Minister for Finance Janardan Sharma has instructed the concerned authorities for policy-level intervention to make sure that the state-owned public corporations incurring losses make profits.
During the briefing by the Financial Sector Management and Corporation Coordination Division here in the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday, Minister Sharma directed, “Make a detailed plan about how to address the issue relating to salvaging those state-owned corporations that were in loss. Also, include the plan and policies which would make such sick corporations reach profitable condition”.
Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Madhu Kumar Marasini spoke of the need to revamp and reform sick public corporations. Among the total 44 state-owned public corporations, 24 had amassed profits while the remaining 18 were being operated in the loss. According to Marasini, there was over 600 billion rupees investment by the government but much to the dismay of the government and public, such corporations have not been able to generate employment for over 30,000 people. Such corporations were liable to the government as instead of making a profit, such corporations had added additional responsibilities on the government, viewed Marasini, adding that even those corporations that were privatized to earn profits were running in loss. He too pressed for reforms in such corporations at the policy and legal levels.
Chief of the Division Dirgharaj Mainali, presenting the details on the status of the corporations, shared that Nepal Oil Corporation, Nepal Electricity Authority, Nepal Telecommunications Company Limited, Nepal Banijya Bank Limited, and Agriculture Development Bank among others were in profit. Among the 44 state-run corporations, 10 were related to the industrial sector, nine related to trade, nine related to finances, five related to the social sector, and 10 related to the service sector.
