Investment Board to get full shape in week

KATHMANDU, DEC 26 -

The Investment Board is likely to assume its full shape this week. The government is planning to appoint four members to the board who will represent the private sector.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Radesh Pant said that preparations to give the board its final shape were being done. “Once it is done, the board will begin providing all the necessary services and facilities required by potential investors,” added Pant.

According to Pant, the board members representing the private sector will be from the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), or other segments of the private sector.

The board, which is chaired by the prime minister, will work as a one-stop service centre for foreign and local investors who are willing to bring investment projects worth more than Rs 10 billion in Nepal. Pant said the board was planning to provide the entire range of services required to start a business in the country.

The board, according to Pant, will work as a secretariat of the Nepal Investment Year, and will begin lobbying for necessary revisions in industry, labour and investment related laws  in the first phase. The government has announced 2012 and 2013 as Nepal Investment Year. The board is also planning to prepare a strategy paper to attract investment from abroad. “Till now, we don’t have strategies to make it easy for foreign investors in Nepal and safeguard their investment here,” said Pant. He added that the strategy paper would be finalized promptly after the board starts operations.

Source: Kantipur