Institution ofNewsletters

Jan - Feb 2016 Volume 1, Issue 1

TshongdrelInside Issue

• BhutaneseCompanies’contributiontotouchrurallivelihoods........................1-2

• CommercializingcherrypepperproductioninLhuentse..........................2

• SomeconcernonrecentcableTVrules......................................................2-4

• UpcomingPrograms.............................3

• Promotionofregionaltrade&Investmentopportunities.......................3

• AustrianTradeCommissioner’s,visitfromNewDelhi.....................................3

• BCCIgetsitsnewbusinessrepresentatives.....................................4

• SurveyonCSMIs..................................4

• BCCI’sOfficials’coordinations&representationtovariousmeetings.....5

• Thevoiceofthebusinesscommunity-executiveopinionsurvey.......................5

• AboutBCCI...........................................6

BHUTAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY“Under patronage of Fifth Druk Gyalpo”

1

The BCCI is pleased to release its firstissueofnewsletterforthemonthofJan-uary-February2016asbi-monthly issue.TheBCCIwishes to keep themembersand associated stakeholders informedabout theplans, programsandactivitiesfortheprivatesectordevelopment.Everyissueofthenewsletterwillbeavailableinourwebsiteatwww.bcci.org.bt.

Bhutanese Companies’ contribution to touch rural livelihoodsWith the start of the One-District-Three-Products (ODTP) programby BCCI, promotion of sustainableagribusiness enterprises has featuredasoneof the importantactivitieswithinthe business development mandateof the Chamber. This shift in focus ofthe Chamber is expected to addmorevalue to itsactivitiesbycreatingstronglinkagesbetweentheruralandbusinesscommunities, enhancing income-earningcapacityandlivelihoodsforruralpopulace,andsensitize the importanceof interdependence in promotingeconomicwellbeingofthecitizens.

A visible beginning to moveforward for enhancing rural-urbaninterconnectedness and livelihoodhas been made through monetarycontribution by 12 Bhutanesecompanies.Itisanticipatedthatthrough

suchefforts,theruralandurbansettingsworkcoordinatelyandhelpeachotherinachievingtheircommonultimategoal.

While the fund collected was alsoused for policy interventions throughpreparationofpositionpapersandwayforward documents, a major chunkof fund was spent on ODTP relatedactivities.Asignificantnumberoffarmersand new-entrant entrepreneurs havebenefited by way of training, technicalsupport, subsidized input distribution,etc.

A series of activities geared towardspromotion of agribusiness have beenundertakenwiththefundsupportreceivedfrom the established companies. In2014,fiveODTPpilotprojectproponentsonKiwifruit,MedicinalHerbsandCold-water Fishery (Trout) were taken to

Continued in page 2

Bi-monthly Newsletter

Some concern on recent cable TV rules

Nepalforexposure-cum-trainingvisit.KiwifruitDemonstrationFarm(KDF)wasestablished in2015atWangkha,ChukhaDzongkhag.TheKDFhas inspiredfarmers across the country to start commercial cultivation of Kiwi. With anobjectivetomakeChukhaDzongkhagasthe‘KiwiCapital’ofBhutan,1,485kiwisaplingsofHaywardvarietyweredistributedto21farmersat50%subsidizedrateinthebeginningof2016.

Further,36farmersinMenbiGewog,LhuentsehasembarkedoncommercialcultivationofCherryPepper(Dallay).Thesegroupsof farmerswereprovidedwithfreeseeds.Trailon-farmcultivationofBlueberriesinGasaDzongkhagisyetanothermilestoneintheBCCI’sefforttopromotesustainableagribusinessenterprises.

Themonetarycontributionsmadebythese12Bhutanesecompanieshavebeenverycrucial in facilitatingandtaking forwardsomeof theactivities thatwouldtouchthelivesofruralpopulace.TheBCCIrecordsthiscorporatesupportofthelargerindustrieswithappreciationandanticipatesthatasimilarsupportwouldbeforthcomingintheyearsaheadforsustainableandwin-wincollaboration.

[AnupdatebyRPD]

A collaborative program for commercialproduction of cherry pepper in LhuentseDzongkhag has begun. The BCCI, RDCWengkhar, Menbi Gewog administrationand agriculture extension office has cometogetherforthesaidprogram.Thisprogramis initiated by the BCCI regional office,Mongar as one of the ODTP activities forLhuentseDzongkhag.

The cultivation and production of cherrypepperisbeingpilotedinMenbiGewogwith36farmers.ThesegroupsoffarmersbesidesreceivingfreeseedsarrangedbytheBCCI,were familarized on techniques of sowing,care and management of cherry pepper.Cherry pepper from Lhuentse Dzongkhagis expected to enter market starting thissummer.

This collaborative effort is geared towardstransforming cherry pepper cultivation asa commericial activity, enhancing incomegenerating capacity of farmers, diversifyeconomic activities in the rural areas andsubstituteimportamongothers.

[RO,BCCIMongar]

Commercializing cherry pepper production in Lhuentse

Towards Rural Enterprise Development: Entities that generated corporate supportSl # Name Company Name Amount1 DashoUgenTsechupDorji SingyeGroupofCompanies 700,000

Mr.KarmaLotey YangphelGroupofCompanies 300000Mr.KinleyGyelpo KimpexPvt.Limited 100000Mr.TandinWangchuk NorlhaEnterprise 100000Mr.KarmaGyeltshen FiveStar 50000KenpaPvt.Ltd KenpaPvt.Ltd 100000Mr.KunzangWangchuk NorlingCable 55000Mr.SherabWangchuk SherabEnterprise 30000Mr.SonamTshering Hotel89 10000Ms.SonamChoki KichuResort 50000BTCL BhutanTourismCorportionLimited 50000Mr.MigmaTsheringNadik DolmaEnterprise 10000

Total 1555000

2 Continued in page 4

The daily news paper, Kuensel hascarriedanewsarticlecaptioned“Newrules forcableTV” in its28thMarch2016 issue which invites ground forexplicitgrievances.Althoughmostoftheruleshighlightedinthereportareactually not newbut alreadyexistedunlikereportedbyKuensel.Fewnewrulesmentionedinthereportmayim-pact immensely to the cableTVop-erators.

As per the news article, the BICMAbelieves airing of school concertsthroughout the day as “monotonousandannoying”.This reasonmaynotjustifyfullytolimitairingofsuchpro-

grams.Theissuecouldhavedeliber-atedanddiscussedtofindthereason-ablesolution,butsimplyrestrictingorlimiting the airing of such programsseems to be an extreme measurefromtheregulator’send.

The new rules on having to previewthe announcements and advertise-ments by BICMA for private sector,external agencies, individuals, fi-nancial institutions, and other non-governmentalorganizationcouldcre-ate disruption in the normal system.Whether BICMA has considered theresources required for implement-ingnewsystemisalsoaconcernfor

BCCI Newsletter 2016

Continued from Page 1

OpeningoftheContructionexpoatChanglingmithnagStadiumParking,Thimphu

Promotion of regional trade and investment opportunities Aspartofitsservice,theBCCIcontin-uestoprovideplatformforBhutaneseandinternationalbusinessestocometogether to promote and explore po-tentialbusinesspartnership.

To have a regional balance for suchopportunities, the BCCI organizedtradefairsindifferentregionsnamely,Gelephu,MongarandSamdrupJong-

khar from 29th December 2015 to 3rdJanuary2016,16thto22ndJanuary2016and2ndto8thFebruary,2016respective-ly.ThesetradefairswereparticipatedbyBhutanese and Indian business housesonly.

Atotalof116exhibitorsparticipatedfromBhutanandIndiaaltogether.

AGM and ECM of BCCI

U P C O M I N GP R O G R A M S

7th Bhutan Construc-tion Expo 2016

Bhutanese culinary training program

Asanannualevent,theBCCIwillhost7thBhutanConstructionExpo2016atChamglingmithangStadi-umParkingfrom10-13 June 2016.

Variousconstructionaccessoriesandequipmentsareexpectedtodisplayduringtheexpo.

ParticipantsfromBhutan,Interna-tionalandSAARCregionwilltakepartforthisevent.

Forregistrationandmoredetails,contactEventsDivision,BCCISecretariat,Thimphuat+975-2-322742/324254oremailatbc-cihrd@gmail.com/chodensbsd@gmail.com

The 98th Executive CommitteeMeetingand30thAnnualGeneralmeeting ofBCCI is scheduled tobe held on 18th April 2016 and20th to 21st April 2016 respec-tivelyatBCCIconferenceHall.

Thisyear’sannualgeneralmeet-ingwillwitnesselectionofPresi-dent,twoVicePresidentsandfewExecutive Committee Member.This honorary post holders willserveforthreeyearstermstarting2016till2018December.

Dr.OskarAndesner,theAustrianTradeCommissionerfromNewDelhivisitedBhu-tanandmetwithBhutanesecompanieson20thJanuary2016.

ThemeetingconvenedontodiscussthepossibilitiesofcooperationbetweenBhutanandAustriancompanies.

Austrian Trade Commissioner’s, visit from New Delhi

3

ThetrainingonBhutaneseCuli-narywillbeconductedinfollowingDzongkhagsundertheinitiativesofBCCIwithsupportfromMinistryofLabourandHumanResources.

Trashigang:21–30April2016

SamdrupJongkhar:4-10May2016

Gelephu:16–26May2016

Forparticipationandmoreinfor-mation,pleasecontactMr.SonamDorji,Sr.HumanResourceOf-ficer,BCCISecretariatat+975-2-322742/324254oremailatsonam-dorjibsd@gmail.com.

BCCI Newsletter 2016

Some concern on recent cable TV rules

BCCI gets its new business representa-tivesThebusiness representativesofBCCIactasa linkbe-tweenthelocalbusinesscommunitiesandtheBCCI.

EachDzongkhagaresupposed toelects two represen-tatives.However,DzongkhagslikeChhukhaandTrashi-ganggetstoelectthreerepresentativeseachconsideringthenumberofsatellitetownsintheseDzongkhags.

ThefirstlegoftheBCCI’s2ndelectionofbusinessrep-resentatives began from Trongsa Dzongkhag on 15thFebruary2016.Theelectionprocesseswereconductedjointly by the BCCI Secretariat and regional offices inpresenceofelectionofficialsoftherespectiveDzongkhagandthebusinesscommunities.

Survey on Cottage, Small and Medium Industries (CSMIs)Inaneffort towardspromotingourCSMIs, theBCCI incollaborationwithRSPNhascarriedoutfieldsurveyandinterviewed 11CSMIs firms and 3 sector associations/agencies. It is one of the components of a project on“GreenPublicProcurement inBhutan:Acrosssectoralstrategy for sustainable industrial competitiveness” un-der International Institute for Sustainable Development(IISD).

In particular, this component is tomaximize the publicprocurement of goodsproducedbyCSMIsandalso toimplement the existingmargin of preference that is al-lowedtolocalsuppliers.Itisaimedtoachievebyfacilitat-ingdialoguebetweenCSMIsandpotentialbuyersinthepublicsector.

Atthispoint,thefindingsonthesurveyintheformofdraftreporthavebeensubmittedtobothnationalandinterna-tionalpartnerfortheirnecessarycommentsandinputs.

Annual conference of BCCISincetheinceptionofBCCI’sannualconferencein2014,thisforumhasinstilledtheintuitionofvibrantworkcultureintheorganization. It has provided platform for the employees oftheBCCItoreflectonactivitiesofpastoneyear,challengesfacedinimplementingtheplansandprograms,discussandagree on the areas of improvement, and plan activities fornextoneyear.

The2ndAnnualConferenceofBCCIwasheldfrom4thto5thJanuary2016atGelephu.

4

theprivatesector.Togetherwiththis,thetimelineforpreviewwouldaffecttheefficiencyandeffectivenessofannouncementandadvertisementoftheagenciesthataretimebound.EveniftheBICMAhastopreview,itshouldcomewiththeminimalhassleandbureaucraticimpositiontothegeneralpublic.

Further,asperthereport,BICMAentailscablecompaniestopromote the program that present Bhutanese tradition, cul-ture,andvaluesofGrossNationalHappiness.Whiletheca-bleoperatorscouldsupplementpromotionoftradition,cultureandvalueswithGovernment,astrictenforcementon theseparameters to judgetheirbusinessmaynotbeaviableop-tion.In-fact it istheresponsibilityofeverysingleBhutanesecitizentopromoteandupkeepsuchvalues.Relatively,therearefiftyorsodifferentchannelswhichcableTVairthatdoesnotshowcasetheBhutaneseculture.Allowingthesedifferentchannels and limiting our own production does not providelevelplayingfieldtothelocalentities.

With rapiddevelopment in ICTsector, thesocialmediahasgaineditspopularity.Mostofthepeoplehasidentifiedandad-optedespeciallyFacebookasefficientandcheapestmeanstomarkettheirproductthroughpostsinrespectiveFacebookpages. Huge business transactions takes place, and somebrokersandagentsmakesubstantialamountofcommissionsby simply administering the page in Facebook. Blackmar-keting and tax evasion are possible in such non-monitoredeconomicactivitiesthroughsocialmedia.Butallsuchactivi-tiescannotbemonitoredandregulatedsincetechnologyhasgonebeyondourpolicies.DidthisconcerntheBICMA?Willtheycomeupwithpoliciesor regulations to tacklesuch is-sues?

Let’sgivepeoplemoreoptiontopromotecompetitiveecono-mytoprevailGrossNationalHappiness!

[SonamCheki,BCCI]

Continued from page 2

The BCCI officials coordinated andattended various meetings/workshops/conferences that will endeavor toprovide enable business environment.Belowarethelistsofsuchactivities:

PlanningDebriefingmeetingofRuralLivelihood Project (RLP) Phase IIIheld on 5th February 2016, MoAF,MinistryConferenceHall.

Business advocacy workshopconductedfrom19-20January2016at Lauri Gewog Centre, SamdrupJongkhar organized jointly byRegional Trade and Industry Office(RTIO)andRegional officeofBCCISamdrupJongkhar.A sensitization workshop on drugs,

Narcotics Drugs, PsychotropicSubstances and Substance Abuse,NDPSSAAct2014&TobaccoControlAct 2014 was convened on 4thJanuary 2016 at RRCO conferencehall,Phuentsholing.ItwasorganizedbyBhutanNarcoticControlAuthority,BNCA and BCCI mobilized privatesectorparticipants.

Multi Sector Stakeholder MeetingcalledonbySamtseDzongkhagon12thJanuary2016.

Trade Information Portal Systemworkshop organized by DepartmentofTrade,MinistryofEconomicAffairswithsupportfromAsianDevelopment

Bank on 21 - 22 January 2016 atDrukHotel,Phuentsholing.

Themeetingon“FinancialBorrowingsand Agriculture Development ofCashCrops”wasconductedon12thFebruary 2016 mobilizing privatesectorparticipantsbyBCCI.

AwarenesscumconsultativemeetingontheDraftTradeDevelopmentActorganized by Regional Trade andIndustry Office, Phuentsholing on29thFebruary2016.

NTM Desk officers’ meeting ofSAARC Trade Promotion Network(SAARC-TPN) held from 28-29January2016atKatmandu.

BCCI’s Officials’ coordinations & representations to vari-ous meetings (Jan-Fab)

“The Voice of the Business Community” - Executive Opinion Survey 2016 InpartnerwithWorldEconomicForum/sGlobalCom-petitivenessandbenchmarkingNetwork,theBCCIhasconductedtheExecutiveOpinionSurveyfor2016.Thesurveyon,“TheVoiceoftheBusinessCommunity”,istoseekopiniononthebusinessenvironmentofrespec-tivebusinessofprivatesectorandstateownedcom-panies.

In detail, the survey gathers valuable information onstate of an economy’s institutions, business environ-ment,macroeconomicenvironment, technologicalad-vancement, human resources, health, education andinfrastructure.Thiswillbepartofalargerglobalcom-petitiveness report conducted annually by theWorldEconomic Forum in Switzerland. Bhutan is placed105thaccordingtothissurveyreleasedin2015amongother144countries.

Inourcontext,thissurveyreflectsourpositionintermsofthepolicies,institutionsandfactorsthathavethepo-tential to enable amore sustainable and competitiveprivatesector.

5

About Bhutan Chamber of Commerce & IndustryTheBCCIwasestablishedasanon-governmentandnon-profitmakingserviceorientedorganizationin1980undertheRoyalCommandofHisMajestytheFourthDrukGyalpowithatraditionalroleofaugmentingandsupplementingtheeffortsoftheRoyalGovernmenttowardsdevelopmentofaformalprivatesector.TheBCCInowfunctionastheapexbodyoftheprivatesectorandrepresentsbusinesscommunitiesofBhutan.Theorganizationismanagedbyateamofhonorarymem-berselectedforafixedtermandasalariedSecretaryGeneraloverseeingtheday-to-dayfunctioningoftheorganization.ThehonorarymemberscomprisingofPresident,VicePresidents,andtheExecutiveCommitteeMembersareelectedforthetermofthreeyears.

ThevisionstatementofBCCIistoembarkon“TowardsPrivateSectorDevelopment”.Thisvisionstatementissupportedbyfollowingmissionstatement:

Actas thepro-activebody, inspiringeconomicgrowthdevelopment in thecountrybypromotingadynamicandcompetitivebusinessinBhutan.

Advocateforvibrantbusinesssectorthatpromotesustainableeconomicdevelopmentthroughpromotionoftradeandinvestmentbyfacilitatingcompetitivenessandgrowthforincreasedinvestment,productivityandtrade.

Connectbusinessesandexpandmemberopportunitiesbyprovidingoutstandingmemberservices,withanaimtocontributetoBhutanSustainableEconomicdevelopmentthroughexpansionandinstitutionallinkagesandnet-worksintheregionalandglobalmarket.

Safeguardtheoverallrightsandbenefitsofmembersandprovideleadershipandqualityservicestofosteranen-ablingbusinesssectorenvironmentgenerategainfulemploymentandcreatewealthforthecountry.

FacilitateentrepreneurshipthroughHumanResourceDevelopmentofthePrivateSector.

BHUTAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY POST BOX 147, DOEBUM LAM, CHUBACHU, THIMPHU

TEL: +975-2-324254/322742, FAX: +975-2-323936Email: bcci.adm@gmail.com

www.bcci.org.bt

6

Newsletter manager and editor Sonam Cheki

BCCI