HBL turns 17

KATHMANDU: Himalayan Bank Ltd (HBL) completed 16 years of establishment. During the fiscal year 2007-08, the bank reduced NPA to 2.36 per cent, which was 3.61 per cent the previous year, said Ashok Rana, CEO of the bank. In the first six months of the current fiscal, the deposit base of the bank is Rs 32.45 billion while its loan portfolio is Rs 21.35 billion. It has operating profit Rs 595.27 million. — HNS

SBL profits up

KATHMANDU: Siddhartha Bank Ltd (SBL) earned an operating profit of Rs 172.5 million in the first six month of the current fiscal. The bank registered a deposit of Rs 12.11 billion and credit Rs 12.13 billion, an increment of 47 per cent and 51 per cent respectively, compared to the same period last year. — HNS

NCC inks deal

KATHMANDU: Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) president Surendra Bir Malakar and Vasile Bar, president of Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture of Bistrita Nausad County, Romania, signed an agreement on Wednesday. According to a press statement, during the signing ceremony, Malakar laid stress on increased export of medicines, herbs, floriculture products, rawhide products, and increased investment in tourism, information technology and agriculture sectors. — HNS

Eurozone at risk

BERLIN: Growing differences between individual eurozone economies threaten to tear the 16-country zone apart, International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn has warned. “Eurozone needs more policy co-ordination, or divergences between countries become too big and the stability of the zone will be in danger,” he said. — AFP