Kathmandu, Oct. 31
Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat has said
that Nepal needs substantial resources to implement big
projects, especially in the hydropower sector, and is looking for all types
of long-term financing options.
Sharing Nepal's development priorities while
addressing a high-level business roundtable on 'Long Term Financing Options for
Nepal’s Renewable Energy Growth' at Guildhall, London on Monday, he stressed
the need for foreign investment for rapid economic growth.
The event was jointly hosted by the Embassy of Nepal
and Dolma Impact Fund with the support of Lord Mayor Elect of the City of
London Prof. Michale Mainelli. It was attended by major institutional
investors, banks and insurance companies, informed the Embassy of Nepal in
London in a statement on Tuesday.
On the occasion, Dr. Mahat outlined the current
reforms made by the government to attract foreign investment and the guarantee
of profit repatriation, no default on debt payment among others.
"He also informed that the government had been
making necessary legal, policy and institutional arrangements for the
development of renewable energy projects, provisions for hedging and initiation
of country rating procedures," read the statement of the embassy.
Ambassador of Nepal to the UK, Gyan Chandra Acharya,
stated that London as a major financial centre of the world could play an
important role in attracting global capital in Nepal’s priority sector
including hydropower as it contributes to reducing Green-House-Gas (GHG)
emissions not only in Nepal but in the South Asian region with an enhanced
level of energy trade.
Tim Gocher, Chairman of Dolma Impact Fund, Adeel
Ansari from Standard Chartered Bank, Lord Mayor Elect Prof. Michael Mainelli,
Christopher Marks from MUFG had led the discussions on different financing
options.
Christopher Marks, Managing Director of MUFG, and Dominic
Coyne Senior Underwriter for Renewable Energy for Munich Re, Nick Dunlop,
shared their views about the global capital markets and how best to attract
investment from major institutional investors. They stressed that Nepal can
attract institutional investors with right incentives and regulatory and
institutional support measures.
High officials from the UK and Nepali government and
private sector including Lesley Craig, Deputy Director from the Foreign Office,
Sandeep Kumar Dev, Joint Secretary from the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources
and Irrigation, Chandra Prasad Dhakal, President of the Federation of Nepalese
Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Ganesh Karki, President of Independent
Power Producers Association of Nepal also expressed their views on the
long-term financing options for Nepal's renewable energy growth.
Finance Minister Dr.
Mahat also held a meeting with Baroness Penn, Treasury Lords Minister at the
Department of Treasury on Monday. During the meeting, the Minister shared the
development priorities of the government and stressed the need for substantial
investment in different sectors, particularly renewable energy.
Appreciating the
support from the British government in Nepal’s development, he requested an
enhanced level of support in climate finance, which would be critical
to accelerate economic growth and transform its economy in the days ahead, read
the statement.
In response, Minister Penn assured of continuous
support from the British government in Nepal’s development efforts and outlined
some of the support extended by the UK in facilitating foreign investment in
Nepal.
The Minister also met the representative of Ex-Gurkha
organisations at the Embassy and expressed the hope that the ongoing meeting of
the bilateral committee on Gurkha issues will be able to address the grievances
of the Gurkha veterans.
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