BankTalk

How Global Oil Tensions Are Quietly Hitting Your Wallet (And Nepal's Stock Market) If you've been following the news lately, you've probably heard about the tension between Iran and the US. It might seem like something happening far away that doesn't touch Nepal at all. But here's the truth: when oil-producing regions get unstable, the effects travel all the way to your local petrol pump — and even to the NEPSE trading floor. Let's break this down in simple terms. Why Does Iran Affect Nepal's Fuel Prices? Nepal doesn't produce its own oil. Every drop of petrol, diesel, and kerosene used in the country is imported — mainly through the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which supplies the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC). Because Nepal buys fuel from India, and India buys crude oil from the global market, any shock in global oil prices eventually shows up in NOC's pricing sheet. Iran is one of the world's biggest oil producers and sits right next to ...

What Google Search Trends Can Tell You About Investor Mood Have you ever noticed that when the stock market is going up, everyone suddenly wants to talk about investing — and when it crashes, nobody mentions it anymore? This isn't just human behavior. It actually shows up as data, and it's called "search sentiment." Let's break down how this works and why it matters even for NEPSE investors. The Alphabet (Google) Example Recently, financial analysts have pointed out something surprising: even with the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini, Google Search usage hasn't dropped — it has actually grown. Analysts covering Alphabet's stock (Google's parent company) have set very high price targets, saying that fears of "AI killing search" turned out to be wrong. In fact, some reports note that both Google and Meta have become big winners from the current wave of AI investment, not victims of it. Why does this matter to a Nepali investor? ...

  How Global Oil Tensions Are Quietly Hitting Your Wallet (And Nepal's Stock Market) If you've been following the news lately, you've probably heard about the tension between Iran and the US. It might seem like something happening far away that doesn't touch Nepal at all. But here's the truth: when oil-producing regions get unstable, the effects travel all the way to your local petrol pump — and even to the NEPSE trading floor. Let's break this down in simple terms. Why Does Iran Affect Nepal's Fuel Prices? Nepal doesn't produce its own oil. Every drop of petrol, diesel, and kerosene used in the country is imported — mainly through the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which supplies the Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC). Because Nepal buys fuel from India, and India buys crude oil from the global market, any shock in global oil prices eventually shows up in NOC's pricing sheet. Iran is one of the world's biggest oil producers and sits right next t...

Gold & Silver Prices in 2026: Why India and Nepal Are Watching the Metals Market Closely This Festival Season Every year, as Dashain and Tihar approach in Nepal, and Diwali and Dhanteras approach in India, one question dominates conversations in households, jewellery shops, and financial news channels alike: "What's the gold rate today?" In 2026, that question has become even more urgent, because gold and silver prices have been on one of the wildest rides in recent memory and it's affecting buyers, investors, and traders across both countries in very real ways. Gold Has Been on a Rollercoaster All Year Let's start with the numbers, because they tell the real story. In Nepal, gold hit an all-time high of Rs 339,300 per tola on January 29, 2026, according to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers' Association (FENEGOSIDA). That's a staggering figure when you consider that just a year earlier, in September 2025, gold was trading around Rs 221,70...

Nepal's New Government Is Changing the Economy Here's What's Really Happening If you've been following the news lately, you already know Nepal went through a massive political shake-up this year. But what most people are actually searching for isn't the politics it's the money part. What does the new government mean for your job, your remittance, your savings, or your small business? Let's break it down in plain language. A New Party, A New Kind of Mandate In the March 5, 2026 elections, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) didn't just win it swept. The party bagged 182 out of 275 seats in the House of Representatives, the largest single-party majority Nepal has seen since the monarchy was abolished in 2008. That's not a coalition government cobbled together after weeks of bargaining. It's a party that can actually govern on its own, without constantly negotiating with partners just to pass a bill. This wasn't a normal election cycle either. It...

Nepal's Import Bill Just Crossed Rs 2 Trillion : Here's Where All That Money Is Going Every time you fill your bike's petrol tank, cook with soybean oil, or scroll on your smartphone, you're touching a tiny piece of a much bigger story Nepal's ballooning import bill. In the fiscal year 2025/26 alone, Nepal imported goods worth a staggering Rs 2.096 trillion. That's not a typo. Two trillion, ninety-six billion rupees, in twelve months, spent buying things from the rest of the world. If that number feels abstract, here's a simpler way to see it: for every Rs 1 Nepal earns from exports, it spends roughly Rs 6.65 on imports. That single ratio explains almost everything about Nepal's trade story and why understanding it matters if you follow NEPSE, remittances, or the exchange rate. The Big Picture: FY 2025/26 at a Glance According to the Department of Customs and Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), here's how the year closed out: Total imports: Rs 2,096.38 billion ...

The Rs 138 Billion Question: How Nepal's Students Are Financing Their Education Abroad Nepal spent over Rs 138 billion on overseas education in one year alone. Here's the complete, data-backed breakdown of education loans, government subsidies, and which provinces are driving Nepal's study-abroad boom. Every single day in Nepal, roughly 500 students apply for a document that allows them to legally send money abroad for their education. That single number repeated 365 days a year is quietly reshaping the country's banking sector, its foreign currency reserves, and the financial planning of hundreds of thousands of families. Let's break down exactly how big this trend has become, how students are funding it, and where in Nepal this money is actually coming from. The Scale: Billions Leaving the Country Every Year Let's start with the raw numbers from Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), because they tell a story of relentless, consistent growth: - FY 2018-19: Rs 46.32 billion ...

How a Rs 25.87 Billion Insurance Bill Is Reshaping Nepal's Stock Market The Bhote Koshi flood triggered over Rs 25.87 billion in insurance claims across 15 Nepali insurers. Here's how disaster insurance actually works in Nepal, and what it means for NEPSE-listed insurance and hydropower stocks. On August 26, 2026 , a glacial mass roughly 600 metres wide broke away near Langtang Lirung and crashed into the Lende Khola, sending a wall of water, ice and debris down the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers. Within minutes, monitoring stations along the river went silent. The flood tore through Timure, Syabrubesi, and the Trishuli corridor, eventually reaching Chitwan and Nawalparasi more than 150 kilometres downstream. Over a thousand lives were lost, with thousands more still unaccounted for across Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, Tanahun, and Chitwan. It is one of the deadliest disasters Nepal has faced in recent years, and the loss to families across these districts is immeasurable....

SIP vs. Speculation: Why Indians Are Investing Monthly While Nepalis Are Still Chasing NEPSE Rallies A data-backed comparison of India's disciplined SIP investing culture and Nepal's momentum-driven NEPSE trading habits  with real numbers from AMFI, CDSC, and NEPSE. Two neighboring countries. Two very different investing personalities. In India, millions of people now invest the same fixed amount, in the same mutual fund, on the same date, every single month without checking whether the market is up or down. In Nepal, a large share of investors do the opposite: they wait, watch the index, and jump in only when NEPSE is already rallying. One approach is boring by design. The other is exciting by nature. Let's look at the numbers behind both, and what each country can learn from the other. India's SIP Machine: Small Amounts, Massive Scale A Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) lets an investor put a fixed sum even as little as ₹500 into a mutual fund every month, automaticall...