PM assures steps for investment friendly climate

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, May 13: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has said that the government is committed to working with our international partners to attract foreign investment and create new opportunities.

He made this remark while addressing the ''International Conference on Financing for Nepal 2023' organised in Kathmandu with the aim of exploring sources and possibilities of sustainable investment for economic development in Nepal on Friday.

"We are eager to have an effective partnership with the private sector along with financing institutions and development partners in our development efforts. 

The government of Nepal is committed and have already taken initiatives to improve policy, legal, regulatory, procedural and institutional regime to strengthen business and investment environment and opportunities in Nepal by offering an 

enabling investment climate, adequate protection and providing necessary fiscal incentives and other facilities, including effective handholding of valued investors during the entire business life cycle," said Prime Minister Prachanda.

The conference was organised by Office of the Investment Board Nepal in collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank and Society of Economic Journalists-Nepal to showcase country's investment potential, and explore avenues for strengthening cooperation with private sector, including Bank and Financial Institutions, Development Financing Institutions, Multilateral Development Banks and other development partners for promoting private investment including Foreign Direct Investment in Nepal.

To facilitate investment and effectively handhold investors in project development and execution, the Investment Board Nepal, established in 2011, is the first reference point for large scale investment above Rs. 6 billion and the Department of Industry is looking after other investments projects.

"As we are looking into bridging Nepal's investment gap through innovative, sustainable solutions, we believe this conference shall be instrumental to unlock the financing approaches towards development of strategic infrastructure projects in the country and create new opportunities for business along with decent job creation for our people," he said.

Prime Minister Prachanda urged both the domestic and foreign investors to invest in several key sectors, including physical infrastructure, energy, tourism, agriculture and manufacturing that require significant investments.

"We need the support and partnership of the private sector and financial institutions to align with our efforts in achieving the nation's sustainable development goals for shared prosperity," he said.

He urged all the delegates present in the conference to brainstorm on appropriate financing instruments and approaches for Nepal which will be instrumental in meeting the financing gap. Prime Minister Prachanda expressed his happiness that this intensive conference was organised when the government was searching for the identification and retention of resources during the budget formulation.

On that occasion, Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat said that there is no doubt that Nepal is in need of resources. He said that despite having a potential and attractive environment, the availability of resources in the country is still not as per the requirement.

According to him, Nepal has an attractive historical record such as liberal economy, democratic system, has never defaulted and no foreign company's profit has been denied.

He said that the necessary political and structural arrangements are still in place and the government is ready to make improvements as per the need.

"We welcome any innovative financing model to meet the required resources to fill the investment gap. For that, we are committed to policy and structural reforms. We will show how we will mobilise the best when the resources come," said Minister Mahat.

According to Prof. Dr Achyut Wagle, economist at the Kathmandu University, if Nepal is to be upgraded to a middle-income country in 2030, its huge investment gap must be plugged.

He said that the mathematical gap of resources required for sustainable development is already high and to fill it, the government and the private sector should go to the model of finding and mobilising resources together.

"Until now, the government has been mobilising coordinated foreign aid. The private sector has little access to foreign resources. 

In such a situation, the private and public sector must jointly search for investment sources and tools if we want to become a middle-income country,” he said.

On the occasion, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, Nepal, Anirvan Ghosh Dastidar, said that there is a possibility and need for investment in Nepal, and that the country has some profitable sectors.

Sushil Bhatta, Chief Executive Officer of the Investment Board Nepal, said that the Board organised this conference under the strategic plan in line with its ambitious goal of managing investment through private foreign investment and public private partnership. He said that the conference focused on finding the most profitable possibilities.

“The Board is already managing large foreign investments in the energy sector. Still, we have set a goal of bringing in billions worth of investments within the next three years. For that too, the debate at this conference will be useful," he said. The conference was organised with the aim of bringing the private sector, government and donor agencies together to discuss potential investment tools and resources for Nepal, he said.

In the conference, there was a discussion about the legal, institutional and structural arrangements for investment in Nepal and their implementation, investment tools in development projects and management of resources necessary for development.

The government officials from various government agencies, representatives of development partner agencies, economists and development experts participated in the conference.