'Agriculture, construction, education hold good investment potential'

KATHMANDU, Aug 23: Business people of the mid and far western development regions have identified education, agriculture and construction as the highly potential sectors for investment in the regions, a survey shows.



As many as 2,000 entrepreneurs from Surkhet, Pyuthan, Dang and Banke in mid-western region and Kailali in the far-western region participated in the Business Climate Survey (BCS) conducted by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) -- the apex representative body of the Nepali private sector.

Minister for Industry Krishna Gyawali and FNCCI Vice President Bhawani Rana jointly unveiled the report amid a program on Friday. [break]



According to the survey, entrepreneurs of Dang and Kailali identified education as the highly potential sector for investment, while those in Pyuthan and Surkhet named agriculture/forestry as the highly potential sectors. Similarly, Banke business people in Banke saw huge potentiality in the construction sector.

The business people that participated in the survey said at least one in every four enterprises in the region has been facing difficulty in finding skilled workforce. Business firms facing problems in hiring workforce stood at 25 percent in Surkhet, 14 percent in Pyuthan, 27 percent in Dang, 35 percent in Banke and 27 percent in Kailali.

The study also showed electricity, waste disposal, and roads and transportation are the sectors that are in need of immediate improvement.



According to the survey, local business people have been forced to food additional energy bill ranging from Rs 1,905 to Rs 34,160 per month due to power cuts. Business people in Pyuthan are paying additional energy bills of Rs 1,905 per month, followed by Rs 9,147 per month in Kailali, Rs 16,568 in Surkhet, Rs 18,940 in Dang and Rs 34,160 in Banke.



Similarly, Surkhet and Banke districts are ahead in terms of tax compliance. According to the study, 74 percent of entrepreneurs each in Surkhet and Banke pay income tax regularly, followed by Dang (73.8 percent), Kailali (66.7 percent) and Pyuthan (61.4 percent).

However, majority of the respondents said rules and regulations related to income tax and VAT are unclear and inconsistent.

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