Kathmandu, Jan. 24
Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada
Friday said that the government would support the entrepreneurs with fixed
interest rates in bank financing if they invested in the productive industrial
sectors.
"You should be no more worried about
the interest rates that went up every other day. The Ministry of Finance (MoF)
is discussing the issue with the central bank and banks and financial
institutions," he said while speaking at the 40th Annual
General Meeting of Nepal Foreign Trade Association (NFTA) in the capital.
According to him, interest rate is gradually
improving and is stable for the last one year. There will be more liquidity in
the banks and financial institutions in the next couple of months.
He said that the government was ready to
implement the transaction cost in customs evaluation.
President of Nepal Chamber of Commerce
Rajesh Kazi Shrestha had urged the Finance Minister to implement the
transaction price of the imported goods. The NCC is long been lobbying for the
same.
Dr. Khatiwada said that the government was
not worried about the decreasing imports but about the lack of competitiveness
of Nepali goods.
"The government is not worried about
the decreased import since luxury and harmful goods are being discouraged from
bringing in the country. The real problem now is the lack of competitiveness of
Nepali goods, its due to our poor productivity," he said.
"Therefore, our focus should be to
enhance the productivity. The MoF is holding discussions with the concerned
ministries for the subsidised energy and other facilitie," he added.
Minister for State at the Ministry of
Industry, Commerce and Supplies Moti Lal Dugar said that the ministry was ready
to support every businessman that aims to run a fair business.
"We are clear about the fact that the
confidence of the business community must be upheld for the positive results in
business and economy," he said. We will lay red carpet to welcome you for
investment, said Dugar.
According to him, the government was ready
to send a high-level team to India to talk about the palm oil export.
Shekhar Golchha, Senior Vice-President of
the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said that
the country should give a fresh start to increasing export of Nepali goods with
robust infrastructure development, reform in administrative process, as well as
easy financing and business modality.
"Countries like Cambodia, Sri Lanka,
Rwanda and Ethiopia have done much better in export trade but Nepal has long
failed for it. Therefore, we need to prepare from the beginning," he said.
"We must not discourage import but
increase export. Decrease in import might create price escalation in the
domestic market which will affect the consumers," said Golchha.
Satish Kumar More, President of
Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) also urged the government to resolve
the palm oil issue at the earliest. He also said that the export house concept
must be implemented at the earliest and port facilities should be used for the
trade with the third countries.
The AGM has unanimously elected Sunil Kumar
Bansal as the president of NFTA.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 25 January 2020.
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