NDBL registers profit

KATHMANDU: Nepal Development Bank Ltd (NDBL) posted an operating profit of Rs 250 million for the fiscal year 2002-03. Presenting the annual report on the occasion of the fifth annual general meeting of the bank here on Monday, Uttam Bahadur Pun, chairman of the bank said that the bank has collected Rs 2 billion deposits during the period. The bank has invested Rs 1.50 billion in the same fiscal. — HNS

Tourist arrivals increase

RASUWA: Locals in Rasuwa are elated over the increasing number of foreign tourists. According to the Langtang National Park office, more than 1000 tourists have come to Rasuwa in the past one month alone. As a result a revenue of around Rs 1.1 million has also been collected. — RSS

Tobacco farming booms

RAUTAHAT: Farmers of southern parts in Rautahat district have been attracted towards tobacco farming. Farmers of four VDCs of the district have started tobacco farming with the support of Surya Tobacco Pvt Ltd. The market price of the best tobacco is Rs 86 per kg. Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd has been providing seeds, fertiliser, pesticides and technical support free of cost. — RSS

Vegetable farming

RASUWA: Farmers in Laharepauwa VDC of Rasuwa have been excited after they started off-seasonal vegetable cultivation. 25 farmers here have produced cauliflower, cabbage, chilly, cucumber pumpkin and other off season vegetables, said Bhoj Raj Acharya, a local farmer. Locals have been able to earn Rs 35,000 in an average from vegetables and other agriculture products, he added. — RSS

German jobless rate dips

FRANKFURT: Germany’s unemployment rate fell to 10.9 per cent in March from 11.1 per cent the month before, with 93,600 fewer people out of work. The number of jobless stood at 4.54 million, down by 62,000 from the same month a year ago. The agency credited the “beginning spring upswing” in employment. — AP

Qantas to launch Jetstar

SINGAPORE: Qantas Airways announced that it was launching a Singapore-based low-cost airline to compete in a growing field of Southeast Asian budget carriers. The airline, which might be named Jetstar Asia, will start services before the end of the year with a range of destinations within five hours’ flying time from Singapore. — AP

Revamp in S’pore Airlines

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew said government-owned Singapore Airlines will be restructured, possibly this year, to fend off regional competition. Singapore Airlines is struggling to cope with the rise of regional low-cost carriers. — AP