Kathmandu, 27 November: The government has again announced plans to organize the investment conference in April 2024 by inviting foreign investors. This is not a new event being organized in Nepal. Nevertheless, the previous investment conferences were not as effective as expected by the government. Commitments were made, but many of the investors didn’t come to invest here.
The reasons are clear: there is no investment environment in the country. Political instability, lack of continuity in the works started by the previous governments, corrupt mentality among the political leaders and bureaucrats, unstable government policy, and unnecessary hurdles for investors are the reasons discouraging foreigners from investing in Nepal.
Instead of organizing such investment conferences again and again, the government should introduce a long-term and stable investment policy; moreover, the mentality of squeezing foreign investors has to be ended by introducing a strong anti-corruption law and providing prompt government services to the investors.
Meanwhile, the government should not allow foreign investors in areas where domestic investors are involved. Besides, Nepal should not allow investment in the agriculture sector, in which the majority of Nepali farmers are involved. Good homework is needed before inviting foreign investments. For example, what contribution has been made by Dabur Nepal or Unilever or Surya Tobacco just establishing a packaging plant in Nepal by importing almost finished products from India, it is a burning question.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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