BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Ambassador Frank urged govt to be business friendly

(Following is a speech delivered by American Ambassador Ralph Frank at the Opening Ceremony of Himalayan Expo 2000, April 11)

Each year, as the Expo gets bigger and better, this event becomes the focus of our hopes that trade and investment in Nepal will also get bigger and better.

Each year, the American Embassy expresses that hope and determination. Each year, my colleagues join me here on the dais and express their similar hope and determination.

Us Ambassador Ralph Frank

This year, I’d like to propose something little different. It seems to me that the Himalayan Expo can be useful beyond its very obvious values as a trade fair. The Himalayan Expo can be a deadline. It can be a yardstick. It can be a milestone. We can use it to measure our progress on our promises from year to year.

For instance, last year at the opening of the Himalayan Expo, we told you that the U.S. Embassy intended to make business easier by introducing a five-year visa for Nepalis going to the United States on business. This year, I’m happy to report that we have issued 2,600 five-year visas since last year’s Himalayan Expo.

I would suggest that we use this occasion each year to present our own report card on the progress on the proposals and promises we each have made.

For instance, if the Government of Nepal promises a swifter, smoother investment process through a “one-window” approach, I would be interested in hearing how that has worked. How many investments have gone through the one-window process? How long did it take investors to complete their process through the single window? We all want it to be one window in more than name. The real measure of its success is how it has worked — how many have actually passed through the one window? And how long, on average, did it take them to pass through the one window?

Similarly, if private-sector business organisations have set goals, how have they fared? More than a year ago, one Nepali trade organisation pledged to abolish child labor in its sector by the year 2005. Since this is an issue that concerns many of Nepal’s foreign trade partners, the Himalayan Expo is an ideal place to report on progress.

The Himalayan Expo can be a spur to ensure that we are more than talk, that we are action, that we follow up on events as well as proposals. My government hosted a major regional energy conference here in March. I would hope that my mission could report back to you next year on the follow-up from that conference — just as I hope that my colleagues in the Government of Nepal will report back on the follow-up from their just-concluded Export Promotion Conference.

Both the energy conference and the export promotion conferences were excellent platforms for developing trade and investment. What’s needed now is to follow those good ideas with action — and hold ourselves accountable for doing that.

I think we can make the Himalayan Expo not only Nepal’s leading trade fair, but a pivotal annual event at which we discuss our plans and assess our performance on matters of business and investment. That will help to ensure that there is real, substantive and measurable follow-up to the ambitions we express here.

We measure the Expo’s success in the amount of exhibit floor space and in the number of visitors who pass through the gate. Let us also measure our success here every year by the actual achievements in the targets we set, the promises we make, and the deals we do.

Ambassador Nash feels Nepal's modernisation is crucially linked with direct foreign investment

(Following is a speech delivered by British Ambassador Ronald Nash at the Opening Ceremony of Himalayan Expo 2000, April 11)

The private sector, along with NGOs, are among the forces pressing most vigorously for change in this country, and whose efforts will lead most quickly to social transformation.

Private sector investment, including from overseas, leads directly to employment growth, revenue for the State, social development, and the enhancement of Nepal’s human resources. In the long term it must take over from aid.

British Ambassador R.P.Nash

The modernisation of Nepal depends crucially on an enabling environment provided by the State to encourage foreign direct investment. Such a process brings a variety of partnerships which can strengthen the Nepalese economy: partnerships in know-how; collegiality of professional skills and ethos; investments of money, machinery, equipment and training; and marketing and distribution support.

One of our UK investments, Nepal-Lever Ltd which is part of the Unilever family, is a shining example in all these areas, and already tops Unilever’s internal company league table in productivity and various other co-eficients, showing what can be achieved by Nepalese people when the chance is offered.

Nepal must aggressively seek such partnerships, also with smaller foreign partners, if it is to overcome its problems and modernise. It is crucial for the Government to provide appropriate support and incentives, and an efficient, corruption-free, regulatory environment, if that private sector, which has so far been in the vanguard in bringing about change and modernisation, is to flourish and bring the benefits already seen in many other countries in the Asian region.

I hope the reform plans recently enunciated by the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister will systematically and rigorously work towards these goals, through financial sector, civil service and other key reforms. Only in this way can the appropriate enabling environment be brought into existence.

This year, the British Embassy and British Trade International (BTI) in London are joint sponsors of the British Pavilion at Expo 2000. BTI have provided NRs 1 million for the Pavilion.

Apart from financial support, the Embassy - in close consultation with the Nepal Britain Chamber of Commerce and Industry - is providing managerial support in preplanning and running the Expo 2000. The British Embassy will also help UK exhibitors arrange calls and appointments with Nepalese business partners in order to expand their trade horizons.

Our exhibitors this year have increased, which indicates the growing interest of the UK firms in developing business in Nepal. We have more stalls this year for exhibitors to exhibit their particular products and services. We hope this will provide an opportunity for local businessmen to view and acquire information on a wider range of British products.

UK exhibitors are this year showing products and services such as liquor and Scotch whisky, shopping and freight forwarding, aviation, lubricants, wool, generators, garments, insurance, cosmetics and personal healthcare products, printing equipment, banking and educational services.

At present British exports to Nepal are relatively small. We would like to see this expand and Expo 2000 is a step towards this.

We are planning other activities to increase British exports and attract British investment in Nepal. We will soon have a modern and well-equipped NBCCI office and conference facility within the Embassy premises, which is to be inaugurated by Foreign Minister Robin Cook during his visit to Nepal next week. We plan initiatives in a number of specific product areas.

Himalayan Expo concludes with new programmes for the next year

By A Staff Reporter

The five day Himalayan Expo 2000 organized by the House Of Rajkarnikar concluded on Monday (May 17). Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Managing Director of the organizing House, Birendra Rajkarnikar, said, "We have been running exhibition since a decade now and have attracted more visitors at a gradual rate. The number of public visitors this year has reached 85,000 and business visitors 45,000. The arrival of Big Business people this year is one achievement I am happy about."

He also informed that the next year’s event will be held at the Birendra International Convention Centre and that they plan to invite Buyers from overseas. “For this, he said, “We require about 100 export-oriented exhibitors, otherwise there wouldn't be any incentives for the Buyers to travel from all the way around the world.” The government should also help us regarding this initiatives, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajesh Kazi Shrestha, the newly elected president of the Chamber of Commerce talked about the necessity of a modern exhibition hall equipped with all sorts of latest accessories. “These ventures will also help tourism,” he said.

State minister of  Industry and Commerce Narendra Bikram Nemwang, as the chief guest, said, "Such exhibition is helpful for a growing economy  and the government is committed to help the private sector in whatever way possible."

Various awards and door prizes were distributed during the ceremony. Dugar Incorporated was awarded the Best Promotion Award while Nepal Overseas Trading and Princess a Overseas from India grabbed the Best Display Award and Best New Product Award respectively.

Indian and Nepalese companies have entered into a number of agreements covering diverse areas such as medical transcription, tourism refractories and chemicals in an attempt to widen bilateral trade ties between the two countries.

Indian companies that recently signed a memorandum of understanding for setting up joint ventures or sourcing goods from India with Nepalese companies included Indo Rama Synthetics, Indo-German Engineers, ITC Surya Tobacco and United Breweries Group.

The agreements were signed at the Nepalese Export Promotion Meeting 2000 and the Nepalese Trade Fair held recently in Kathmandu.