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As public enterprises (PEs) continue to bleed money, with no returns on the money invested from the state coffer, the government has formed yet another task force to reform such institutions. A cabinet meeting on Tuesday formed a committee under the leadership of former finance secretary Shankar Adhikari for reforming PEs. This is the third committee formed in the last four years to revive the ailing PEs. The last committee was formed in November 2021 according to the announcement in the federal budget presented by the then Finance Minister Janardan Sharma. The committee led by Joint Secretary Chandrakala Paudel was tasked to study the issue of either reforming PEs or transforming them into a company model. The Adhikari-led committee has been asked to suggest that it be taken by the government for the reform of public enterprises. The committee has Bhupal Baral, Head of the Financial Sector Management & Corporation Coordination Division of the Finance Ministry, and Chandrakala Paudel, Head of the Industrial and Investment Promotion Division of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies as members. The committee has been given three months to submit its suggestions to the government. The new committee was formed as per the government's commitment to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The government has recently sought $200m from ADB in the form of budgetary support to finance the resources gap amid failing revenue collection in the current fiscal year. One of the conditions put forth by ADB to sanction the fund has been the implementation of public enterprise reform measures. The latest report of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) sheds light on the need for the reform of the PEs. According to OAG's 60th annual report, the return on the loan and share investments in PEs have been dismal. "The government till last fiscal year has invested Rs 374bn in loans and Rs 357bn in share investment in PEs," reads the report, "However, the returns have been negligible." Since most of the PEs are in losses, they have not even paid interest to the government. OAG has suggested that the goals and current needs of PEs having low returns should be analyzed and a necessary policy review should be carried out. Even though government investments in PEs have grown, the returns from such investments have been below par. A recent report by the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) shows the dividend paid by the PEs to the government in the last fiscal year was the lowest in 13 years. As per the 'Initial Annual Report on Share and Loan Investment of the Government 2021/22', the government received only Rs 4.24bn in dividends from the PEs.   The PEs' dividends to the government had reached a 13-year high of Rs 23.64bn FY 2019/20. Since then, the dividend amount has been in a downward spiral, shrinking to Rs 12.75bn in FY 2020/21 and declining further in FY 2021/22. Among the PEs, only nine have distributed dividends to their shareholders in the last fiscal year, according to the PDMO report. PDMO says that Nepal Telecom, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Agriculture Development Bank, Butwal Power Company, Nepal Stock Exchange, Salt Trading Corporation, Citizen Investment Trust, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and Sajha Sewa have distributed dividends from their profits. Nepal Telecom was the largest dividend payer with Rs 2.74bn in the last fiscal year. While the government has been forming committees for reforming PEs, their recommendations have rarely been implemented. The earlier Poudel-led task force in its report recommended to re-open 7 PEs that were either closed or running in losses. The report suggested bringing back the operation of Janakpur Cigarette Factory, Gorakhkali Rubber Industry, Nepal Orind Magnesite Pvt Ltd, Biratnagar Jute Mill, Hetauda Textile Industry, and Butwal Spinning Mills. The Finance Ministry report shows 42 out of 44 PEs are in operation in the country. But there is no uniformity in the law, procedures, and ownership of public institutions. The report says 33 PEs are being operated under the Companies Act while others are under various acts. Budget announcement on PEs

• The federal budget 2022/23 stated that "a policy of making the potential public enterprises under the government self-reliant and enhancing their capability to mobilize additional sources of investment would be adopted by transforming them into fully government-owned company models as per the need and listing them in the capital market."
• The federal budget of FY 2020/21 announced that the sick and closed industries would be revived with the participation of the private sector through additional investment, using new technology, and professional management.
• The federal budget of FY 2019/20 said that arrangements would be made to operate closed and sick industries in partnership with cooperatives and the private sector based on feasibility
• The federal budget of FY 2018/19 stated that arrangements would be made to operate closed and sick industries in partnership with cooperatives and the private sector based on feasibility.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 15.13 points to close at 1,920.12 points on Wednesday. Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 2.85 points to close at 365. 90 points. A total of 2,579,325-unit shares of 273 companies were traded for Rs 872 billion. Meanwhile, Kalinchowk Darshan Limited and Molung Hydropower Company Limited were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 9. 99 percent. Likewise, Adarsha Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 10.00 percent. At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 79 trillion.

While Nepal received the highest foreign direct investment (FDI) pledge of the year in Falgun, the overall FDI commitment is still down by 18.20 percent in FY 2022/23. The Department of Industry (DoI) has registered around 200 industries/firms that committed to investing Rs 28.129 billion in the nine months of the current fiscal year. FDI commitments worth Rs 34.388 billion were registered in the same period of FY 2021/22. According to the department, a total of 192 companies and firms have been registered in the first nine months of this fiscal. The department has also approved 53 technology transfer agreements. The majority of industries approved by the department are small-scale industries. The DoI approved 166 small-scale industries, 22 medium-level, and four large-scale industries in the current fiscal year. The service sector topped the chart in terms of FDI pledges. According to DoI, 45 percent of the registered industries are in the service sector category. The tourism sector is the second most preferred sector with 36 percent of industries registered in this category. Government officials point out the global economic downturn and the tightening of visa rules for foreign investors by the Nepal government for the decline in FDI pledges. "The FDI flow has decreased not only in Nepal but globally," said a DoI official. Nepal falls among the countries that receive the lowest FDI in the world. Despite many talks on attracting FDI in the country, the country has failed to attract foreign investors as expected. In November last year, the government lowered the minimum threshold for FDI to Rs 20 million from Rs 50 million to attract even the small foreign investors in the country. While the decision is expected to encourage FDI in the information and communication sector which does not need big investments in physical infrastructure, not many foreign investors have pledged to invest in this sector so far. FDI inflow declined this fiscal mainly due to a slowdown in investment commitment from China. The investors from the northern neighbor have been committing the largest amount of FDI in the last several years to Nepal. With China facing economic problems due to renewed Covid-19 crisis, and supply chain disruptions, investment pledges from the northern neighbor have also been affected. Tightening the visa rules for foreign investors, DoI in November last year, decided to recommend business visas for foreign investors only for three months at a time. As per the new rules, the department now recommends a business visa for three months by which time the investor has to submit a certificate of company registration. After the registration certificate has been received, DoI will recommend an extension of the business visa for another three months. Within this period, investors need to submit proof of having registered at the tax office and opened a bank account. However, DoI officials claim the new provision has helped in the screening of genuine foreign investors and that the results have been seen as reduced FDI pledges. Month wise FDI commitment

The price of gold has increased by Rs 300 per tola in the domestic market on Wednesday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 110, 300 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 110, 000 per tola on Tuesday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 109, 750 per tola. It was traded at Rs 109, 500 per tola. Similarly, the price of silver has increased by Rs 10 and is being traded at Rs 1,445 per tola today.