Rs 140 million bailout to keep ailing PEs afloat

Sharesansar, May 27: 

The government has been doling out huge amount of cash to loss making and non-functional public enterprises, mostly to pay off staff salaries. The government has given away around Rs 140 million as loans to four loss-making public enterprises (PEs) this fiscal year. The bailout fund given to Nepal Drugs Limited (NDL) amounted to Rs 25.3 million, Gorakhkali Rubber Factory Rs 52.5 million Janakpur, Cigarette Factory (JCF) Rs 56.6 million and Nepal Metal Company (NMC) Rs 1.5 million. Similarly, Nepal Oriend Magnesite Company (NOMC) and Nepal Productivity and Economic Development Center (NPEDC) were provided Rs 3 million each. JCF’s 700 staffers and NDL’s 200 employees collectively take home Rs 150 million and Rs 5 million per month in salaries. NMC and NOMC, likewise, require Rs 200,000 each month to pay their staff. Loss-making PEs add financial burden on the government and their liabilities have been increasing each year. According to recent data, the government has invested Rs 95 billion till date in a total of 37 PEs, out of which only 21 are turning profits.