Former Finance Minister States FDI Hinges on Private Sector Confidence

Kathmandu. Former Finance State Minister and Nepali Congress Joint General Secretary Uday Shumsher Rana has stated that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will not be attracted unless the private sector's confidence increases.

Speaking at a program in the capital, Rana said that the tendency to treat private sector representatives like heinous criminals sends a negative message to investors, and the government must improve its behavior towards the private sector to create an investment-friendly environment in the country. Pointing to the action taken against a leading bank's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) while he was trying to recover bad loans as per the central bank's instructions, Rana stated that while an inquiry or passport hold could have been done if there was a mistake, the state treated him like a heinous criminal.

According to him, even if the budget speech contains good things, if the reality is the opposite, the private sector's confidence will not come. Rana commented that although the government talks about policy stability, its actions are contrary to that. He raised questions about the commitment to policy stability, mentioning that no clear information was given as to why the registration of commercial vehicles was stopped a few days ago. 

He stated that attracting foreign investment should not be limited to speeches and budgets. 

Rana mentioned that the contribution of Nepal's industrial sector to GDP is only about 5.4 percent, and claimed that the current budget is more focused on the service sector, with the industrial sector being relatively neglected. He said that this has the potential to discourage foreign investment rather than encourage it.

He claimed that although it is said that the budget has undergone many changes, there is not much difference compared to the previous year's budget. He stated that issues like taking Nepal Airlines Corporation into a company model and restructuring Nepal Electricity Authority are not new but old agendas.