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Kathmandu Saturday July 22, 2000 Sharawan 07, 2057.
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Kodak Nepal
still hopeful of preferential entry to India
By a Post Reporter
HETAUDA, July 21 - Kodak Nepal,
an Indo-American joint ventue, which has suspended its production since last five months
after India rebuffed its demand for duty-free-access to Indian market has kept its hope
alive for the preferential entry.
"We hope India will provide
duty-free-access to the photograhpic papers produced by Kodak Nepal after Prime Minister's
upcoming visit," said a senior Kodak official, wishing to remain unidentified.
He also informed that the
Company has already requested Prime Minister to raise the issue during his visit scheduled
for coming month.
However, this will be our last
effort and if India refused to budge from its present stance we would pack up and go, said
he.
Since the company was
established targetting the Indian market, there is no point in staying in Nepal without
prefential entry to Indian manrket, said he.
Under Indo-Nepal Trade Treaty
signed in December 1996, India grants dutry-free-acces to the manufacturing products of
Nepal, except for three items_ cigarette, liquor and perfume_ enlisted in the negative
list.
But India has argued that the
photographic paper produced by Kodak Nepal is not a genuine manufacturing activity but
simply a repacking of foreign imports. However, the Company argues production process in
its plant in Nepal involves all the standard manufacturing activity.
Since the Company was
established with prioir approval from Reserve Bank of India for equity participation of
Kodak India, it is wrong to oppose its export after the comapny assumed productions, says
the official. The Company is established with 80 percent equity participation of Eastman
Kodak, USA, and 20 percent equity participation of its Indian subsidiary Kodak India.
Rabi Bhakta Shrestha, first vice-president of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce
and Industry also says the prime minister should raise the issue with India during his
visit. This issue is very sensitive to Nepal because the company's fold-up would send a
negative message to the prospective foreign investors in the future. Since the Company was
established with the government's approval it is the duty of the government to negotiate
with India for a preferential entry to its product, says Birod Khatiwada, a lawmaker from
Makawanpur District.
The Company, established with an
investment of 370 million rupees, employees a total of 50 staffs. It has an annul
production capacity of 22 million square metre photographic paper worth over four billion
rupees. Out of one million square metre manufactured paper, the Company exported about ten
thousand square metres to Singapore after Indian denial to import it on preferential
basis.
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