Kathmandu. President of Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Chairman of Global IME Group Chandra Prasad Dhakal has said that the budget has incorporated most of the suggestions of the private sector.
Speaking at the ‘Budget a Holistic Discourse’ organized by the Economic Media Society Nepal (IMSON), Chairman Dhakal gave many suggestions from the private sector for the upcoming fiscal year 2082 BS. He said that the budget of 83 has been included. He said that the budget has come as the ‘key driver’ of the private sector, which has encouraged the private sector. “For the past few years, we have been demanding for the improvement of the overall economy and not just for our own benefit,” he said, adding that the government has made arrangements to encourage the private sector through laws and budgets this time. ’
Dhakal said that the government should not fail to implement the suggestions included in the budget as many suggestions given by the private sector are being included in the budget. He said that the private sector has always been discouraged as the issues demanded by the private sector to upgrade the overall economy have been included in the budget, but it has not been implemented accordingly.
He also said that the budget for the upcoming fiscal year has given a new courage. “We are excited that the budget has included the demand that nepal’s mineral products should be exported,” he said, adding, “We have been demanding that the industry can export mineral products after completing all the procedures required by the industry.” ’
Dhakal said the Middle Eastern countries would not have reached this stage if the petroleum products, considered as mineral products in the Middle East, were not taken out or kept inside the ground without processing. Similarly, the demands of the private sector, including facilitation of SEZ rent and construction of international assembly hall, have been addressed through the budget, he said.
Chairman Dhakal said that although most of the suggestions of the private sector have been included, some suggestions have not been included. He said that the ppa, take and pay of hydropower are included in the budget, which is sure to cause some inconvenience to the private sector. He said that this would create problems in bringing in foreign investors and financing banks.
Dhakal said that there will definitely be some facilitation after removing the foreign exchange threshold for hotels in the border areas in order to advance the tourism sector in the budget. He said that the tourism sector has also been encouraged after some facilitation through this budget.
Although most of the points in the budget are good, there are problems due to failure in implementation, he said. Citing the example of dhowadi iron mine, he said that although it would be included in every budget, the citizens along with the investors should be disappointed as it could not be implemented.
He said that the talk of ‘Take and Pay’ indicates that the private sector will not be allowed to trade electricity, but it will cause problems in the hydropower sector. Stating that the guidelines given by the budget were fulfilled only if good governance could be maintained by implementing the things mentioned in the budget, he said it would be possible to achieve the target of 6 percent economic growth achieved through the budget.
