Oil corporation proposes selling 30 percent of LPG quota at commercial rates

Oil corporation proposes 30 percent commercial LPG quota and asks companies to plan mergers

Nepal Oil Corporation has proposed that LPG companies buy and sell 30 percent of their monthly quota at commercial rates, OnlineKhabar English reported on Monday. They would take that share from the corporation at commercial prices until cylinders made for commercial users reach the market, and sell it only for business use.

It is a proposal, not a rule. The corporation put it to the Nepal LPG Industry Association at a meeting on Friday and gave the industry a week to state its position, OnlineKhabar reported. The reports give no commercial price and do not say how the share would be policed. Nor do they say what happens to the other 70 percent.

Separately, the corporation wrote to all LPG companies on October 29 (Kattik 12) asking them to encourage mergers and prepare action plans, OnlineKhabar English and Republica reported. It cites point 32 of its policy and programme for FY 2083/84. OnlineKhabar English counts 58 companies under different brands; Kantipur describes 58 brands nationwide.

Friday's meeting also discussed a single logo for cylinders nationwide, with no decision reported. An industry association president told Kantipur that six or seven brands are linked to one person's companies. No deadline for the merger plans has been reported.

Why it matters: Commercial users take 30 percent of the gas consumed, and the corporation loses Rs 411 on each cylinder they buy at the household price, Kantipur reported on September 29 from corporation data. A Ministry of Industry committee is separately studying household and commercial cylinders.

Deposits reach 129 percent of GDP by OnlineKhabar's reckoning

Deposits in the financial system reached Rs 8,529 billion on Kattik 12 (October 29), OnlineKhabar reported from central bank data. That is about 129 percent of the Statistics Office's Rs 6,607 billion GDP estimate for last fiscal year, by the outlet's division.

NEPSE falls 32.65 points to 2,657.50 as every sub-index declines

NEPSE fell 32.65 points, or 1.21 percent, to 2,657.50 on Monday, the first session of the week, Kantipur reported. Turnover was Rs 7.18 billion, against Rs 8.89 billion on Friday, OnlineKhabar English reported.

Every sub-index fell. Development banks lost the most at 1.88 percent and banking lost 1.07 percent, ShareSansar's market page shows. Only 21 companies gained, while 252 lost and six did not move. No named source in the reports read gave a reason for the fall.

Securities board asks bankers of 76 IPO applicants for updated details, OnlineKhabar reports

A Securities Board official told OnlineKhabar that merchant bankers of 76 companies were asked for updated details. OnlineKhabar counts 117 applicants seeking Rs 71.13 billion. The board's one approval since Baisakh 2 was Him Parbat Hydropower, ShareSansar reported in October.

Infrastructure minister tells offices to start ending stalled contracts, Kantipur reports

Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal told ministry offices to start the process of ending stalled contracts immediately, Kantipur reported, after a meeting on contract progress on Monday. The basis is section 59(7) and (8) of the Public Procurement Act 2063, which covers contractors who did not start, walked away or made no progress.

This is an instruction, and no termination notice has been reported. The ministry's secretary said not every contract will be ended at once. The report gives no count of contracts or their value. Terminated work is to go back to tender once cost estimates and budget are confirmed.

Why it matters: The Department of Roads alone had ended 41 of 227 troubled contracts by early July, Kantipur reported then.

US passes India as the largest tourist source in October as arrivals reach 132,814

Nepal received 132,814 foreign tourists in October, up 3.4 percent from 128,443 a year earlier, Nepal Tourism Board figures show, Bizshala reported. Americans led with 17,437, up 31.24 percent. Indian arrivals fell about 30 percent to 12,097 from 17,298. The Kathmandu Post quoted the board as saying the US had never led before.

In September India was still first, with 17,425 against 8,299 from the US. China came third in October with 11,695, up 73 percent, the Post reported. South Asian arrivals fell 17.2 percent to 24,053, OnlineKhabar reported.

Kantipur, which describes the figures as air arrivals, calls October the highest month of 2026 so far, above March's 120,516.

Unilever Nepal's board decides on a dividend of Rs 1,540 a share

Last year's dividend was Rs 1,842 a share, Kantipur reported. Neither it nor OnlineKhabar says whether this one is cash. Book closure runs from Mangsir 9 to 23 (November 25 to December 9).

Government to invite bids for cement concrete roads, Kantipur reports

The government will invite bids for roads built in cement concrete, Kantipur reported on Monday. No call has been issued, and the report gives no date and no list of roads. The move follows a directive on using domestic products in public procurement, which the Cabinet approved, Kantipur reported on October 16 (Asoj 30).

The Nepal Construction Entrepreneurs Federation puts a 1 km road 5.5 metres wide at Rs 30.49 million in concrete and Rs 17.69 million in asphalt, about 72 percent more, Kantipur reported. A ministry spokesperson said concrete lasts longer where bitumen roads wear out fast, and that it cannot be used everywhere yet.

Why it matters: Other estimates of the extra cost run from 15 percent to three times asphalt, Ratopati reported on October 28. It put the bitumen import bill at Rs 14 billion to Rs 16 billion a year, against Kantipur's Rs 11.41 billion for FY 2081/82. Neither report says who pays the difference.

Nagdhunga tunnel collects about Rs 1.17 million on its first toll day

About 7,500 vehicles paid about Rs 1.17 million on the tunnel's first toll day, Clickmandu and Bizshala reported. The automatic N-Tag system is not working, so drivers pay in cash or by QR code, Bizshala said.

Government starts drafting its $20 million proposal to the Loss and Damage Fund

A first draft is due in November, OnlineKhabar English and Bizshala reported. The fund has provisionally set aside $21.6 million for Nepal, and its board must still give final approval, The Kathmandu Post reported in October.