By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Aug. 5: Finance Minister Janardan Sharma has directed the Financial Sector Management and Corporation Coordination Division to start preparations for the policy and legal reforms to transform the government-run corporations into profit making companies.
Following a briefing from the Division on Wednesday afternoon, he directed to formulate policies and programmes to uplift the loss-making public enterprises.
"What kind of policy can be made to make public enterprises profitable?" What problems need to be solved? Make a detailed list of them immediately,” he asked the Division.
Speaking on the occasion, Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini said that the condition of most of the public enterprises was not good.
According to him, public enterprises with an investment of Rs. 600 billion by the government has not been able to create even 30,000 jobs and instead of making profit, they have added liabilities to the government.
Marasini said that some of the corporations which were privatised to convert them into profit-making institutions are also in loss.
Dirgharaj Mainali, Chief of the Division, said that government-run corporations like Nepal Oil Corporation, Nepal Electricity Authority, Nepal Telecommunication Company Limited, Rastriya Banijya Bank and Agricultural Development Bank were making profits.
There are 44 government-owned public enterprises: 10 in industrial sector, five in public sector, five in commercial sector, nine in financial sector, five in social sector and 10 in service sector.
Of these, 24 are running profitably while 18 are in loss.