BIZ BRIEFS: Food festival begins

CHITWAN, Jan 13: A food festival began on Sunday in Narayanghat as a part of the Chitwan Festival, one of the major trade fairs in the country. The food festival is being held at Pokhara bus park to promote local cuisine. Kush Kumar Joshi, immediate past president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), inaugurated the festival. According to Devendra Shrestha, coordinator of the festival, a total of 77 stalls have been set up to promote local food. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Til Chandra Bhattarai, president of the Chitwan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said such festivals were crucial to promote local cuisine at a time foreign food is dominating Nepali markets.



Global IME to extend 13% dividend

KATHMANDU: The sixth annual general meeting of Global IME Bank has approved to extend 10 percent cash dividend and 3 percent bonus shares to its shareholders. The bank´s AGM held in Birgunj on Sunday also elected a new set of board of directors. “The AGM elected Chandra Prasad Dhakal, Sumit Kumar Agrawal, Suraj Kumar Shretha, Suman Pokharel, Suhriddha Raj Ghimire, Krishna Bahadur Kunwar and Sudarshan Krishna Shrestha as board directors,” says the statement. Global IME Bank is providing banking services through 63 branch offices located in different parts of the country. According to the statement, the bank collected Rs 28.9 billion in deposits and distributed Rs 24.5 billion in loans in fiscal year 2011/12.



MBL to open four new branches

KATHMANDU(REPUBLICA): Machhapuchhre Bank Limited (MBL) is all set to open four new branch offices, a statement issued by the bank said. The 13th and 14th Annual General Meeting of MBL held on Sunday approved the proposal. MBL is currently extending banking services through 40 branches and 62 ATMs. According to the statement, the bank has a customer base of 320,000.



Nepal Express Finance to extend dividend

KATHMANDU (Republica): The seventh annual general meeting (AGM) of Nepal Express Finance has approved a decision to extend Rs 21.9 million worth of bonus shares and Rs 1.1 million in cash dividend to its shareholders. According to a statement issued on Sunday, the AGM also approved the company´s annual financial report. Santosh Narayan Shrestha, president of the company, chaired the AGM. The company, which has no exposure to bad debt, collected Rs 650 million in deposits and distributed Rs 484 million in loans till the fiscal year 2011/12. The Kathmandu-based company has branch offices in Butwal, Pokhara and Syangja, among others.

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