Kathmandu, Nepal, May 20, 2013
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is assisting the government of Nepal on a comprehensive reform program to ease doing business and attract private investments into the country, spurring development and creating additional livelihood opportunities.
The SouthAsia Enterprise Development Fund, managed by IFC, in partnership with the UK government and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, is supporting the program. The program covers a broad spectrum of initiatives, ranging from supporting the Nepal Business Forum, assisting the Investment Board to make projects attractive to private investors and simplifying procedures to ease doing business.
At a workshop on “Recent and Planned Reforms Initiatives,” both the government and the private sector agreed to work towards the common goal of addressing constraints to business as one of the ways to enhance economic growth in Nepal. Jointly organized by IFC and Nepal’s Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the workshop took stock of the reform process over the last one year and assessed future plans.
Krishna Hari Baskota, Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, emphasized the importance of Doing Business indicators for reforms. “It will allow us to set targets and provide an objective measure of our progress.”
Several measures have been taken in this regard recently. The Office of the Companies Registrar introduced online business registration to expedite setting up a business and to formalize business operations easily. In the area of tax reforms, the government launched a series of reforms to broaden the tax base and make tax compliance faster and easier for businesses.
“IFC is committed to supporting the government in improving laws and business regulations governing private investment, and simplifying those relating to banking and financial institutions so that investors find the doing business environment friendlier and attractive,” said Fred Zake, Head of IFC’s Investment Climate Reform Program in Nepal.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
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