Saturday, March 30, 2019

Repatriation of profit from Nepal is easy

Repatriating profit from Nepal is difficult a myth, clarified foreign investors investing in Nepal since long.
Speaking at a session on 'Building Industrial Base and Creating Jobs' during Investment Summit Nepal 2019, here today, managing director of Surya Nepal Abhimanyu Kumar Poddar said that repatriating profits from Nepal has never been an issue. "It's a myth that it is difficult to repatriate profit out of Nepal," Poddar said adding that Surya Nepal has had successful investment in local value chains of the country, which today connects, among others, more than 10,000 farmers to the company's manufacturing system.
Repatriation has been an issue for the foreign investors time and again. And Poddar's statement – an assurance to investors participating in the summit that they can easily repatriate returns from the country – is a testimony of the company that is working in Nepal since the last 35 years.
Poddar, on the occasion, also shared his experience of doing business in Nepal, stating that the business environment has significantly improved in the country over past few years.
Citing examples of improvement in power situation and the responsiveness of the government, he also laid Surya Nepal's plan to invest in manufacturing sector, particularly food products in near future. "The company is entering into the country's tourism industry and constructing a luxury hotel in Kathmandu," he said, adding that the multinational company also has a plan of investing another Rs 6 billion in the hospitality sector.
However, international investment experts suggested Nepal to address a few challenges regarding structural reforms and adoption of technology in a bid to lure foreign investors.
"Nepal has a huge investment potential," deputy chief executive officer of KPMG, India, Akhil Bansal said, adding that Nepal still has a long way to go in terms of easing the doing business climate, which is crucial for investments to come in and the economy to grow though the country in recent times has initiated structural reform.
Apart from the sectors like tourism, agriculture and hydropower, which have immense untapped potential for investors, Nepal also should promote investment in the manufacturing and technology sector,” Bansal said, adding that adoption of technology will be crucial in bringing down the production cost in Nepal, which is relatively high. "Adoption of technology along with low labour cost will help bring down the cost of doing business in Nepal."
Explaining that the cost of doing business determines rate of return, he said that any investor first looks at the rate of return before investing. "Political stability, easy administrative procedures, easy entry and business operation are the other aspects that investors look for."
He also said that the foreign investors in the past were reluctant to come to Nepal due to political instability. "Now, it is high time for Nepal to promote itself as a business-friendly country following the end of political transition," he said, adding that the investment summit has been organised at the right time.

No comments: