December 12: Economists and policymakers have underlined the need to utilize the recent challenges to overhaul the country’s legal and regulatory systems to ease the process of doing business and prevent the economy from plunging into crisis.
Speaking at a panel discussion “Emerging Through Crises” during the “7th Newbiz Business Conclave and Awards” on Monday, economists, authorities and private sector leaders said that the priority should be on attracting investment as the country emerges through various crises including the Covid-19 pandemic most recently.
“All ministries of the government are working to increase the competitiveness for doing business and to attract private investments in collaboration with the private sector,” said Dr Toya Gyawali, Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Supplies.
Speaking also at the panel discussion, Dr Neelam Dhungana Timsina, Deputy Governor at Nepal Rastra Bank, said that the central bank’s recent decision to raise policy rates and introduce expansionary monetary policy was aimed at addressing the rising inflation and ease the pressure on the external sector stability of the country.
“The central bank and the government took expansionary fiscal and monetary policies to stop further deterioration or help revive the economy during the pandemic. These expansionary policies have worked in reviving the businesses shut or hit by the country then,” she said.
She defended the central bank’s move that has prompted the private sector to go into the street.
“Now, we see a need to check the high growth in credit expansion fuelled by the expansionary monetary policy. At the same time, there were some external factors including the war in Ukraine that drove the prices in the market,” she added.
Chandra Dhakal, Vice President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FNCCI), said that businesses and the private sector have helped the government through taxes even during crises like insurgency, earthquakes in 2015.
“Even during the crises, troubled time or transition periods, the private sector opened industries and businesses, created jobs and paid taxes to the state even when we were told not to do so by the court,” said FNCCI Senior Vice President Dhakal. “Now, it's the time the government should support or encourage the private sector,” he added.
Amid concerns that Nepal’s graduation from the least developed country (LDC) status could have economic repercussions, Dr Posh Raj Pandey, Chair of SAWTEE, said that the LDCs graduation would not have a significant impact on the macroeconomic situation of the country.
“The graduation status does mean that it would automatically solve the development challenges that we have been long facing. It would neither take us to a situation full of challenges,” he said. “We need a transition strategy that can maintain the development trajectory.”
The panel discussion organized during the Seventh Edition of NewBiz Business Conclave and Awards also dwelt on the role of MSMEs and startups in diversifying domestic production, policies to support ICT and hydro-electricity sectors and the role of private sector in digitization and technological transformation, among others.
The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Kalpana Khanal, Sr. Research Fellow at Policy Research Institute.
Asian Paints is the major sponsor of the programme while Gods of Furniture, Metlife Insurance, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nexus EV, NLG Insurance, Dish Home Fiber Net, Nepali Patro, President Travels and Tours, have supported the event.
New Business Age has been organizing Business Conclave & Awards annually since 2013 with an aim to hold discourse on crucial business and economic issues and honour business excellence by recognising quality works done by people and organizations.
