August 26: Amlan Mukherjee, the managing director (MD) of Unilever Nepal Limited, has pledged to increase investment in Nepal. He said that the company is committed to invest more in Nepal because the favourable nature of the policies adopted by the government in the current fiscal year (FY 2023/24).  Mukherjee added that the multinational company is also interested in investing in Nepal because the consumption and demand of the company's products has also increased.

"There are works that the government must do such as the availability of local raw materials as well as fixing the customs rate between imported goods and raw materials,” he told New Business Age, adding, “The government must also  solve the problems caused by the gray market.”

He said that the consumption of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) is much less in Nepal than other South Asian countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

He also insisted on the implementation of the issue of transfer pricing mentioned in the current fiscal year's budget. He said that Unilever has been here for 30 years, recognizing the needs and demands of Nepal's consumers and said that more investment will be expanded and new products will be produced.

“Now we will install state-of-the-art technology and machines in the factory. We are preparing to launch a new product (onion shampoo) within 6 months,” he added.

Mukherjee said that high-end technology, machines as well as digitization are also given equal importance. Stating that Nepal also faced economic crisis but is managing it well, he said, “Although the purchasing power of consumers has decreased now, I am expecting economic activities to increase during the upcoming festive season”

 He was of the view that the government should increase spending while the banks and the financial sector should also support the government. He emphasized that the government should give priority to local industrialization. Similarly, he said that the company used 70 percent of Nepalese products for the packaging of its products and claimed that 8 out of 10 households use Unilever products on a daily basis.

Unilever says that it will not go to the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) promoted by the government as its own land and factory are sufficient. Likewise, the company has prioritized the recycling of plastic used in the industry.

Mukherjee also said that solar energy system has been installed in the factory as there is no guarantee of regular electricity and there are occasional power outages. The company has a factory in Hetauda of Makwanpur.

Unilever Nepal has been producing 28 different branded products such as soap, detergent, shampoo, skin care, toothpaste, packaged foods, etc.

The net profit of this company listed in Nepal Stock Exchange Limited (NEPSE) increased by 16.68 percent in the last fiscal year (FY 2022/23) compared to the previous year. He also informed that in the last FY, the company earned a net profit of Rs 1.83 billion. He mentioned that it was very difficult to do business during the Covid-19 pandemic, leading to the closure of the factory for quite some time.