Industrialists seek interventions to revitalise industrial sector

Lalitpur, Nov. 25

At a time when the confidence of the private sector has hit the lowest ebb, it has demanded that the government should implement the interventions announced in the budget to revitalise the industrial sector in the country.

Speaking at a programme organised on the occasion of the 8th National Industry Day on Friday, the business community urged the government to focus on the development of trade infrastructure, facilitate  in obtaining easy and concessional financing, and implement the budget provisions announced to benefit businesses and industries.

Shekhar Golchha, president of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that the business confidence in the country has gone down to record low due to liquidity crisis, ever climbing bank interest rate and the external sector pressure.

But according to him, although the problems were always there, no governments ever tried to address them. "We are doomed to face the same problems in the last eight decades and are still struggling to find solutions to them. This is unfortunate," he said.

He also maintained that the revenue-oriented mindset in the government is preventing the country  from  becoming a growth-oriented and employment-oriented nation.

"The government should offer subsidy on the bank interest and other areas to the industries contributing to export, employment and value addition," he said.

Vishnu Kumar Agrawal, President of Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), stated that the private sector wanted the government to implement the interventions announced in the budget to revitalise the industrial sector in the country.

"The private sector aims at increasing the industrial contribution to economy to 22 per cent by 2025, but the condition has been continuously worsening so we doubt on achieving this target," he said while adding that market of domestically produced goods ranging from steel rods to FMCG has drastically gone down. Industrialists have postponed the plans to expand the capacity of their enterprises, he informed. 

Stating that the exorbitant land price has also discouraged the industrialists, Agrawal suggested the government to hand over the proposed industrial zones to the private sector for their smooth management.

According to him, export incentives should also be given on products like tobacco, talcum powder and liquor.

Chairman of Industry Committee at the FNCCI Bharat Raj Acharya said that 29 laws govern the business and industry sector. Including directives, work procedures and other guidelines of the government they have to spend a tremendous amount of time in auditing their activities to see if they are running in accordance with law.

"These laws should be synthesised, revised and scrapped with thorough review," he said, and urged the government to begin a high-level national initiative for industrial sustainability.

Umesh Prasad Singh, President of the Federation of Nepalese Cottage and Small Industries (FNCSI), said that the bureaucracy doesn't have mindset to promote and support to the cottage and small industry. Micro, cottage and small industries are expecting government support in scaling up their enterprises, he said.

 

Dr. Toya Narayan Gyawali, Secretary of Industry, said that forest governance in Nepal is yet to be investment-friendly, issues like mining and infrastructure development are directly connected with the forests and there are still policy hurdles. We need to address those constraints, he stated.

According to him, the leading stakeholders like the Ministry of Forest, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Infrastructure, and Ministry of Finance should hold regular dialogue to reform the business and investment environment.

We need to be prepared for the challenges that the country and entrepreneurs have to face after the country's graduation from the Least Developed Country in 2026. "This is our priority and we have already begun to work for possible steps and solutions," he said.

Chief Secretary, Shankar Das Bairagi, said that the greatest problem in Nepal is the poor implementation of policies and programmes. "Therefore, I would like to appeal to all stakeholders to implement the government announced policies," he said.

Likewise, Toyam Raya, Secretary of Commerce, said that the country needed to export goods with value addition, not raw.

"Illegal imports have negatively impacted the businesses in Nepal as the smuggled goods are cheaper than about 45 per cent," he said. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 26 November 2022.