Nepal Weekly - 2026-04-01
Nepal business, finance and trade news, every Wednesday.
First Majority in 27 Years
Nepal got its youngest prime minister on Friday when 35-year-old Balendra Shah took the oath of office. The former structural engineer and (**check notes**) rap artist leads the Rastriya Swatantra Party, which won 182 of 275 parliamentary seats in the March 5 election, the first single-party majority in 27 years. Shah, who served as Kathmandu mayor from 2022 to 2026 before stepping down to run, defeated former prime minister KP Sharma Oli by large margin in his own Jhapa constituency. His 15 member cabinet was also announced; it includes five women and shows a technocratic tilt. Deputy prime minister and finance minister Swarnim Wagle holds a master’s degree from Harvard, health minister Nisha Mehta is a nurse, for example. Shah kept the defence and industry portfolios for himself. The first cabinet meeting approved a 100-decision governance blueprint covering a wide range of issue. Details in the Katmandu Post, below.
Read more: AP News (protest context), The Kathmandu Post (constitutional process), The Himalayan Times (Vedic traditions), NDTV (Modi congratulates, seats), The Kathmandu Post (blueprint)
Rapper With New Job Arrests His Predecessor
Police arrested former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and ex-Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak early Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after Balendra Shah took oath as a Prime Minister of Nepal. The arrests are based on the commission report that found 76 people died during the September protests, with at least 19 killed on the first day when police fired on demonstrators protesting for anti corruption movement. The commission, was led by former justice Gauri Bahadur Karki, concluded Oli and Lekhak showed "extreme negligence" and made "no effort to stop or control the firing," though it couldn't establish a direct shoot order was given. New Home Minister Sudan Gurung wrote on social media: "No one is above the law. This is not revenge against anyone, just the beginning of justice.", but CPN-UML Secretary Mahesh Basnet says selective arrests tied to the Karki Commission report could push the country back into conflict, calling the government’s approach “controversial and conspiratorial.” Also see the next story.
Read more: The Kathmandu Post (warrant legality challenge), Christian Daily (protest clash details), Independent (sentencing specifics), BBC (Oli medical condition), myRepublica (court appearance timeline), myRepublica (threat of more conflict)
Burnt Money Burns Back
The anti-money laundering unit also arrested former energy minister Deepak Khadka Sunday from his residence in Budhanilkantha, months after protesters set his house on fire and videos spread online showing demonstrators tossing cash found inside into the air. After nearly six months of enquiries, the Department of Money Laundering Investigation, has launched the full investigation involving three former prime ministers- Sher Bahadur Deuba, KP Sharma Oli, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, as well as former minister Arzu Rana Deuba. Burnt pieces of banknote recovered from several leaders’ home after the September 9, 2025, vandalism were confirmed to be genuine by lab tests. Khadka’s detention came just a day after Oli and former home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested.
Read more: The Kathmandu Post (first PM probe), DW (protest death toll)
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Infinity and Beyond the Travel Ban
Money laundering investigators stopped Infinity Holdings chairman Deepak Bhatta from leaving the country, reopening the case that had previously stalled under the previous government. Bhatta, accused of acting as a broker to win government contracts, is under scrutiny over a suspicious Rs 450 million (~$3 million) transfer in 2021 from Jagdamba Steel that never appeared in the company's audit report. The financial trail was flagged by Nepal Rastra Bank's Financial Information Unit in 2022, which noted that the money was moved from Jagdamba Steel's account to one of Bhatta's personal accounts. The investigation has grown to include the Deuba family, with police stopping demolition work at Deuba's Budhanilkantha residence to preserve evidence.
Read more: The Kathmandu Post (Budhi Gandaki contract), Online Khabar (Rana connections)
The House Now Loses
The telecoms regulator blocked all online betting apps and websites within 24 hours on Sunday, after an order from the communications ministry. The ban is similar to a crackdown that took place in India last year. All gambling is already supposed to be illegal, but there is concern about the rise in online betting among young users.
Read more: iGaming Business
Tokyo Built It, Beijing Will Run It
The Nagdhunga Tunnel, funded with a Rs 16 billion ($105 million) Japanese concessional loan is still unopened almost a year after construction was more-or-less finished, but is expected to open soon under Chinese operation. A joint venture between China's Yusin and local firm ART won a five-year contract with bid of Rs 1.10 billion ($7.2 million), beating six other bidders. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had cautioned against choosing a Chinese firm, but Nepali procurement rules award to the lowest bidder. Trial runs are expected by early May, with full operations likely within three months, around mid-June. About 150 staff still need to be hired and trained before the tunnel, which will shortened the 7.5 km stretch from Balambu to Sisne Khola to 5 km, opens to traffic.
Read more: myRepublica (JICA objection), The Kathmandu Post (details)
Governance by Queue
Nepal's new ministers are finding that running the government means they need to meet with people before they even get to their desks. The Rastriya Swatantra Party assigned teams to each of its 22 ministries for "policy support and oversight," keeping ministers in all-day briefings. Gen Z activist groups are apparently showing up in packs of 30 demanding immediate accountability. A joint secretary at one ministry said ministers are "exhausted" after talking to groups who refuse to leave. The government's solution is reportedly a proposed Gen Z Council to channel youth demands away from ministry waiting rooms.
Read more: Ratopati (Gen Z Council), myRepublica (Thursday session)
Token System Dies, More Reform TBD
The Labour Ministry brought an end to its token system for migrant worker permits on Sunday, making a change to same-day approvals instead. This improvement is part of the reform the Cabinet approved on March 27. Other reforms include getting prospective migrant workers enrolled in the contribution-based social security system, making pre-departure orientation training available online through audio-visual formats, and getting bilateral labor agreements inked with five more countries.
Read more: The Himalayan Times (private sector partnership), The Himalayan Times (March 31 start)
Red Sunday, Green Light for Margin
Every sector fell as NEPSE lost 71 points Sunday, dropping 2.40 percent to close at 2,879.11 on the first trading day of the week. The sell-off came in a week of political frothiness, including the arrest of Oli , money laundering investigations, and, of course, a new government still finding its footing. Finance names were hit hardest, down 3.37 percent. Rs 15 billion ($99 million) changed hands in 196,158 trades. Of 333 companies traded, 255 declined and only 10 turned green on the session. Nepal Stock Exchange changed the margin trading rules on March 27, and will now allow 60 brokers to offer leveraged credit to investors. The Qualified brokers are permitted to lend up to five times a client’s certified net worth, but any single client can use only 10 percent of a broker’s total margin pool. The introduction of margin trading is likely to amplify market volatility.
Read more: The Himalayan Times (Sunday’s session), myRepublica (margin)
Soybeans Drive Birgunj Boom
Exports through Birgunj customs were up almost a fifth year-over-year in the first seven months of fiscal 2026, with processed soybean oil making up more than half the value at Rs 35.58 billion ($235 million). Fruit juice and sunflower oil were the next largest exports through the country's busiest customs point. Imports also rose 11% over the same period.
Read more: The Himalayan Times
Taxman's Share of the Barrel
Nearly half the cost of every barrel of fuel entering Nepal goes to taxes. Customs revenue from fuel imports was Rs 52.15 billion ($344 million) in the first seven months of this fiscal year, a figure that is 42% of the total import bill for fuel. Seems like a lot, and the time might be right for a fuel tax reform.
Read more: myRepublica (breakdown), myRepublica (collection trend)
That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back - hit reply and tell us what you think.
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