Czech Republic shows interest to boost investment in Nepal

Czech Republic has expressed interest to extend cooperation in establishment of automobile industries, cement factories and power generation plants in order to give a boost to Nepal´s industrial sector.
"We see the future of Nepal in the industrial sector," Jiri Janick, head of the commercial and economic section of Embassy of Czech Republic in India, said at an interaction on Monday. "Industries like automobile, equipment for power generation and cement plant among others can be viable in Nepal."
A visiting delegation of Czech Republic led by Miloslav Stašek, ambassador of the Czech Republic to Nepal, shared that Nepal´s economy can grow at a faster pace through the promotion of industrial sector. "Nepal and Czech Republic have vast scope for cooperation in areas such as trade, commerce and development," Stašek said. "We see distinct possibilities to cooperate in hydro power projects, automobile, waste management, water solution, tourism and services."
In addition to that, Confederation of Nepali Industries (CNI) and Confederation of Czech Industries (CCI) shall soon ink in a memorandum of understanding (MOU). "This will enable business communities of both countries to work together more closely," Stašek added. "The MoU will establish a formal relationship between businesspeople of two countries for further economic cooperation."
Narendra K Basnyat, senior vice-president of the CNI, which organized the interaction, said: "The government of Nepal is also committed to create business friendly environment by implementing new industrial policies and bringing new Industrial Enterprise Act to attract foreign direct investment."
The volume of trade between Czech Republic and Nepal has been increasing gradually but it is in favor of the Czech Republic, which exports automobile and electric equipments to the country. Nepal mainly exports goods such as readymade garment, handicrafts, hand-knotted woolen carpets, tea and medicinal herbs to the Czech Republic. Imports from the Czech Republic mainly constitute medicine and medical equipment, electrical goods, machinery and parts, glass beads, motor cars, bulldozer, crane and parts and foodstuffs.
Additionally, Czech Republic has shown keen interest to invest in joint ventures in Nepal in the areas of water resources, roads, food industry and construction.

Govt, pvt sector put joint effort to improve condition of doing business

In order to portray Nepal as a viable destination for foreign direct investment in the international market, private and public sector are jointly working toward improving the condition of doing business in the country -- that will be reflected in the annual ´doing business´ report of the World Bank.
In this regard, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC), Nepal Freight Forwarders Association (NEFFA) and Department of Customs (DoC) are jointly working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank with the aim of placing Nepal in higher echelon of the doing business index.
“Nepal´s rank in the doing business report is not satisfactory and all of us want it to be better,” Rajan Sharma, president of the NEFFA, said. “We are working on ways to reduce the paper work and procedure to start a business.”
According to Sharma, the main focus will be on finding ways to reduce the cost of doing business, required documentation cost for registering a business and shorten export and import procedures. Nepal was ranked 107th in the doing business report of 2012 out of 183 countries, which is a slight improvement from 2011.
Doing business report is a document that is taken as a guide by foreign investors who want to step in to Nepal with the aim of making investment. It is also a mirror of the country which motivates investors to invest. “We will prepare a guideline which will show how the condition of doing business can be improved in Nepal,” Sharma said.
According to the doing business report 2012, it takes 29 days to start a business in Nepal and 7 procedures should be completed. Likewise, it costs 37.4 percent of per capita income for registration of a business, which is 15.8 percentage points higher than the average cost in South Asia. “The project aims to decrease cost, ease procedures and shorten days required to start a business, so that the country can achieve a better position in the report,” Sharma said.
The doing business report also ranks a country in terms of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency related issues. Nepal´s rank in the report of 2012 is not good in all these cases. The worst is in terms of trading across borders -- Nepal was ranked 162nd out of 183 countries all over the world.