Government to focus on building confidence of private sector

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, July 18:The newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, has said that the government will focus on building the confidence of not only the common people but also of the private sector. 

In a meeting with the delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Paudel said that many problems in the economic sector needed to be addressed, but the most important thing was to build the confidence in the private sector.

He asked the industrialists to conduct business confidently. Stating that he was aware that the market demand was decreasing along with production and export, he said that such problems would be solved. 

DPM Paudel reiterated that the government was committed to solving all the problems, be it the problem of the dedicated feeder and trunk lines or the delay in the payment to the contractors.

Speaking on the occasion, President of the FNCCI, Chandra Prasad Dhakal, emphasised that the economy was currently in trouble and the morale of the private sector should be increased to revive the economy. He said that cooperation between the government and the private sector was necessary to improve the economy.

Dhakal told the DPM Poudel that there was no coordination between the economic agencies and that an Economic Reform Commission or some other mechanism with the participation of the private sector was needed to bring the economy back on track. He also asked the DPM to solve the problems of the dedicated feeder and trunk lines at the earliest. According to him, this problem has greatly affected the industry, and as a result, productive activities have shrunk. 

Dhakal stated that the economic contraction had also affected job creation in the country. The data of the Nepal Rastra Bank shows that the inflation has dropped to 4.17 per cent, but in reality, it has been increasing at the rate of 7 per cent since the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. He urged Minister Poudel to come up with a policy to help increase market demand by increasing economic activity.

"Even though the loan interest rate has gone down, industrialists and entrepreneurs do not want to invest. Therefore, the money that has entered the country through remittances has accumulated in banks and financial institutions. It shows that a low interest rate alone is not an incentive for investment," he said. 

Dhakal told DPM Paudel that not only established businessmen are afraid to invest but also new entrepreneurs are apprehensive of it. He urged Minister Paudel to make policy reforms and create an investment-friendly environment.