Nepal investment year: Investment policies being revamped
The Ministry of Industry (MoI) has moved to amend various acts and policies to provide greater incentives to foreign investors as part of the build-up for Nepal Investment Year 2012-13 (NIY).
The MoI is amending a number of industrial laws including the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, Industrial Enterprises Act, Company Act and Labour Act and introducing the Intellectual Property Act and Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act.
“We are now putting pressure on the government to make quick decisions on these pending acts,” said Yam Kumari Khatiwada, MoI spokesperson. She added that the MoI had been asked to take the initiative to get several bills stuck at parliament and other ministries passed without further delay. “These bills can be passed by parliament at the earliest with the industry minister’s special intervention,” added Khatiwada, who is also joint secretary at the MoI.
According to the MoI, the government is working to introduce a Nepal Standards Act and an Accreditation Board Act.
Similarly, the MoI is doing groundwork to unveil an Industrial Enterprises Promotion Policy and is amending the existing Industrial Enterprises Promotion Act.
According to the ministry, it is also amending the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act (FITTA) 1992 to encourage foreign investment in Nepal by ensuring protection of the investment and facilitating business for foreign investors with necessary incentives. Likewise, the government is introducing a new Industrial Property Rights Policy and a related act that would protect the patents, designs and trademarks of industrial enterprises.
MoI sources said the ministry had also formed a working committee to recommend a working policy for effective observance of NIY. “The committee formed under the coordination of the industry secretary will suggest measures for effective implementation of NIY,” said Ramesh Sthapit, joint secretary at the MoI. He added that the ministry would adopt concrete measures regarding NIY after the committee submits its report.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) has formed a committee to attract investment from non-resident Nepalis (NRNs). The body has representation from the FNCCI and the NRN Association and has aimed at increasing dialogue between the private sector and NRNs regarding potential investment.
“As per the commitment of NRNs to invest in Nepal, we have started discussions encouraging them to introduce small, medium and larger scale investment projects here,” said Bhawani Rana, vice-president of the FNCCI.
The FNCCI, along with the government and the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), has been working to identify 50 viable projects having high potential for potential investors.
“Unlike Nepal Tourism Year, we don’t want to make NIY centralized. We are trying to promote each and every sector of the county and make NIY more decentralized,” said an executive committee member of the FNCCI. He added that once the projects are identified, appropriate investors will be approached.
The FNCCI source also said that it has been working to form a sub-committee with the MoI and International Finance Corporation (IFC) to deal with technical issues regarding the observance of NIY.
Posted on: 2011-12-06 08:10
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