KATHMANDU, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- In a bid to control the dramatic increase in gold import, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of the country, has altered the import procedure.

    Now, gold importers are required to deposit 40 percent cash in the bank to get a standby Letter of Credit (LC), bank guarantee or normal LC from the bank for the import.

    According to Saturday's The Kathmandu Post, the central bank's move comes in the wake of deficit in Balance of Payment (BoP) due to soaring import, especially of gold.

    NRB's latest data show remittance inflow grew by only 6.6 percent while the trade deficit widened by 48 percent, causing the BoP deficit to hit a record 20.49 billion Nepali rupees (some 285 million U.S. dollars).

    The central bank has shown the 192 percent rise in gold import as one of the reasons behind the BoP deficit.

    Nepal imported around 10 tons of gold in the first five months of the current fiscal year beginning in mid-July.

    According to the NRB report on the economy for the first four months of the current fiscal year, gold imports alone cover 16.18 percent of total imports of the country.

    This shows a surge. One of the reasons for the rise in gold import is people's growing tendency to buy gold as a safe investment tool.