KATHMANDU, July 30: A significant portion of the general public remains unaware of the Foreign Employment Savings Bond, a government initiative launched nearly fifteen years ago. The scheme aims to invest income from remittances into the productive sector. Research conducted by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has highlighted that the sale of these savings bonds is low due to a lack of awareness and the complexities involved in the purchasing process.

In the previous fiscal year (FY), the government set a target to sell Rs 1 billion worth of foreign employment savings bonds. However, such bonds worth only Rs 50.16 million were sold. While savings bonds were previously handled by the NRB, the Public Debt Management Office has been managing their sale since last year. The program began collecting loans through savings bonds in the fiscal year 2009/10.

According to NRB data, despite issuing bids for the sale of savings bonds worth Rs 15.56 billion through 25 schemes as of last fiscal year, only 4.9% (equivalent to Rs 76.23 million) were sold.

The research indicates that among those who did not purchase savings bonds, the majority (39.5%) were unaware of the scheme. Additionally, 27% found the purchasing process complicated, and 21% struggled with obtaining the necessary certificate.

NRB's study involved an on-site survey of 385 Nepali citizens who had recently gone abroad for employment or returned less than six months ago. The research report suggests increasing the sale of savings bonds by enabling online purchasing, allowing online certificate issuance and interest payments, and keeping the funds open until sold. Furthermore, it recommends that, given the government's use of savings bonds to cover budget deficits, a system be established to issue foreign employment savings bonds to raise targeted financial resources for critical infrastructure projects in the coming year.

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