Deloitte India presenting report on bond market next week

Deloitte India, a consulting firm, is presenting its preliminary study report on regulatory and institutional framework for bond market to the government next week.
The consulting firm was hired by the government to conduct study on three components -- regulatory and institutional framework on bond market, private sector on infrastructure development, and identifying projects that can be developed under public-private partnership (PPP) model.
“We have received some of the preliminary drafts of the reports prepared by Deloitte India,” Nava Raj Bhandari, joint secretary at the Ministry of Finance (MoF), told Republica. "We are trying to manage public debt efficiently so that the government can gain higher returns from it."
The government hired Deloitte India under ´Capital Market and Infrastructure Capacity Support Project´ with assistance form the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
According to information posted on the website of ADB, the government has received assistance of US$ 5 million for the project.
The project, which will continue till 2015, has been tasked with the responsibility of preparing a comprehensive report on how public debt of the country can be managed and utilized with comparatively higher rate of returns.
The government implemented the project, realizing its low investment in infrastructure development, underdeveloped bond market and loose implementation of PPP models.
"Long-term committed funding for infrastructure projects is best supported by a mature and vibrant bond market. But Nepal´s bond market remains constrained, accounting for just 12.6 percent of the gross domestic product at the end of 2009," reads the project concept paper available on the ADB website.
The concept paper further says, "There is no coherent public debt management strategy to guide decisions on the volume and maturity of each issuance, which are done on an ad hoc basis, preliminary to meet short-term needs."
An official at the finance ministry said, “We are hoping that the report that comes from the Deloitte will help the government to manage public debt more effectively in long-term goals."
Meanwhile, the government is also envisioning establishing a different institution for bond market management. However, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of the country, and the finance ministry are divided over establishing a separate agency for bond market management.
According to a source privy to the issue, the ministry wants to establish the agency under it, whereas the NRB says the agency should be an autonomous body.
At present, Public Debt Management Department at the NRB is looking after the country´s bond market.