Research & Analysis
Fundamental analysis of Nepal's industries and companies. Each sector starts with an industry overview, followed by individual company deep-dives.
Company Research
A Class A commercial bank that went from 0.12% NPL to 3.99% in five years, earned a CARE A- rating the same month it switched from ICRA, and is now nine months into the sharpest earnings recovery since its 2012 commercial conversion. What the financials actually say.
Five years of audited financials (FY 2020/21–FY 2024/25), covering the Nepal Bangladesh Bank acquisition, the savings-deposit-led funding shift, declining ROE, NPA trajectory, and the CAR buffer ahead of the NFRS 9 ECL carve-out.
Through FY 2022/23 NIC Asia produced ROE above 16% and gross NPA below 1%. From FY 2023/24 onwards, the financial profile has deteriorated sharply: gross NPL is now 8.85% (Bank) / 9.53% (Group), Bank-basis retained earnings stand at Rs. -13.66B, and a 2:1 rights issue is pending AGM approval. This report works through the five most recent annual reports, the Q3 FY 2025/26 quarterly, and the verified governance and capital-raise timeline.
Sector Overview
Industry Report
Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) crossed into net-exporter territory in FY 2023/24 and widened the surplus in FY 2024/25. This report works through NEA's six-year financial trajectory, the spread compression, the IPP commissioning wave, and the cross-border trade picture using NEA Annual Reports FY 2019/20–FY 2024/25 as the primary source.
Glossary
A plain-English reference guide to every term used in our hydropower research — from PPA structures and take-or-pay mechanics to NEA's role as sole offtaker and the difference between run-of-river and storage projects. Written for serious investors who want to understand the sector without the jargon.
Company Research
Sahas Urja owns 100% of the operating 86 MW Solu Khola (Dudh Koshi) run-of-river project in Solukhumbu and 56.67% of Times Energy, the project company building the 341 MW Budhi Gandaki PROR in Gorkha. The thesis is binary: a single-asset RoR if Budhi Gandaki stalls; a two-project compounder if it executes.
Sanima Mai Hydropower owns 29 MW of run-of-river generation in Ilam (Mai 22 MW + Mai Cascade 7 MW) and holds promoter stakes in four other Sanima Group hydropower projects. Five-year financial trend, FY 2081/82 force-majeure impacts, and the embedded investment portfolio.
NEA is not an investable security — it is 100% government owned and unlisted. But it is the single counterparty on every PPA that underpins every hydro IPP in Nepal. This analysis asks one question: is NEA solvent and payment-disciplined enough to anchor a long-horizon hydro IPP portfolio?
Company Research
Sarbottam Cement runs Nepal's first VRM-technology plant from four self-owned limestone mines in Palpa, with 990,000 MT/year cement and clinker capacity standalone. The FY 2081/82 standalone net profit rebounded 6.9× to Rs. 1,028M; group profit was Rs. 1,314M after consolidating three acquired subsidiaries. Five-year financial trend, governance complexity, and the NEA tariff overhang.
Shivam Cements is a vertically integrated Nepali cement producer (3,000 TPD cement, 1,900 TPD clinker) with five Makwanpur limestone permits. It also holds a 30% economic stake in Hongshi Shivam — Nepal's largest cement plant — that contributed Rs. 60.6 crore to FY 2081/82 group earnings. Five-year financial trend, balance-sheet strength, related-party complexity, and the FY 2024/25 depreciation policy change.
Company Research
Himalayan Reinsurance is one of Nepal's two domestic reinsurers, listed on NEPSE in January 2024. The company carries an AM Best B+ rating and reported a combined ratio of 79.72% in FY 2080/81. Since March 2026, the company has been at the centre of a money-laundering investigation involving a major promoter, with the NIA reviewing its status under Section 101 of the Insurance Act 2079.
Nepal Reinsurance Company is the older and larger of Nepal's two domestic reinsurers, with approximately 44% Government of Nepal ownership. FY 2080/81 audited financial statements have been outstanding since the original filing window, with NIA reviewing reported accounting discrepancies. Eight-year operating trend, 100% rights issue, and the mandatory-cession-rate taper.
Company Research
Citizen Investment Trust is Nepal's largest listed investment institution — a quasi-sovereign retirement fund manager with Rs 333 billion of AUM, a 35-year operating history, and a structural business model under pressure from the Social Security Fund, falling spreads, and an unresolved Rs 21 billion loan to Nepal Airlines.
Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Limited is Nepal's only purpose-built development finance institution for hydropower — carrying Rs 6,164 crore in committed project exposure across 4,210 MW. The business model is real, but disbursement chronically lags commitment, more than half of assets sit in bank deposits, and FY 81/82 earnings fell 36% as deposit rates collapsed.
Nepal Infrastructure Bank Limited is the only NRB-licensed infrastructure development bank in Nepal — a unique franchise financing hydro, solar, hospitals, and tourism projects across a Rs 25.6 billion loan book with near-zero NPL. FY 81/82 saw the bank's first green bond and a 64% balance sheet expansion. NIM compression from the green bond negative carry is the central analytical question heading into FY 82/83.