HETAUDA: Government of State 3 is set to organize an investment conference to attract domestic investors in Chitwan from April 19.

The State government said it would request entrepreneurs of private sector to make investment in various sectors. The two-day state-level conference is expected to see a participation of around 200 people, including investors and experts, according to Chief Minister Dormani Poudel’s Press Coordinator, Prakash Dahal.

According to Member of Policy and Planning Commission of the State, Shyam Kumar Basnet, a broad discussion would also be held with the private sector with the objective of opening ways of investment keeping a five-pillar policy in priority.

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Oli has said that the government was always ready to support the private sector for import substitution and promoting export.

Stating that a policy has been adopted for forging partnership with the private sector for industrial progress, PM Oli said the government will facilitate in formulating the necessary acts, laws and rules, and in constructing physical infrastructure for the country’s economic development.

Inaugurating the 16th annual general meeting of the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) in the capital today, Prime Minister Oli said that the investors have been encouraged to invest in industrial sector in a transparent way.

He also said it is high time that fake transaction, sale of fake VAT bill and non-transparent activities are discouraged. Prime Minister Oli maintained that the government was equally determined to encourage and protect domestic industries while urging the business communities not to carry out illegal activities.

The Prime Minister also expressed commitment to support the private sector in all sectors, including the technology, and raw materials.

KATHMANDU: German Embassy in Kathmandu is organizing a 16-day exhibition on “The German Energiewende: Transforming Germany’s energy system” in Lalitpur from 12-26 April.

The exhibition illustrates the German economy’s transformation towards reusable energy sources, it was shared at a press conference organized by the German Embassy in Kathmandu.

Ambassador Ronald Schafer informed that since Germany is leading the movement with an objective of achieving carbon neutrality in 2050, Nepal too has huge potential in generation of renewable energy through tapping in to various sources such as hydro-power and solar energy, but also working towards energy efficiency, among others.

The exhibition, according to Ambassador Schafer, will be an occasion to discuss challenges, and show appreciation for the efforts of the Government of Nepal to create a conducive environment towards climate-friendly energy in the country.

A statement issued on the occasion said the interactive exhibition has already toured more than 80 locations in more than 30 countries and has been seen overwhelmingly across the world.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a photo story about 60 years of friendship between Nepali and German citizens.

Germany, through GIZ, is supporting Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) in promotion and development of renewable energy technologies in various municipalities and rural municipalities, the statement said.

KATHMANDU: The US-China trade dispute is pushing American multinational companies to relocate their factories and adjust business strategies for their supply chains in the next 12 months, according to a survey by Bain and Company.

“The shift is happening,” said Gerry Mattios, vice president at consulting firm, Bain. “Back at (the) end of 2018, when we ran a similar report, we found out a lot of companies — over 50 percent — were actually sitting on the fence … there were no major actions taken,” Mattios told.

But now, 60 percent of the respondents said they are ready to take action, as they see headwinds on their balance sheets, he added. “They see customers having to pay part of it, and they are trying to see how to reassess their supply chains.”

A supply chain is a network between a company and its suppliers to produce and distribute the firm’s products. Even though China has had a significant cost advantage that propelled the country to its leading position as the world’s manufacturing hub, that advantage is eroding as costs rise, Mattios said.

The survey polled more than 200 high-level executives and senior supply chain officers at U.S. multinationals with operations in China, and sought to gauge their perspectives on the ongoing trade dispute. However, some manufacturing will still remain in China as the country moves toward being a consumption-driven economy, he said. Items that would’ve been exported will see some assembly lines move to Southeast Asia said.

Still, he added, “we don’t think Southeast Asia will become the factory of the world in the way China did two decades ago.”

KATHMANDU: The latest data has shown that foreign investment in the industrial is declining in Nepal.

The foreign investment in the industrial has decreased by 67.16 percent compared to the previous year, according to the statistics maintained by the Department of Industry.

The Department of Industry had approved the foreign investment of Rs 35,222,570,000 in the fiscal year 2017/18 while it has come down to Rs 11,563,920,000 in the existing fiscal year 2018/19.

However, the number of registration of foreign companies is on the increase, of late. A total of 216 companies had been registered in the previous year while the number has increased to 266 in the current fiscal year.

CHICAGO: Boeing Co said it plans to cut its monthly 737 aircraft production by nearly 20 percent in the wake of two deadly crashes, signaling it does not expect aviation authorities to allow the plane back in the air anytime soon.

Deliveries of Boeing’s best-selling aircraft were frozen after a global grounding of the narrowbody model following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet on March 10, killing all 157 people onboard.

Production will be cut to 42 airplanes per month from 52 starting mid-April, the company said in a statement, without giving an end-date.

U.S. and airline officials said they now believe the plane could be grounded for at least two months, but an even longer grounding is a serious possibility.

The crash in Ethiopia and the crash of a Lion Air plane in Indonesia last October that killed all 189 people on board have left the world’s largest planemaker in crisis.

(Agencies)

KATHMANDU: The Institute for Strategic and Socio-Economic Research (ISSR), Pavilion Group, and Khabarhub jointly organized an interaction program on ‘Post-Investment Summit Nepal-2019’ at the Durbar Marga-based Pavilion Hall on Friday.

Speaking at the interaction, former Minister for Finance, Dr. Ram Saran Mahat said the government organized the Summit in haste.

‘It would have been better had the government carried out ample homework for the Summit,” he said. Former Minister Dr. Mahat said the government should have first focused on creating a conducive environment for the summit rather than hurriedly organizing it,’ he lamented.

He stressed that the government should have prioritized the manufacturing sector rather than infrastructure.

Mahat remarked that instances of violence and blasts will not impart a positive message to potential investors.

Likewise, former Governor Tilak Rawal questioned how Nepal could bring foreign direct investment ‘as external environment and internal commitment was not favorable for investment’.

He was of the opinion that it was very difficult to attract foreign investment in Nepal as Nepalis have weak spending capacity, and finding markets in neighboring India has been a tedious task. “Exporting goods manufactured in Nepal is very hard to export to India and China,” Rawal said.

Also speaking former CEO of Nepal Investment Board, Radhesh Pant said it is high time that the government and private sector worked together to attract more foreign investment in Nepal.

Pant said it was positive that investment laws were formulated ahead of the much-talked summit while casting doubt over the effectiveness of service delivery.

Likewise, former Vice-Chairman of National Planning Commission Prithvi Raj Legal said that the Nepal Investment Summit was successful, and praised the government for ‘seriousness’ in bringing FDI.

Former Nepali Congress lawmaker Ram Hari Khatiwada raised skepticism over the possibility of investment here saying that the government should ensure that negative messages should not go to the international community.

Saying that political stability alone would not play a positive role for development, he stressed on a political commitment for attracting foreign investment.

Also speaking on the occasion, former Governor Deependra Chhetri expressed the optimism of bringing in foreign investment saying that there has been a conducive environment for the same.

MELAMCHI: Attention of people’s representatives has been toward the sluggish construction of the mid-Bhotekoshi hydropower project. They have started pressure on the concerned authorities for its completion within the extended deadline.

The project has extended two year’s time for its completion following its failure to meet the first completion target of 2017.

The 102 megawatts project started in 2013. Now, the extended deadline for the project’s completion is June 2019. But only 50 percent of the construction has been completed so far as only four months remain to reach the deadline.

“Local level has been concerned with the delay. As a result, the locals, who have a portion of investment in the project, have been affected,” said Raj Kumar Poudel, chairperson of the rural municipality in a statement.

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump has said the United States and China were very close to a trade deal, media reports said.

He said it could be announced within four weeks, however, warning Beijing that it would not be easy to allow trade to continue without a deal.

The U.S. and China are currently engaged in intense negotiations to end a months-long trade war.

Hopes of a resolution got high after both countries expressed optimism after talks in Beijing last week.

“We’re very close to making a deal. This, however, doesn’t mean a deal is made,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. (Agencies)