| KATHMANDU, March 2:
At least two Chinese companies have expressed interest to acquire
state-owned Nepal Metal Company Limited (NMCL), which has failed to
start production even after over three decades of establishment. The NMCL was established with the aim of extracting zinc-lead ores from Mount Ganesh area of Dhading district. The two Chinese firms--South Asia Mining Energy Company Limited and Chenhui Mineral Energy Company Limited--have jointly approached the Ministry of Industry (MoI) offering their interest to take up the management of NMCL after acquiring company´s shares. "The Chinese firms have shown interest to take over the company by acquiring all its shares. Whether to sell the company is now up to us," said MoI Secretary Krishna Gyawali. Gayawali added that the ministry has asked the firms to submit a detailed proposal on share acquisition. The company that never came into operation since its establishment in 1976 has an authorized capital of Rs 330 million. "We will call the company´s board meeting to discuss the matter once we receive a hard copy of the proposal from the Chinese companies," Gayawali said. According to a Ministry of Finance (MoF) report, the company´s board has already submitted its own business plan to the government to bring NMCL into operation. "The board is currently awaiting government response," reads the MoF report. The government has 75 percent stake in the company. A source close to the firms said that the Chinese investors were ready to buy all shares in the company. "The firms are preparing a detailed proposal as demanded by the government," the source said. The company that never started its production, however, has 10 employees on its payroll. Bimal Wagle, chairman of the Public Enterprises (PE) Board, said that it would be better to hand over the company if any party comes up with a viable business plan to operate it. "Given the government´s failure to commence production at NMCL in more than three decades, PE Board will give a go ahead signal to the government to handover the company to any investor--domestic or foreign--if the investors´ intention is found good," said Wagle. |
KATHMANDU: Nepal has been ranked as one of the best countries in the world to visit in 2017, according to Lonely Planet’s annual Best in Travel list. Publishing the travel list for 2017 on Tuesday, the world’s renowned travel guide has said that Nepal is the hottest destination for all budget travellers while the country came out on the fifth place among top 10 countries of the list “Nepal is the world’s number one destination in terms of service and value,” the Best in Travel 2017 list which showcases the top 10 countries, cities, regions and best value destinations for next year, added. The ‘travel bible’ notes that natural disasters can’t even keep Nepal down for long. “The 2015 earthquakes caused devastation, but what is most striking from a traveller’s perspective is not how much was lost but how much remains.” Landmark temples crumbled, but others came through with just the odd tile out of place, and whole swathes of the country escaped serious damage, includin...
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