Kathmandu, Nov. 1
Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat has said that
there is a need for large financial resources for the prosperity and economic
transformation of Nepal.
Foreign investment is indispensable in this drive as
internal resources are not sufficient for that, FM Dr. Mahat said while
addressing the high-level investment conference organised by the Embassy of
Nepal in London on Tuesday
The Embassy has organised the event at the Mansion House in
London on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the signing of
the Treaty of Friendship between Nepal and the United Kingdom in 1923.
On that occasion, Finance Minister Dr. Mahat stated that the
government of Nepal has enacted necessary laws, legislations, amendments and
institutional arrangements for an investment-friendly environment, and this
year's budget has started various reforms to make it easier for investors.
He informed that the necessary legal infrastructure would be
prepared to mobilise capital from the international financial market and
expressed his belief that there would be a further increase in investment from
the UK in the future, read the statement issued by the Embassy.
Gyan Chandra Acharya, Nepali Ambassador to the UK, said that
Nepal wants to bring in investments from the UK with priority in the fields of
renewable energy, information technology, education and tourism through
long-term financial sources of investment from the financial center London.
He said that Nepal has signed a bilateral agreement with the
neighbouring country India for electricity trade and is preparing to export it
to Bangladesh as well.
Likewise, Alderman and Sheriff Bronek Masozada of London
said that the City of London has plenty of financial resources and risk-bearing
insurance companies and that the support of the City of London will be there
for the sustainable development of Nepal.
Director of the UK's Foreign Ministry, Ben Mellor, said that
in the last few years, investment in various areas of Nepal has been increasing
through British International Investment and that the UK is helping to improve
the foreign investment environment, and expressed his commitment to continue
helping to facilitate the process of upgrading Nepal from the Least Developed Country
to a developing nation.
Birendra Sharma, Chairman of the British Nepal Parliamentary
Group in the British Parliament, said that there are many possibilities for
investment in various areas of Nepal.
Chief Executive Officer of the UK Export Finance, Tim Reed,
informed that UK Export Finance is ready to invest up to 1.5 billion pounds in
various areas of Nepal.
According to the embassy, the conference was focused on the
investment in the renewable energy, information technology and education
sectors of Nepal.
Bam Bahadur Mishra, Deputy Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank,
assured the investors that the central bank of Nepal is committed to
simplifying the process of foreign investment approval and repatriation of
profits of foreign companies.
Amrit Lamsal, Joint Secretary of Investment Board Nepal,
while giving a presentation about the opportunities for foreign investment in
different areas of Nepal, said that the Investment Board is committed to facilitating
foreign investors throughout the period of investment approval and project
implementation.
Similarly, Sandip Dev, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of
Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, said that there is a huge potential in
Nepal's energy sector due to Nepal's long-term energy development plans and
power trade agreements with India and China.
Chandra Prasad Dhakal, President of the Federation of Nepalese
Chambers of Commerce and Industry, urged foreign investors to invest
confidently in Nepal as there is an investment-friendly environment for the private
sector.
Ganesh Karki, President of the Independent Energy Producers
Association of Nepal, invited foreign investors to invest in Nepal citing the positive
role of the Government of Nepal in the development of this sector.
British International Investment's Managing Director Colin
Buckley and Dolma Impact Fund's Founder and Chief Executive Officer Tim Gochar
stated that their investments in Nepal are fruitful and pointed out that Nepal
is a suitable country for responsible investment.
The Ministry of Finance of Nepal signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with development financial institutions investing in Nepal -
British International Investment, UK, FMO, Netherlands, Bio, Belgium, Finfund,
Finland, Proparco, France and Saiphem, Switzerland regarding facilitating their
investment in Nepal.
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