KATHMANDU, May 12: Three life insurance companies—Prime Life, Union Life and Gurans Life—signed an agreement for merger on Thursday. Provided the merging of these insurers is materialized, it will be the first merger in the life insurance business of the country.

KATHMANDU, Jan 16: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) is mulling over taking action against Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL) and Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL), which have failed to conclude their merger plan despite signing officially an agreement for unification.

KATHMANDU, Jan 15: The much-hyped merger between Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL) and Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) has fallen uncertain after the majority of shareholders of HBL did not give consent to the bank’s prior plan.

KATHMANDU, Dec 30: Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) has scheduled its special annual general meeting (AGM) for January 18 to expedite its plan to merge with Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL).

KATHMANDU, Dec 26: Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL) has scheduled its annual general meeting (AGM) for January 14, which is likely to endorse the bank’s merger with Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL), which has been going at a slow pace.

KATHMANDU, Dec 5: Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL) and Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL), which have been in the merging process, have requested Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to extend the deadline to complete the final unification process between the two banks.

KATHMANDU, April 23: On the eve of the 14th Loktantra Diwas, PM KP Sharma Oli orchestrated a massive political drama, eclipsing Sher Bahadur Deuba’s long-forgotten strategy of flipping members of parliament overnight. Biswadeep Pandey, deputy chief of central communication department and central committee member of Samajwadi party, has been tweeting (@BishwadeepP) the political drama since late last night. He Tweeted at 7:43PM last night, saying that the former state minister of health and central committee member of Samajwadi Party, Dr. Surendra Yadav, was “kidnapped from his home in Janakpur and was brought to Kathmandu, on the direct orders from PM Oli”.

KATHMANDU, July 28: Informal talks between Samajwadi Party Nepal (SPN) and Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) to take forward the proposed merger appear to be going nowhere with leaders failing to reach an understanding on leadership and support to the government.

KATHMANDU, July 19: Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) leader Rajendra Mahato has said that 'dubious stance' of the Samajbadi Party Nepal (SPN) was stopping the two parties from reaching a merger deal.

KATHMANDU, July 18: A daunting task of managing key leaders now stares the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) despite its success in sorting out issues related to power-sharing.

KATHMANDU, July 17: More than a year and a half since the announcement of the merger between two big communist parties -- CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) -- to form Nepal Communist Party (NCP), leaders on Tuesday announced that they have concluded the party merger process by deciding the remaining work of unification.

KATHMANDU, July 16: The process of party merger of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has concluded on Tuesday.

KATHMANDU, July 6: Global IME Bank Ltd and Janata Bank Ltd have agreed to merge, becoming the first pair to announce their intent to amalgamate after the government took a formal policy to encourage ‘big’ merger through the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2019/20.

KATHMANDU, July 5: In line with the recent instruction of Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Chiranjivi Nepal, Global IME Bank and Janata Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Friday to go into the merger.

KATHMANDU, July 5: In line with the recent instruction of Nepal Rastra Bank Governor Chiranjivi Nepal, Global IME Bank and Janata Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Friday to go into the merger.

KATHMANDU, July 5: Seven commercial banks have submitted their written commitment to the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for merger in line with recent instruction of Governor Chiranjibi Nepal.

KATHMANDU, July 2: The Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) and Samajbadi Party Nepal (SPN) have intensified informal negotiation for merger.

KATHMANDU, June 28: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has sought commitments from the commercial banks for their readiness to go for 'big' merger and acquisition (M&A) in line with the announcement made in the budget speech for the upcoming fiscal year 2019/20.

Merger and acquisition contributes to raising the capital of the bank which will enhance its lending capacity and strengthen financial health

KATHMANDU, June 14: Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank Chiranjivi Nepal on Friday appealed all the microfinance institutions (MFIS) to opt for merger.

KATHMANDU, May 18: Failing to merge the committees and wings of the two former parties – UML and Maoist -- into singular entities even months after their unification pledges, the top leaders of the NCP have come up with a formula.

KATHMANDU, April 22: As a three-day meeting of the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) kicks off in the capital Monday, the party’s proposed merger with the Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN) is expected to top the meeting’s agenda.

KATHMANDU, April 21: The Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN) and Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) face an uphill battle to accommodate the aspirations of top leaders as the two Madhes-based parties start merger talks.

KATHMANDU, March 21: The Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) has formed a five-member team to hold merger talks with the Federal Socialist Party Nepal (FSFN), paving the way for formal dialogue in the merger process that was in limbo since a year and a half.

KATHMANDU, Feb 19: Top leaders of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) have agreed to take a final call on merger of party committees in consultation with the members of the party unification taskforce as three days of internal deliberations to resume the stalled work ended inconclusively.

KATHMANDU, January 20: The merger of the lower committees, various departments and sister wings of the erstwhile CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Center) which united in May last year to form the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has been stalled for months as the panel tasked to determine the criteria and lay the ground for the merger has failed to work as mandated by the party's Standing Committee meeting last month.

KATHMANDU, Jan 8: With less than two months left for the election of the Free Students Union (FSU) to take place, the merger of the student unions of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is still uncertain.

BANEPA, July 7: Beema Samiti -- the insurance sector regulator -- has said that it will direct insurance companies that fail to meet the new paid-up capital requirement within the specified deadline to pursue merger.

KATHMANDU, June 20: The unification process of Kamal Thapa-led Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) and Pashupati Shumsher JBR-led RPP (Democratic) has formally started.

KATHMANDU, May 17: Pushpa Kamal Dahal, one of the two co-chairs to lead the newly formed Nepal Communist Party said that the party merger was guided by the need of Nepal and Nepali people.

KATHMANDU, May 13: Mega Bank and Tourism Development Bank have successfully completed their merger process and started their joint operation on Sunday.

KATHMANDU, May 6: The CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) are just days away from the final deal on unification, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said.

KATHMANDU, May 4: The unification talks between the ruling CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) seem to be gaining momentum as Prime Minister and UML Chairman KP Oli has reportedly shown flexibility toward the demands of Maoist Center Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

KATHMANDU, May 2: The CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) could agree a deal within the "next few days" to finalize the proposed merger between the two parties, according to CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

KATHMANDU, April 29: Despite top leaders' claim that the planned unification between the CPN-UML and the CPN (Maoist Center) had reached the point of no return, the two parties face an uphill task of sharing power along the party line and managing top portfolios.

KATHMANDU, April 22: The meeting of CPN Maoist Center concluded with a remark of ‘respectful party merger’. A meeting of Maoist leaders at chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s residence, Khumaltar since 7 AM today urged the latter not to take decisions that would affect the party in the name of merger.

KATHMANDU, April 17: The Party Unification Coordination Committee meeting at Prime Minister’s concluded that CPN UML and Maoist Center would not form a merger on April 22.

KATHMANDU, April 17: CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) are scheduled for the meeting of the left-alliance’s Party Unification Coordination committee(PUCC) today in the Baluwatar.

KATHMANDU, April 16: Pressure is piling on CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to put off the planned merger with the CPN-UML until the latter commits to equal and dignified status in the unified party.

KATHMANDU, April 2: The plan of CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) to finalize the left merger has been thrown into disarray due to the latter's demand for 50 percent stake in the unified party.

KATHMANDU, March 26: The CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center), which have announced to become a unified party, have inched closer to developing a common modality to integrate the organizations of the two parties.

KATHMANDU, Feb 13: CPN-UML's KP Sharma Oli and CPN (Maoist Center) chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal, whose  parties are engaged in a merger bid, have agreed in principle to rotate the leadership of the proposed new party, raising fresh hopes of a unity deal on the left before the formation of the new government.

KAILALI, Feb 9: CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal said that the name of the new party after merger between CPN-UMLand CPN (Maoist Centre) will be the Nepal Communist Party.

KATHMANDU, Jan 22: The unification talks between CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) have hit a roadblock with a section of UML leaders objecting to Maoist's proposal to rotate the party leadership.

KATHMANDU, Dec 27: The Mohan Baidya-led CPN Maoist and the Netra Bikram Chand-led Communist Party Nepal, two offshoots of the Maoist movement, have started merger negotiations.

KATHMANDU, Dec 22: The CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) are to begin formal negotiations aimed at merging the two leftist parties on Friday, cross-party leaders said, in an indication that the unification would be concluded before government formation.  Maoist Centre leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha on Thursday said that a coordination committee of top leaders from the two parties is scheduled to meet Friday to hash out plan for the merger.

KATHMANDU, Dec 20: The Special General Meeting of Mega Bank Nepal Limited has approved a proposal to merge with Tourism Development Bank.

KATHMANDU, Dec 18: Concerned over the overall standing of the party and their portfolio in the merged entity, second-rung leaders of CPN (Maoist Center) have cautioned against rushing for unification with CPN-UML until there is a clear agreement on power sharing.

KATHMANDU, Dec 15: The CPN-UML and  CPN (Maoist Center), that forged an electoral alliance with further  plans to unify the two leftist parties, have  started formal negotiations for simultaneously expediting party unification and  government formation following their resounding victory in the recent parliamentary and provincial assembly polls.

After defeating Nepali Congress candidate Govinda Bahadur Karki in the provincial assembly election in Bhojpur, now Sherdhan Rai of CPN-UML is being viewed as strong contender for chief minister of Province 1. Republic asked the the former information and communications minister about his future plans. Excerpt from the interview: