Car Watch: Volkswagen Golf is the World Car of 2013

KATHMANDU: The newly unveiled Volkswagen Golf has bagged the 2013 edition of World Car of the Year award. This seventh generation Volkswagen won the prestigious award for its German car maker for the second time in a row. In 2012 the Volkswagen Up! had won the same title.
And way before that also, Volkswagen Polo in 2010, and the Volkswagen Golf VI had bagged the same price in 2009. So, to sum up, Volkswagen has won this particular award for four times.

World Car Of the Year 2013

Runners-up for the big award included the Audi A3, Land Rover Range Rover, Mazda6, Mazda CX-5, Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Peugeot 208, Porsche Boxster/Cayman, Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT86 and Volvo V40.
Along with that, Porsche Boxster and Cayman were picked up for the 2013 World Performance Car award after a fierce competition with Aston Martin Vanquish, Audi RS5, BMW M6, BMW M135i, Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster, Renault Clio Sport and the Toyobaru triplets.

Head of Design of the Volkswagen Group Walter de’Silva, centre, poses for a photo with World Car Award co-chairs Matt Davis, left, and Peter Lyon, right, after the Volkswagen Golf was named the World Car of the Year at a press conference during the New York International Auto Show on Thursday, March 28, 2013. (Photo By: Michelle Siu for the World Car Awards)

And guess, who won the award for environment friendly car? The World Green Car award was handed to the all-electric Tesla Model S by brushing aside the claims of Renault Zoe, Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid and Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid Diesel.
The World Car awards are handed out by a panelist of 66 auto journalists from around the world and the award were announced amid a press conference jointly organized by New York International Auto Show and Bridgestone Corporations.

The newly unveiled Volkswagen Golf has bagged the 2013 edition of World Car of the Year 2013 award.

As responded throughout the world, in Nepal also the car has been popular due to its shape, structure and mileage kept promises since 2010.
“We have been offering Golf in Nepal since 2010 as it is the third highest selling model in the world, which gained in popularity on a global scale through five generations,” Sarik Bogati, Marketing and Brand Manager of Pooja International Nepal, authorized importer and distributor of Volkswagen passenger cars in Nepal said.
Bogati added that since its launch the company has sold around 24 million cars of the Golf model around the world.

Chinese tourists buy 16pc of life insurance sold in Hong Kong

More mainland tourists are buying insurance in Hong Kong - spending HK$15 billion last year - a trend industry insiders fear could lead to complaints if sales are not handled carefully.
Mainland tourists' share of new life insurance sold in the city grew to 16 per cent last year from 13 per cent in 2012, 9 per cent in 2011 and 4 per cent in 2010.
Hong Kong insurance agents are barred from selling any products on the mainland, but mainlanders can buy policies from Hong Kong agents or banks when they visit the city.
Chan Kin-por, the legislator for the insurance industry, said mainlanders had become an important source of business for Hong Kong-based life insurance companies.
"They don't just come here for cosmetic products or jewellery but also to buy life insurance products. This is because the insurance products offered here have more features and higher returns compared with what are on offer across the border," Chan said.
Savings-type life insurance policies in Hong Kong can usually deliver 4 to 5 per cent annual returns, higher than the 1 to 2 per cent offered by mainland policies.
In addition, mainland insurers can issue only yuan-denominated policies, but Hong Kong insurers offer policies denominated in US dollars or Hong Kong dollars and yuan.
"It's good that our insurers can sell to mainlanders. However, we also need to be aware of the risks involved, as many mainlanders are buying the policies during short trips here," Chan said.
"It would be a problem if the agents or the bank staff do not get the time to fully disclose the risks or product features to them. Some mainland tourists could complain in future [if things go wrong]."
Some insurance companies have been hiring migrants from the mainland to pitch the products to visitors.
A senior executive of an insurance company who did not want to be named said his firm required agents to record the entire sales process to prevent mis-selling to mainlanders.
Mainland clients are also required to visit the company's Hong Kong offices to have pictures taken there as proof that they bought the policies in the city.
"Our company wants to ensure the clients are not misled about the risks involved. All insurance companies are taking similar measures," the executive said. "The government and the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers should take the lead to educate mainland customers on how to protect their interests while buying policies in Hong Kong. Preventing mis-selling would benefit the whole industry in the long term."

Loan

Definition of 'Loan' The act of giving money, property or other material goods to a another party in exchange for future repayment of the principal amount along with interest or other finance charges. A loan may be for a specific, one-time amount or can be available as open-ended credit up to a specified ceiling amount.

SBI General Insurance sets 60% premium growth

SBI General Insurance hopes to maintain its growth momentum of recent years and has set a 60 per cent target in premium growth in the 2014-15 fiscal.

The subsidiary of the country’s largest lender SBI had a gross written premium of Rs. 770.85 crore in FY13, and has registered around 55 per cent rise in premium of around Rs. 1,200 crore in FY14.

“In this fiscal we expect to grow at around 60 per cent, which we feel is reasonable,” managing director and chief executive Bhaskar J Sarma told PTI.

He said any pick up in industrial activity and automobile sales will support growth further.

As per the general insurer, while the motor insurance segment comprised around Rs. 465 crore of the total premium, fire contributed to around Rs 412 crore with rest coming from health and other segments in FY14.

“This fiscal, our focus will be on the motor, health and commercial lines among other things,” Mr. Sarma said, adding that the company will also focus on increasing the marine insurance pie during this period.

The general insurer, which has filed some products in health insurance segment, will also launch them after receiving approval.

SBI General Insurance, which draws around 60 per cent of its business from banking channel, also said it would focus more on the other channels like brokers.

“We want to focus on brokers and agency channel this fiscal. Our focus on banking channel will also continue which has given us good result in the initial period of our operation,” Mr. Sarma said.

About the financials, he said the combined ratio of the company came down to around 130 per cent in FY14 from 210 per cent in FY13, which means that the company spent Rs. 1.30 for every rupee it earned last fiscal. Its loss ratio was close to 75-80 per cent during last fiscal.

Mr. Sarma also said the company will require some capital infusion from promoters in the current financial year.

“We will require some capital in the current fiscal from promoters,” Mr. Sarma said, adding the amount is yet to be determined.

SBI General Insurance is the joint venture between State Bank of India and Australian insurer Insurance Australia Group with SBI holding the majority stake.

Multinational Company

Multinational company is an organization doing business in two or more than two companies. It is large business organization. It has headquartered in one country with significant business operations in several countries. Thus, it is organization whose ownership, management and control are spread in more than one country.

            According to the United Nation, “Multinational companies are enterprises which own or control production or service facilities outside the country in which they are based.”
            We can say that MNC is a large business organization or firm or corporation with operations spread over several countries. There are approximately 35000 MNCs around the world today. Half of them are American, British, Japanese, German and Swiss companies. Some of the major MNCs are General Motors, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Honda, TATA, Nestle, DHL, Nike, Adidas, Dabber, Unilever, Hyatt, Sheraton, Radisson etc.

The Festival Of Colors

Holi is the festival which I love the most and enjoy a lot. Holi is the colorful festival of Nepal. It lies in Fagu Purnima on month of Falgun(Feb/March). It is celebrated in Nepal by playing with colors and water also. It is celebrated by almost all people of Nepal. All people play with joy and with pleasure keeping delightfulness in their face. Last year was the best Holi in my life ever. I played colors with my friends and had lots of fun. We moved around of Kathmandu city and played Holi with many people on the way. Finally we went to Basantapur where the local club of that pace organizes the Holi programme and many peoples were enjoying and plying with colors. We did enjoy a lot there. I love the colors and Holi is the only festival in Nepal where I can play freely with colors.

social startification of Nepal

The smallest and least diverse of the three categories was the ruling elite, largely composed of high-caste, educated Paharis, namely different strata of Brahmans and Chhetris. At the zenith of this class was the monarch, whose authority was derived from the orthodox Hindu contention that the king was the reincarnation of Vishnu, whose assigned role in the Hindu trinity is protection. The monarch's authority was not based on electoral support.
The continued expansion of the bureaucracy was a direct response to a consistent increase in the educated population. Because of the lack of development, a large number of educated people failed to find gainful employment upon graduation. Because they constituted the most potent revolutionary force, and happened to be geographically concentrated in urban centers, the ruling class was almost compelled to absorb them into an already bloated bureaucracy in order to neutralize any sociopolitical disturbance they might cause.
In the 1980s, a significant number of college- and universityeducated people residing in Kathmandu Valley cities discovered a second employment outlet. Development consultant firms and associated services have emerged throughout Kathmandu. Because of the growing pressure on foreign donors to hire Nepalese consultants for development feasibility and evaluation projects, these firms were able to tap into the large pool of foreign aid money and have generated a significant number of jobs. This opportunity has allowed many of the more educated to attain middle clas