Finance Minister urges Indian investors to invest in Nepal

Kathmandu / May 16: Finance Minister Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada has urged the Indian industrialists and businesspersons to invest in Nepal without any hesitation. The Finance Minister made this call while inaugurating the ‘Nepal-India Franchise Investment Expo and Conclave’ here today.

Stating that the present government has created an environment conducive for investment and also carried out policy reforms as well as made arrangements for high profitability and its security, he said Nepal was a suitable destination for investment. “Nepal is at present on the course towards economic prosperity by welcoming foreign technology and investment. We have made sweeping reforms in the legal framework.

The one-stop service centre has also been brought into operation. The law related to foreign investment and technology transfer too has been implemented,” the Finance Minister informed. He said Nepal could be a suitable country for franchise investment also and there was the ample opportunity for expanding investment in the service industries as well in the context of the government declaring to celebrate 2020 as the Visit Nepal Year with the goal of welcoming 2 million tourists in that period.

Stating that the private sector has a huge investment in the tourism industry, Finance Minister Khatiwada urged the private sector to invest more in this sector as the number of tourists arrival has been increasing every year. He shared on the occasion that the government has made preparations for bringing legislation regarding the protection of intellectual property in the near future.

“The government is serious regarding the protection of the intellectual property and the patent rights as well,” he said, adding that a bill on this has been prepared and it would be presented in the ongoing session of the parliament.

Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) president, Bhawani Rana expressed that the investment expo and conclave would be effective even for exploring further opportunities for investments as the industrialists and businesspersons from Nepal and India would be holding discussions on this topic on the occasion.

She urged the Indian investors to pour investment in the tourism, industry, hospital, hotel and allied sectors as these sectors also provided ample opportunities for investment. “There is a stable government with a two-thirds majority in Nepal at present. The only slogan of the government is economic prosperity and the Prime Minister has been emphasizing on this.

The government has also expressed its commitment to take the private sector along with it in every sector,” the FNCCI president said.

India’s ambassador to Nepal, Manjeev Singh Puri said that there were many sectors in Nepal in which investment could be expanded through the franchise and the youths could be attracted to this. He stressed on the need of expanding the trade relations on a new basis even for further deepening the Nepal-India ties.

Forty-seven stalls have been operated at the expo and conclave to provide information on business ideas and opportunities. The event kicked off on Wednesday. Chief Editor of Franchise India, Ritu Maria and expert on franchise Sanjeev Kapoor made a presentation on business ideas and its utility on the occasion.