PM Shah reaches out to private sector, Pledges business-friendly reforms to restore investor confidence

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday held his first high-level meeting with Nepal’s leading private sector representatives since assuming office, seeking to reassure businesses that his government is committed to improving the investment climate and addressing long-standing concerns over policy uncertainty and regulatory hurdles.

The nearly two-hour informal discussion, held at the Prime Minister’s Office, came at a time when the private sector has expressed growing unease despite the formation of a government backed by an almost two-thirds parliamentary majority.

Representatives from the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and the Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) attended the meeting, where discussions focused on reviving investor confidence, promoting industrial growth and accelerating economic reforms.

Instead of convening the meeting in a formal conference room, Prime Minister Shah invited business leaders to his office chamber, saying he wanted an open and candid discussion.

“The government is clear that Nepal’s economic development must be achieved in partnership with the private sector. Please raise your concerns without hesitation,” Shah told the participants at the outset, according to officials present at the meeting.

Business leaders used the opportunity to express concerns over what they described as declining private sector confidence, citing indiscriminate arrests in the name of investigations, restrictive monetary policies that have constrained investment expansion, and the need for greater policy stability.

Participants said the Prime Minister assured them that the government has no intention of intimidating entrepreneurs or carrying out arbitrary actions against the business community.

“The Prime Minister clearly told us that the government is not in favor of imprisoning businesspeople or creating fear among the private sector,” one participant said after the meeting.

Rather than seeking broad suggestions, Shah urged the business leaders to present practical and specific recommendations that the government could implement.

“He asked us not to speak in general terms but to clearly identify what needs to be done and where. He said the government is ready to act if practical solutions are presented,” Nepal Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President Deepak Malhotra told reporters.

To institutionalize dialogue with the business community, the Prime Minister proposed forming a committee comprising government experts and representatives from FNCCI, CNI and the Nepal Chamber of Commerce to regularly discuss private sector issues and recommend policy reforms.

During the discussion, former CNI President Rajesh Kumar Agrawal urged the government to revise Nepal’s land ceiling regulations, arguing that existing limits have become a major obstacle for industrial investment. He called for fast-track decisions to improve the investment environment.

CNI Director General Dr. Ghanshyam Ojha said that under an open-market economy, the government’s role should be regulation rather than directly operating industries. He suggested restructuring state-owned enterprises under public-private partnership (PPP) models, a proposal that Prime Minister Shah reportedly welcomed.

Business leaders also drew the Prime Minister’s attention to the effective implementation of provisions announced in the recently unveiled national budget, stressing that policy announcements alone would not be sufficient without timely execution.

The meeting marked the first direct interaction between Prime Minister Shah and Nepal’s organized private sector since he assumed office, a move that participants described as an important confidence-building initiative.

Malhotra said the discussion had significantly improved business sentiment.

“The Prime Minister responded to every issue we raised and engaged in a highly interactive discussion for nearly half an hour. We believe this dialogue has broken the deadlock. We consider today’s meeting a major achievement, and it has lifted the confidence of the private sector by almost 50 percent,” he said.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Shah reiterated that the government considers the private sector a key partner in achieving economic growth, expanding investment, creating jobs and increasing domestic production.

He pledged to prioritize policy, legal and administrative reforms aimed at creating a more business-friendly environment while removing procedural barriers that discourage investment.

The Prime Minister also assured participants that the recommendations presented during the meeting would be taken seriously and appropriate reforms would be pursued through the relevant government agencies.

The meeting was attended by FNCCI President Anjan Shrestha and Industry Committee Chair Ujjwal Kumar Shrestha, former CNI President Rajesh Kumar Agrawal and Director General Dr. Ghanshyam Ojha, Nepal Chamber of Commerce President Kamlesh Kumar Agrawal and Senior Vice President Deepak Malhotra.

Prime Minister Shah’s Chief Adviser Kumar Ben, Chief Personal Secretary Subash Sharma and Private Secretary Pradeep Pariyar also participated in the discussions.

The engagement is widely viewed as the government’s first formal effort to rebuild trust with the private sector and strengthen collaboration on economic reforms at a time when investment, industrial activity and business confidence remain under pressure.