N s

C M Y K

Unlike the Us Federal Reserve or european Central Bank, the People’s Bank of China

enjoys only Ltd operational independence

defending policy

n Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda speaks during an upper house financial committee meeting of the Parliament in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday. Kuroda said he expects the positive effects of the bank’s negative interest rate policy to gradually spread to the economy and prices. reuters

Gold price holds above $1,200REUTERSSINGAPORE, FEB 18

Gold eased on Thursday as stocks rebounded but man-aged to hold above $1,200 an ounce on bets the Federal Reserve could slow the pace of US interest rate hikes.

Minutes from the Fed’s last policy meeting released on Wednesday showed that poli-cymakers considered chang-ing the US central bank’s planned interest rate hike path for 2016 on fears that a global slowdown and financial market selloff could hurt the US economy.

Although most of the policymakers still expected to raise rates this year and even discussed a hike at the Jan. 26-27 policy meeting, they were divided over how to interpret finan-cial market volatility.

A slower rate hike pace could boost demand for gold, which posted its third straight annual decline in 2015 on fears that higher rates would dent the appeal of the non-inter-est-paying asset.

Spot gold had eased 0.2 per-cent to $1,206.60 an ounce by

0718 GMT. It gained 0.7 per-cent on Wednesday, snapping a three-day losing streak. “With the uncertainty in the global economy and the rela-tively dovish Fed minutes that were out yesterday, gold prices will still be supported above $1,200,” said Barnabas Gan,

an analyst at OCBC Bank in Singapore.

Gan said there was a great-er possibility of a rate hike in the second half of this year rather than the first half, and gold prices could give back some gains then.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Wednesday reduced its forecast for the number of times the Fed will raise rates this year to two from its earlier projection of three to four due to recent market turbulence.

It would be “unwise” for the Fed to continue hiking rates given declining inflation expectations and recent equity market volatility, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Wednesday in comments that mark a stark change of direction for one of the Fed’s more hawkish inflation foes.

sensex rIses traCkIng gaIns In global mktsREUTERSMUMBAI, FEB 18

India’s stock markets rose on Thursday, heading for their second straight day of gains, as stabilising crude oil prices lifted mining and energy firms, while stronger Asian stocks boosted investor appe-tite for riskier assets.

Asian stocks rose across the board as crude oil steadied on hopes that big producers will cap output. Minutes from the US Federal Reserve also showed policymakers were divided over how to interpret the financial market volatility, suggesting it was backing away from the four rate hikes that were signaled for this year in December.

Foreign investors sold a net $115.42 million (7.91 billion rupees) of Indian shares on Feb. 16, taking this year’s out-flow to $2.43 billion. “Any kind of move on the global side wherein the Fed comforts the market further, will have a positive rub-off on our mar-ket,” said Pankaj Pandey, head of research at brokerage ICICI Direct. “Liquidity globally is under stress at this time, and what we have seen is that typ-ically when crude is making new lows, outflows sort of pick up.”

The broader NSE Nifty rose 0.8 percent to 7,165.45, after hitting a high of 7,215.10 intra-day, while the benchmark BSE Sensex gained 0.9 percent to 23,594.24 by 1.10 p.m. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories rose more than 5 percent after its board on Wednesday approved a share buyback for up to 15.69 billion rupees.

Railway sector-linked stocks such as Kalindee Rail and Alstom jumped on media reports which said India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved the construction of six railway lines and a railway bridge.

IBN: Compensation as per international standardsDIPENDRA SHAKYASANKHUWASABHA, FEB 18

Locals displaced by the Arun III hydropower project will be compensated as per interna-tional standards, Investment Board Nepal (IBN) said.

During an interaction held in Sankhuwasabha, the board said that the project developer, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVNL), has been planning to distribute compensation as per international practices.

The Rs104-billion project will directly affect 265 house-holds in four village develop-ment committees.

“The affected people will be compensated as per the international relocation and resettlement standard. Besides land, the affected peo-ple will also be compensated for their plants and other assets,” said Prem Khanal, consultant for IBN.

“If the project displaced people wish to build homes in another location, they will be paid money in line with cur-rent market rates.”

The board said that they had adopted a scientific meth-od to determine the compen-sation amount for their plants.

For example, if an orange tree is chopped down, the project will provide integrated com-pensation to the owner. From tree planting to production, the overall cost will be calcu-lated and added to the com-pensation amount.

Likewise, people at the pro-ject site who have been doing business by leasing land will

also be compensated in a fair manner.

According to Khanal, single elderly persons, women, peo-ple living below the poverty line and Dalit families will be guaranteed compensation with allowances for their land.

The board said that the practice was being adopted in

Nepal for the first time to bring the compensation proce-dure in line with internation-al standards.

The board has conducted a number of interactions with people in Diding, Yafu, Num and Hedangnagadi. According to the board, a VDC-level com-mittee will be formed to nego-tiate land compensation and

discuss other issues. Subsequently, a discussion with the project developer will be held to put the final touches to the standards of the compensation distribu-tion process, the board said.

On November 24, 2014, the board and SJVNL signed a project development agreement (PDA) for the 900MW Arun III hydropower project. SJVNL will complete the construction of the plant and start energy generation by 2020.

According to IBN, Nepal will receive Rs348 billion over 25 years from the project. Satluj will provide 21.9 percent of the energy generated free of cost, which is worth Rs155 billion, plus another Rs107 billion in royalties.

As per the PDA, the Indian company will allot shares worth Rs1.6 billion to locals, 50 percent of which will be issued within two years of the project’s launch. The rest of the shares will be issued at a later date at a premium.

IBN and Satluj started PDA talks in 2013 after Nepal and India signed an MoU in 2008 to construct the project.

arun III hydropower project

n The Rs104-billion project will directly affect 265 households in four village development committees.

money economyIII the kathmandu post | Friday, February 19, 2016

Toyota recalls 2.9m vehiclesTOKYO: Toyota said on Thursday it was recall-ing 2.87 million vehicles globally due to the possi-bility that their rear seat-belt could come apart in a crash and cause inju-ries. The recall involved Toyota’s RAV4 sports utility vehicle made between July 2005 and August 2014 and between October 2005 and January 2016. The announcement also involves its Vanguard SUV produced between October 2005 and January 2016. The Vanguard is only sold in Japan. “There is a possi-bility that, in the event of a very severe frontal crash, the lap seatbelt belt webbing could con-tact a portion of the metal seat cushion frame and come off,” the com-pany said in an e-mail. “If this occurs, the seat-belt may not properly restrain the occupant, which could increase the risk of injury.” (AFP)

BAE Systems profit jumpsLONDON: BAE Systems, the British maker of mil-itary equipment, said Thursday that group net profit rose by 24 percent last year and looked for-ward to recovering gov-ernment defence budg-ets. Profit after tax rose to £918 million ($1.31 bil-lion, 1.18 billion euros) in 2015 compared with one year earlier, BAE said in an earnings statement. “We have delivered another year of solid performance,” BAE said in the statement, adding that it had “continued to demonstrate resilience in markets constrained by wider economic pres-sures”. Chief executive Ian King added that BAE Systems “is well placed to continue to generate attractive returns for shareholders as defence budgets recover”. (AFP)

VietJet, P&W sign $3.04b dealSINGAPORE: Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet Air said Thursday it had signed a $3.04 billion deal with US engine maker Pratt & Whitney, under-scoring the growth potential of Southeast Asia’s low-cost airline market. The engines will power the 63 Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft ordered by the carrier, VietJet said in a statement at the Singapore Airshow. The agreement is worth $3.04 billion, VietJet said. Industry players have said that Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, is a key growth market for budget air travel, driven by the region’s growing middle class, many of whom are travelling for the first time. “We are delighted to choose the PurePower Geared Turbofan engine for our fleet of Airbus A320neo and A321neo jets,” said VietJet president and chief executive Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. Founded in 2007, VietJet says it currently has a fleet of 34 aircraft, including A320s and A321s, and operates 200 flights each day. Apart from domestic services, it also flies to interna-tional destinations. (AFP)

news digest

AssociAted PressNEW DELHI, FEB 18

Lightson Ngashangva still reme-mbers the long train journeys fol-lowed by interminable bus rides each summer when he went home from New Delhi to his vil-lage in India’s remote northeast.

Now, when the 26-year-old bio-technology student visits his home in Manipur state, his near-ly three-day long journey by train and bus has been reduced to a four-hour flight.

A fast-growing economy and an expanding middle class have made India the world’s fastest growing air travel market. The number of passengers grew 20 percent last year and airlines are announcing flights to new desti-nations almost every week.

And yet, Indian airlines are in

distress. Experts say the explo-sion in air travel of the past dec-ade has happened despite major hurdles in the form of high jet fuel prices, lack of aircraft main-tenance infrastructure, choked airports working beyond their capacities and fierce fare wars that have carriers in the red.

Although the problems appear huge, the size and potential of the Indian market continues to draw new players and several for-eign airlines have also entered the market. Out of a 1.2 billion population, only about 70 million Indians fly on domestic routes in a year, just a quarter of the size of air travel in China which has a similar population.

Air travel in India is “showing double digit growth and will con-tinue to grow at double digits for the next 10 to 15 years,” said

Kapil Kaul, regional head of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Indigo, India’s biggest and most profitable airline, ordered 250 new A320neo aircraft from

Airbus in August in a whopping $26.6 billion deal. At the Dubai Airshow in November, US plane maker Boeing announced that Jet Airways had agreed to an $8 bil-

lion deal to buy 75 Boeing 737 air-craft. Jet Airways, part owned by Etihad Airways, will start taking delivery from mid-2018.

The purchases are in line with Boeing’s forecast released in August that it expects demand for 1,740 planes in India over the next 20 years, at an estimated price of $240 billion. Most of these planes will be for fleet expansion and the rest to replace older aircraft.

The industry’s rapid growth is helping the millions of Indians who need to travel long distances to their country’s far northeast or deep south. Budget airline Indigo was the first private carrier to fly to the northeast, starting flights in 2006 to an area that was other-wise an epic train and bus jour-ney. “More and more airlines have started flights to my home town. Also, the competition

between airlines means tickets are getting cheaper.”

Aviation experts say that in the past, socialist-leaning politicians viewed traveling by plane as a luxury and not as an enabler of business and economic growth. The luxury tag ensured punitive taxes on jet fuel, making it nearly 60 percent more expensive than in Singapore or Dubai, both home to busy international airports.

Despite such hurdles, India is forecast to become the third larg-est aviation market by 2020. Domestic air passengers are expected to jump from the cur-rent 70 million to 300 million by 2022, and to 500 million by 2027.

In an attempt to minimize the industry’s growing pains, the gov-ernment in October announced a draft aviation policy. It proposes the development of no-frills air-

ports at more than 400 airstrips across the country. Some of the airstrips date back to British colonial days and have fallen into disuse and disrepair. The govern-ment announced it would spend up to 500 million rupees ($7.6 mil-lion) on each site to make it usea-ble as an airport.

Some problems remain, howev-er. Aviation experts say the policy remains unclear on an existing condition imposed on airlines in India known as the “5/20 rule” where the government does not allow new airlines to fly interna-tionally until they have complet-ed five years of operation and have at least 20 aircraft.

The draft policy’s silence on the future of the country’s much-subsidized national carrier, Air India, has also been disap-pointing, aviation experts said.

Air travel booms in India, strains creaky infrastructured o u b l e- d I g I t g row t h

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singapore airshow

n South Korea’s Black Eagles aerobatics team perform a manoeuvre during an aerial display at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Center in Singapore on Thursday. REUTERS

n An Air India plane is seen in the background of slums adjoining the international airport in Mumbai, India, in this file photo. AP/RSS

Oil prices rise as Iran welcomes output capAgence FrAnce-PresseSINGAPORE, FEB 18

Oil prices extended gains in Asia on Thursday as traders welcomed comments from Iran’s oil minister praising a conditional agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia to freeze output levels, fuelling hopes for stability in the commodity market.

Bijan Zanganeh said Tehran will “support any measure that can stabilise the market and increase prices” but stopped short of committing Iran to any curbs. His remarks came after he met his Iraqi, Venezuelan and Qatari coun-terparts in Tehran on Wednesday where they held their own talks on the global supply crisis.

On Tuesday Saudi Arabia and Russia, the two biggest producers in the world, agreed to limit their pumping but only if others followed suit. While much-needed output cuts have not been announced, traders consider the latest developments a step in the right direction and providing a welcome respite after crude flirted with 13-year lows last week. At around 0700 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in March was up 50 cents, or 1.63

percent, at $31.16 and Brent crude for April climbed 25 cents, or 0.72 percent, to $34.75 a barrel. On Wednesday WTI jumped more than seven percent while Brent added 5.6 percent.

“Prices soared sharply after the announcement (of the con-ditional freeze) but gains were pared as the market was con-cerned that the provisional agreement would not gain wide acceptance, especially from Iran, which is set to ramp up production to pre-sanction level,” said Sanjeev Gupta, who heads the Asia oil and gas practice at EY. “However, a

supportive statement by the Iranian oil minister restored prices.”

Phillip Futures analyst Daniel Ang said any move by Iran agreeing to production cuts will be crucial because they are just ramping up out-put after nuclear-linked Western economics sanctions were lifted in January. “If they tone down production and agree to slowing it down or even helping the whole situa-tion then I think that will be a win,” Ang told AFP.

In a sign of how the slump-ing prices are hurting oil-de-pendent economies, Venezuela

on Wednesday ramped up gas-oline prices for the first time in two decades, by roughly 6,000 percent and devalued the bolivar currency. Analysts will be keeping an eye on the release later Thursday of the weekly US Department of Energy inventory report.

The previous report showed US stockpiles fell about 800,000 barrels for the week ending February 5 with traders seeing invento-ries still at high levels. “The short-term oil market will remain volatile, respond-ing to the ongoing talks on output levels,” Gupta said.

China’s inflation rate quickens in JanuaryAgence FrAnce-PresseBEIJING, FEB 18

China’s consumer inflation rate climbed higher in January, official data showed Thursday, as the world’s sec-ond-largest economy struggles with slower growth.

The consumer price index (CPI)—a main gauge of infla-tion—rose 1.8 percent last month from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement, slightly below the median forecast of 1.9 percent in a survey of economists by Bloomberg News.

It edged up from December’s 1.6 percent increase and was the highest rate since August last year. Food prices, however, rose much faster, increasing 4.1 percent year-over-year, boosted by seasonal demand due to the Lunar New Year holiday, which fell earlier this month.

Moderate inflation can be a boon to consumption as it pushes buyers to act before prices go up, while falling pric-es encourage shoppers to delay purchases and compa-nies to put off investment, both of which can hurt growth.

The producer price index (PPI), which measures prices of goods at the factory gate, fell 5.3 percent year-on-year in

January due to weaker domes-tic demand and lower com-modity prices, a slight improvement on December’s decline and its 47th consecu-tive monthly fall.

Overcapacity in manufac-turing has been a major drag on China’s growth and the protracted declines in PPI bode ill for industrial prospects.

Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said the rise in prices was due to expected seasonal pressures, but predicted that inflation was set to edge up this year, citing a sharp fall in the num-ber of pigs as a driver for higher food prices.

According to industry web-sites, high feed prices and low pork values last year saw pro-ducers reduce herd sizes. “In addition, with the sharp falls in the price of oil and other commodities a year ago now starting to drop out of the base for comparison, both CPI and PPI will almost certainly rise further over the coming months,” he said.

ANZ Research analysts Li-Gang Liu and Louis Lam were more downbeat, forecast-ing in a note that inflation would likely retreat beginning in March as temporary food price rises dissipate and the falling producer prices weigh down CPI.

“Overall, China will likely face strong deflationary pres-sure in the remainder of the year,” they said, calling for further monetary easing to combat deflation. Growth slowed to its lowest rate in a quarter of a century last year as Beijing strove to effect a difficult transition in the country’s economic model away from reliance on exports and fixed-asset investment towards one driven by con-sumers.

Consumer prices for trans-port and telecommunications products experienced defla-tion in January, the data showed, dropping 1.6 percent on the year.

n A file photo shows a general view of a crude oil importing port in Qingdao, Shandong, China. REUTERS

Nouveau-riche bling blossoms in CubaAgence FrAnce-PresseHAVANA, FEB 18

Eddy Relova used to scrape a living buying and selling goods in the street, but now he sits wearing a thick gold neck-lace at a posh restaurant in Havana.

State controls over Cuba’s economy are gradually easing, unleashing a new class of moneyed consumers in a com-munist island where wealth is largely taboo.

Now, aged 23, Relova can sell jewelry as a private entre-preneur. His earnings have risen, making him one of these Cuban nouveaux riches. “State-controlled work doesn’t let you get anywhere,” he said, sitting with his partner Valentina and their nine-month-old baby daughter.

Until recently, only a privi-leged few such as military offi-cials, state company bosses, tourism workers or artists could afford cars or designer clothes. But since Raul Castro began a gradual process of opening up the economy after becoming president in 2008, upmarket bars and eateries in Havana have been opening and filling up.

“Every day, we see more Cubans coming here to eat,” said Ernesto Blanco, 47, owner of the trendy La Fontana res-taurant in western Havana, where the singing star Rihanna recently dined. “There are more people work-ing on their own account and I guess that’s what makes it pos-sible for them to come to eat in places like this.”

The state still controls 80 percent of economic activity on the island. But the other 20 percent is making some Cubans relatively rich. “We have seen this more clearly over the past four or five years, with the rise of private entre-preneurship,” said Daybell

Panellas, a psychologist at Havana University who has written studies about the phe-nomenon.

Studies estimate that about half a million people are now working in this new private sector and paying taxes on their earnings to the Cuban state. Panellas said the ones earning the most are restau-rant owners, mechanics, land-lords of rental properties and building entrepreneurs.

Another diner, Raul, 36, admitted his fortunes have improved since he has been able to work as a private taxi driver. He would not give his family name nor say how much he earns. Flaunting wealth is still taboo in an island that prizes relative social equality.

“It has improved our stand-ard of living a bit,” said Raul, sitting in a restaurant with his wife, whose numerous gold bracelets clinked when she moved. “It lets us buy things that are a bit more expensive” and travel more, he said.

Not all Cubans are ready to display their wealth. Some wait until nightfall to get their shopping bags out of the car,

to avoid making their neigh-bors jealous. “Being rich is not the rule in Cuba. Among the population at large, having a lot of money still carries a stigma,” Panellas said.

They may still be far from the wealth of other more developed economies, but the trend is already raising the prospect of social tension. The average salary on this Caribbean island is still no more than $20 a month.

“The opening up of private enterprise has driven a rise in inequality due to dif-ferences in income,” said Panellas. “We have not lost our sense of solidarity and our social values, but people are noticing that without money their possibilities are limited. They are torn.”

Jose Raul Colome, whose restaurant in central Havana serves 120 customers a day, said he tries to share his growing wealth around the neighborhood to avoid hostili-ty—and offers people jobs whenever possible.

“We try to help the neigh-bors as much as we can,” he said. “In a way, that doesn’t do any harm.”

n A file photo shows tourists being chauffeured in a vintage car through Central Park neighbourhood in Havana, Cuba. State controls over Cuba’s economy are gradually easing, unleashing a new class of moneyed consumers in a communist island where wealth is largely taboo. REUTERS

Japan swings back to trade deficitAgence FrAnce-PresseTOKYO, FEB 18

Japan swung back to a trade deficit in January as exports to China plunged, official data showed Thursday, underscor-ing the impact of a slowdown in one of Tokyo’s biggest trade partners.

The disappointing figures come after Japan’s economy shrank 0.4 percent in the October-December quarter—or an annualised 1.4 percent drop—owing to weak demand for big-ticket items like cars and home appliances.

That was Japan’s second quarterly contraction in 2015, and dealt another blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bid to slay deflation and kick-start the world’s number three economy. The monthly deficit came in at 646 billion yen ($5.7 billion), reversing a 140 billion

yen surplus in December, fig-ures released Thursday showed. Overall exports slid almost 13 percent from a year ago, while shipments to China dived 17.5 percent, as the pow-

erhouse economy wobbles. Despite diplomatic tensions, China is a key trading partner for Japan.

Exports to other major mar-kets also fell, with a 5.3 per-

cent decline in US shipments and 3.6 percent fall for EU-bound exports. Imports, meanwhile, dropped 18.0 per-cent as the cost of oil and gas fell. Japan’s weak trade fig-ures are likely to fan specula-tion that the Bank of Japan will launch fresh easing meas-ures. Last month, policymak-ers shocked markets with an unprecedented negative inter-est rate policy, which aims to boost lending by penalising banks for storing excess reserves in the BoJ’s vaults.

As his growth programme limps along and the BoJ strug-gles to hit an ambitious two-percent inflation target, Abe must decide whether to follow through with another sales tax hike next year. The hike is seen as crucial to con-taining Japan’s massive national debt but it could dent consumer spending.

n A crane lifts a shipping container onto a truck at a port in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday. REUTERS

moneybazaar IVFriday, February 19, 2016 | thekathmandupost

Mexico cuts budget, raises interest rateMEXICO CITY: Mexico’s government announced budget cuts of nearly $7.3 billion Wednesday, with most of the savings at state-oil firm Pemex due to falling oil prices and global worries over China’s economy. In a coordinat-ed move, the central bank raised its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 percent to counter the peso’s depre-ciation against the dollar. The 2016 public spending cut amounts to 0.7 percent of gross domestic product, the finance ministry said in a statement. It said the decision stems from the volatility of international financial mar-kets, which have been hit by falling oil prices, the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike and the risks of a global economic slowdown, “mainly in China.” The gov-ernment will slash $1.7 billion from public spending while the head of Pemex will propose to the company’s board next week to cut $5.5 billion from its budget. (AFP)

Marvell pays $750m to settle suitSAN FRANCISCO: Semiconductor maker Marvell Technology Group said Wednesday it has agreed to pay $750 million to settle a long-running patent suit brought by Carnegie Mellon University. “Pursuant to a court-or-dered mediation, the company and University have set-tled their patent infringement lawsuit,” said a statement from the company which is headquartered in Bermuda with operations in California. “The parties have resolved the case on mutually acceptable terms, including an aggregate payment by Marvell to CMU of $750 million, with no ongoing royalty payments.” The suit filed seven years ago claimed Marvell violated CMU patents on tech-nology that increases the accuracy of reading data from high-speed magnetic disks. The company had appealed. The university based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania said that “a substantial share of the proceeds will go to the inventors”, computer engineering professor Jose Moura, and his former doctoral student Aleksandar Kavcic. (AFP)

US home building slows in JanuaryWASHINGTON: New construction of US homes fell for the second straight month in January, sagging to an eight-month low, official data released Wednesday showed. The Commerce Department reported housing starts fell to an annual rate of 1.099 million units in January, a drop of 3.8 percent from the December rate of 1.143 million units, revised downward from 1.149 million. It was the weakest construction pace since last May, when home starts came in at a rate of 1.190 million units per year. The slowdown in January was sharpest for single-family homes, the largest share of the US housing market, where the rate dropped 3.9 percent from December. Starts on multi-fami-ly homes fell 2.5 percent. Housing starts fell in all four regions of the country, with the Midwest hardest hit by a nearly 13 percent decline. (AFP)

S&P cuts Brazil’s credit ratingRIO DE JANEIRO: Standard and Poor’s cut Brazil’s already dire junk credit rating a further notch from BB+ to BB Wednesday, warning the world’s seventh biggest econo-my faces worse to come. The new downgrade reflected the South American country’s steep recession, rising inflation and vulnerability to a big drop in prices for iron ore, oil and agricultural products that form the backbone of its economy. In addition, Brazil has been crippled politically by gridlock in Congress and a protracted bat-tle to impeach President Dilma Rousseff. “The political and economic challenges Brazil faces remain considera-ble, and we now expect a more prolonged adjustment pro-cess -- a slower correction in fiscal policy as well as another year of steep economic contraction,” S&P said in a statement. (AFP)

Google in fresh grocery delivery pushSAN FRANCISCO: Google said on Wednesday it was adding fresh foods to its grocery delivery service, ramping up its challenge to Amazon and a long list of delivery startups. The US online giant said its Google Express service -- which launched in 2013 by offering non-perishable goods -- would include a range of fresh items in test markets in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. “Everyone wants milk delivered with their cookies -- that’s why we’re excited to start adding fresh groceries to Google Express,” said Prabhu Balasubramanian. He said con-sumers liked the service but that “we’ve also heard your feedback that you’d love for Express to help you check off your entire grocery list, including fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood, dairy, and frozen foods.” (AFP)

US producer prices edge up in JanWASHINGTON: US wholesale prices edged up 0.1 percent in January but core prices showed greater strength, Labor Department data showed on Wednesday. The gain in the producer price index after a decline in December came on a 1.0 percent jump in food costs in the month, and rises in the cost of trade and transportation services. Pulling back on total PPI prices was a 5.0 percent decline in energy costs, as oil and gas prices continued to sink. Overall prices were still down year-over-year as inflation-ary pressures remain weak. Over 12 months the broad PPI fell 0.2 percent in January, less than the 1.0 per-cent-plus year-on-year decline registered in each of the previous five months. (AFP)

Bombardier wins Air Canada orderMONTREAL: Bombardier Inc received the first order in 16 months for its CSeries jets, sending its shares up as much as 30 percent and overshadowing news of low-er-than-expected quarterly results and plans to cut 7,000 jobs. The Montreal-based company said on Wednesday that it signed a letter of intent to sell Air Canada 45 CSeries, with an option for 30 more of the narrow body aircraft. The order is worth as much as $3.8 billion based on the CSeries’ list price. Separately, the Quebec govern-ment, which gave Bombardier a $1 billion lifeline last October, said it would drop a lawsuit against Air Canada tied to its not living up to aircraft maintenance commit-ments in the province.(REUTERS)

bizline

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AssociAted PressWASHINGTON, FEB 18

US government regulators and the auto industry are taking a more lenient approach than safe-ty advocates like when it comes to phasing in automatic braking systems for passenger cars, according to records of their pri-vate negotiations.

The technology automatically applies brakes to prevent or miti-gate collisions, rather than wait-ing for the driver to act. It’s the most important safety technology available today that’s not already required in cars.

Such systems should be stand-ard in all new cars, says the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But instead of mandating it, the government is trying to work out a voluntary

agreement with automakers in hopes of getting it in cars more quickly.

But safety advocates say volun-tary agreements aren’t enforcea-ble and are likely to contain weaker standards and longer timelines than if the government had issued rules.

There are about 1.7 million rear-end crashes a year in the US, killing more than 200 people, injuring 400,000 others and cost-ing about $47 billion annually. More than half of those crashes could be avoided or mitigated by automatic braking or systems that warn drivers of an impend-ing collision, NHTSA estimated. “Consumers are going to come up the losers in this process,” said Clarence Ditlow, executive direc-tor of the Center for Auto Safety.

Meeting minutes obtained by

The Associated Press of four of the meetings that NHTSA has held with automakers since October show the government is considering significant conces-sions. Records of a meeting on Nov. 12, show that automatic braking systems would be allowed that slow vehicles by as little as 5 mph before a collision.

Manufacturers would be allowed to exempt 5 percent of their vehi-cles from the standard.

Some automakers had said it would take longer to ready manu-al transmission vehicles for the technology. The discussion included an additional exemption for models that manufacturers intend to phase out or redesign.

The minutes from the fourth session, on Dec. 9, indicate that some automakers say they won’t be ready to include the technolo-gy in 95 percent of their vehicles until model year that begins in September 2025. NHTSA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety objected, saying such a long timeline “was too late for this effort to be seen as a serious effort.” Automakers are now being polled to see if they can equip 95 percent of their vehicles by the model year beginning in September 2022.

The agency is required by law to provide meeting minutes of such negotiations and to make them public. NHTSA provided minutes of three of the meetings to the AP; the fourth was obtained from safety advocates.

“This is what happens when

you start negotiating with the auto industry,” said Joan Claybrook, a safety advocate and NHTSA’s administrator during the Carter administration. “They want to negotiate this out and they want to negotiate that out,” and establish a deadline driven by their production schedules rather than safety considerations.

Besides NHTSA, meeting par-ticipants included 16 automakers, two auto industry trade groups and the insurance institute, the insurance industry’s safety research arm. Representatives from Transport Canada, the Canadian government’s auto safe-ty regulator, also attended.

Mark Rosekind, NHTSA’s administrator, has said the feder-al rule-making process is so cum-bersome and time-consuming that a voluntary agreement is

likely to get the technology into all cars faster. He said regulations remain an option.

The Association of Global Automakers, which has taken the lead for the industry on the issue, didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

“Regulations can be too rigid when technology like this is changing quickly,” said Russ Rader, a spokesman for insurance institute. “A complicated regula-tion could make it more difficult for the automakers and their suppliers to continue to develop the systems.”

Automatic braking is already available in dozens of car models, but typically as a pricey option on higher-end vehicles.

Subaru offers it on the Impreza sedan, for example, as part of a $2,895 safety package.

Automatic braking for cars: Private talks on technology pacem I t I gat I n g co l l I s I o n s

n A file photo shows a vehicle closing in on a Strikeable Surrogate Vehicle at the IIHS Vehicle Research Center in Ruckersville, Virginia. AP/RSS

Apple Pay service launched in ChinaAgence FrAnce-Presse SHANGHAI, FEB 18

Apple on Thursday launched its mobile payment service Apple Pay in China, pitting the US technolo-gy giant against strong domestic rivals in a large but already crowd-ed market.

Success in the world’s sec-ond-largest economy is crucial for the California-based firm. Apple Pay is available in only a few other countries including the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia. But unlike most other countries, mobile payment sys-tems are already well-established in China and Apple does not have a first-mover advantage. “Can’t wait for you to try it and see how incredibly easy it is to use!” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said of the service on a verified China

microblog. Some users com-plained of difficulties linking their bank cards, the key step to

using the payment service, appar-ently because people rushed to sign up. “Apple Pay, I have already

waited a long time for you in vain. But your back-end technology basically cannot survive in this hot spot China,” said one in a microblog posting under the name Erzi Wangpeng.

China had 359 million online payment users in mid-2015, up almost 18 percent in six months, according to the state-backed China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC). China’s mobile transactions were valued at some 9.3 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) last year, up an annu-al 57 percent, one industry esti-mate showed.

The dominant mobile and online payment providers are e-commerce giant Alibaba with nearly three-quarters of the mar-ket, followed by Tencent which has some 17 percent, according to Beijing-based BigData Research.

n Hu Ying (first right), China UnionPay Assistant Executive, uses Apple Pay while Jennifer Bailey (left), vice president of Apple Pay, looks on at an Apple store on the Wangfujing Street in Beijing, China, on Thursday. XinhuA

green wheel

n A commentator introduces the all electric 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV veihcle to visitors during the 2016 Canadian International Auto Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Canada, on Thursday. XinhuA

Barter stores bring markets to Gulmi farmers’ doorstepgHAnAsHYAM gAUtAMGULMI, FEB 18

A few youth entrepreneurs have opened barter stores where they offer goods like sugar, cooking oil, salt and garments to farmers in exchange for farm products. Although barter is the main fea-ture of such shops, they also accept and pay cash depending on the customer’s wish.

There are 14 barter stores, 12 in Gulmi and one each in Argheli, Palpa and Sukhkhanagar, Butwal. The store chain is operated by a firm named Paicho Pasal Pvt Ltd. Its main outlet is located at Baletaxar, Gulmi.

These shops buy agricultural goods and forest products from farmers by going door-to-door and offer daily essentials in exchange. They carry food products such as sugar, cooking oil and salt and garments with them during their visits to the villages to collect farm products.

“If the farmers don’t want to swap goods for goods, the shops also pay cash,” said Dhruba Neupane, executive director of Paicho Pasal. “It helps the farmers to get double benefits.”

The shops purchase products like fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, beans, green beans and soybeans. The farmers also sell products gathered in the forest such as gooseberry, butter tree seed and yam which are not generally used

for daily consumption. A group of youths launched

barter stores last year which not only generated much interest among the farmers in the district but also gave them a way to make money without market worries.

According to Paicho Pasal, more than 300 farmers have been selling their harvests directly to the shops under it. “Around 100 farmers are doing commercial farming to sell their goods to us,” said Durga Prasad Bhandari, chairman of the firm. “We have

bought goods worth more than Rs50 million from the farmers this year,” he added.

According to him, the shop has also provided financing to the farmers to cultivate various crops. Farmers engaged in commercial farming along the Ridi-Tamghas road have benefitted the most from these barter stores.

“I earned Rs60,000 this year,” said Himlal Gyawali, a farmer from Bamgha-4. “I earned Rs16,000 from pumpkins alone which used to rot in the fields in the past for

lack of buyers.” He was happy that even the consumable goods found in the forest were fetching good prices.

Another farmer Keshav Raj Pandey from the Bokhar area of Digam VDC-9 said that they were finding the facilities provided by these barter stores very helpful as they have been buying their prod-ucts from their own farms.

“The biggest advantage of such shops is that the farmers do not have to transport their products to market themselves.”

Women who have to go to the forest for various chores are also benefiting from the barter stores.

“They can gather medicinal herbs and fruits in the forest dur-ing their free time and sell them to these shops,” said Durga Gyawali, secretary of the Organic Multipurpose Agriculture Cooperative in Thanpati.

“The women collect gooseber-ries, butter tree seeds and bay leaves while taking the cattle out to graze in the forest.”

The barter stores said that they had sold farm and forest products worth Rs1.5 million in the Butwal market. The local youths have invested around Rs80 million in the barter stores.

“We are increasing our invest-ment to Rs150 million this year due to the growing interest of farmers to sell their products to us,” said Neupane.

n A file photo shows a collection and sales centre operated by Paincho Pasal Pvt Ltd in Argali, Palpa. PoSt Photo: GhAnAShyAm GAutAm

These shops buy agricultural goods and forest products from farmers by going door-to-door

and offer daily essentials in exchange

market watch

Vegetables Unit Price (Rs)

Fruits Unit Price (Rs)

Red Potato Kg Rs35White Potato Kg Rs30Onion (Indian) Kg Rs45Tomato Small Kg Rs35Tomato Big Kg Rs50Squash Kg Rs45Cabbage Kg Rs30Egg Plant Long kg Rs70Cow Pea Kg Rs60

daIly commodItIes

Apple Kg Rs105Pomegranate Kg Rs200Mango Kg Rs120Water Melon Kg Rs65Orange Kg Rs75Pineapple 1Pc Rs95Cucumber Kg Rs95Pear Kg Rs190

Pokhreli Rice Kg Rs70Jeera Masino Rice Kg Rs70Indian Basmati Rice Kg Rs100Mansuli Rice Kg Rs55Sona Rice Kg Rs50Beaten Rice (Taichin) Kg Rs120Beaten Rice Kg Rs55Big Mas Kg Rs280Small Mas Kg Rs260Big Mung Kg Rs220Musuro (No 1) Kg Rs180Musuro (No 2) Kg Rs170Rahar Kg Rs290

Commodities Unit Price (Rs)

RETAIL PRICE

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Int’l market

Energy Price (US$) %Change

Agriculture Price (US$) %Change

Industrial Metals Price (US$) %Change

Copper Future (Lb) 207.6 0.02

Precious Metals Price (US$) %Change

Gold 100 Oz Futr (T Oz) 1,206.20 -0.43Silver Future (T Oz) 15.27 -0.70

Cocoa Future (Mt) 2,915.00 1.22Coffee ‘C’ Future (Lb) 116 -0.51Corn Future (Bu) 371 -0.13Cotton No. 2 Futr (Lb) 59.78 0.39Rough Rice (Cbot) (Cwt) 10.99 -0.45Soybean Future (Bu) 882.5 -0.31Soybean Meal Futr (T) 265.4 -0.04Soybean Oil Futr (Lb) 32.17 -0.16Sugar #11 (World) (Lb) 13.09 -0.46Wheat Future (Cbt) (Bu) 472.5 -0.42

Brent Crude Futr (Bbl) 35.5 2.90Gas Oil Fut (Ice) (Mt) 329.25 2.65Gasoline Rbob Fut (Gal) 101.36 1.02Natural Gas Futr (Mmbtu) 1.89 -2.83