Economic slowdown fizzles out: Finance Minister Paudel

Lalitpur, Aug 4: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel assured that the slowdown in national economy would fizzle out.     

Talking to Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) at his ministerial residence, Bhaisepati on Sunday, Minister Paudel claimed that the incumbent government was the strongest one, so the national economy would not be affected adversely by any political instability.     

The government encourages the private sector to be excited and focus on production and investment, he said, adding that they want to assure people that the present government plays a role of guardian to the private sector.     

According to him, the two largest parties in the parliament-Nepali Congress and CPN UML- formed the stable government and gave the private sector a reliable guardian. He however vowed thorough analyses of every sector of economy facing problems and find solutions.     

The Finance Minister admitted that the Nepal's economy was under pressure. Thus, he saw a need to revitalize economy to lift country out of this situation. "Making slow economy dynamic is the major challenge at present, "he asserted.     

Furthermore, he confessed that many economic indicators were still negative and the overall demand was low while the national production was decreasing which had affected in employment. "Revenue collection is not up to the mark. We have not been able to satisfactorily spend capital expenditure. Overall, the national economy is at slowdown," he explained.     

Stating that the private sector could play an important role in improving national economy, he shared that he had been constantly holding dialogues with the private sectors and soliciting suggestions and trying to seek solutions to the problems since he assumed the office.     

The Monetary Policy would address various problems. He claimed that the capital market had been improving since the formation of the coalition government.(RSS)