Steel, cement, aggregates prices send construction costs soaring

KATHMANDU, Dec 12, 2013

If you are planning to build a house this season, you will have to increase your budget as construction has increased by around 20 percent compared to last year.

Civil engineers say double-digit increment in price of major construction materials -- sand, aggregates, bricks, steel and wood - as well as rise in labor cost has sent construction cost soaring.

“A four-room home could be built with Rs 2 million last year. Now, people need to around Rs 500,000 more to build similar home. This is mainly because of the rise in the price of construction materials,” said Rupesh Simkhada, a civil engineer.

Gold, silver set new records

KATHMANDU, Aug 27, 2012

Gold continued its bull run in the domestic market, climbing to a new high of Rs 59,194 per tola (11.664 grams) on Sunday. Silver also set a new record of Rs 1,115 on the day.

Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Association (Negosida) had fixed gold price at Rs 58,900 on Friday. As the association do not fix price on Saturdays, the yellow metal was traded at Rs 58,900 on Saturday as well.

According to traders, gold became expensive in the domestic market following rise in prices of the precious yellow metal in the domestic market. Gold was traded at US $1674 per troy ounce on Sunday, posting a rise of $7 per troy once compared to Saturday.

Negosida has attributed the rise in price to upward journey of gold in the international bullion market. Gold is becoming expensive as investors are turning to safe have following slackness seen in major stock market across the world, officials of Negosida said.

“Price of gold is rising continuously in the international market, making customers nervous ahead of major festivals like Teej, Dashain and Tihar when demand for the yellow metal hits peak,” Bijay Ratna Shakya, secretary of Negosida, told Republica.

Traders said gold´s march into the green territory has led to drop in demand for the yellow metal in the domestic market. They said demand has dropped to an average of 20 kg per day, almost half of the daily demand compared to last year. Gold price has increased by over Rs 10,000 per tola over the past year.

Similarly, price of silver has also hit a new high of Rs 1,115 per tola. Silver was traded at Rs 1,100 per tola on Friday.

Source: Republica

Hotels plan tariff hike as bookings pour in

KATHMANDU, AUG 17, 2012

Most of the five-star hotels in Kathmandu have been planning to hike their tariffs by up to 20 percent with the peak tourist season starting from September. Some of them have already upped the rates encouraged by increased bookings.

Hoteliers said that it was a conventional hike driven by market demand as they need to keep prices competitive to maintain a good value destination.

This season, hoteliers have received higher bookings from the American, Australian and British markets, although reservations from Spain, Greece and Russia, among other European markets, have dropped.

As hotels gear up for the peak season, they said around 75 percent of the rooms have been booked for September, while bookings have crossed 90 percent for October and November.

They said that actual bookings come only 15 to 20 days prior to the beginning of the season, and the current pace seems to make the hospitality industry delighted.

“Going by the current pace of bookings, this season seems to be arguably the best time for the hotels than the last season,” said Bharat Joshi, resident manager at the Hotel Yak & Yeti.

Arrivals reached a record high of 736,215 tourists last year, with the September-November season accounting for 33 percent of the total inbound.

Joshi said as of Aug 16, confirmed bookings for his hotel in September had crossed 70 percent, and October and November bookings are at 93.81 percent and 81 percent respectively. “We are expecting an 8 percent rise in business this year,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Hotel Yak & Yeti plans to hike its room tariff by 12-15 percent starting from September. The average room rate of the hotel is US$ 80.

The Shangri-La Hotel and Resort has reported the highest bookings of 80 percent for September while the figure is 92-94 percent for October and November.

According to the hotel, it has increased the room tariff to US$ 90 and US$ 100 for the season, up 20 percent. “The booking trend is really encouraging like during the last season,” said Shangri-La Hotel and Resort senior general manager Raju Bikram Shah.

He added that unlike in past years, hotels are not worried about cancellations. The Everest Hotel has reported confirmed bookings for 75 percent of the rooms for September while reservations for October and November have already crossed 90 percent. The hotel also plans to hike the tariff by 15-20 percent from September.

“Bookings are encouraging, and on certain dates we are overbooked,” said Amir K Pradhananga, director of sales at the Everest Hotel. Similarly, the Soaltee Crowne Plaza is also raising the room tariff by 12-15 percent starting from October.

According to Raj Bikram Shah, sales and marketing director of the Hotel Annapurna, the hotel has confirmed bookings of 65 percent for September while for October and November the reservation rates are 75 percent and 85 percent respectively.  “We are expecting a rise in the current booking status,” said Shah. The Hotel Annapurna also plans to hike the room tariff by 15-20 percent. At present, its average room rate is US$ 80.

According to the Tourism Ministry, five-star properties in Kathmandu registered a 66.11 percent year-on-year growth in occupancy in 2011.

The highest room night occupancy of 89.81 percent was recorded in November 2011 in Kathmandu hotels. Besides November’s performance, hotels saw the highest sales in October (82.31 percent) and September (61.09 percent) in 2011.

The eight five-star properties in Kathmandu produced 134,225 rooms in September-November out of which 104,411 were occupied.

Source: The Kathmandu Post

Price of essential commodities increases

KATHMANDU, May 20, 2012

Prices of essential food commodities have increased by around 8 to 12 percent in the market on Saturday after traders raised the rates citing low supply due to frequent strikes and rise in the prices in India, from where most commodities are imported.

Rice, sugar, beans and lentils have become dearer by Rs 3 to 25 per kg. Similarly, price of edible oil has also increased in the range of Rs 5 to 10 per liter depending on the brand.

“Though prices of commodities increased very slightly in India, prices of commodities have gone up by up to Rs 25 in the retail market here in the absence of government rules and regulations on pricing,” said Ram Krishna Manandhar, vice president of Nepal Retailers´ Association.

“Though food is our basic need, the government is doing nothing to ensure its easy availability,” he said, adding, “Almost 70 percent of the demand is met through imports and a slight increment in prices in other countries highly affects the prices here.”

On Saturday, prices of all varieties of rice increased by up to Rs 100 per 30 kg compared to Sunday. The price of Rahar dal increased by Rs 5 to Rs 100 per kg and Musur Dal by Rs 25 to Rs 110 per kg. Similarly, prices of Mas dal and Chana dal rose by Rs 10 and both items are now selling at Rs 110 per kg.

The price of sugar increased by Rs 8 per kg and will now be available at Rs 70 per kg. Likewise, sunflower oil and soybean oil have become dearer by Rs 5 per liter and are now selling at Rs 145 and Rs 140 per liter respectively. The price of mustard oil has also become dearer by Rs 10 and is currently available at Rs 150 per liter.
“The prices of essential commodities have gone up as suppliers raised the prices in line with the increment in the international market and the disruption in supply due to frequent strikes has led to a shortage,” said Pabitra Bajracharya, president of Nepal Retailer´s Association and proprietor of Dallu Khadhya Bhandar.

The price of vegetable ghee has also increased by Rs 5 per kg which is now available at Rs 120 per kg. Similarly, the price of gram has increased by Rs 15 to Rs 95 per kg while the prices of other beans will also increase soon, according to the traders.

Source: Republica