Nepal's Rehabilitation Fund for businesses yet to activate

Nepal's Rehabilitation Fund, established in January to help the businesses affected by the earthquake last year and the subsequent blockade in Nepal's southern border points recover, has not activated as the government has not injected fund into it.

Nepalese business suffered heavily from the two incidents in a single year and the government decided to set up the fund worth 1 billion US dollars

As per the working procedure on the operation of the fund, businesses hit hard by the blockade will get interest subsidy in bank loans and those affected by earthquake will get refinancing facility at lower interest rate.

The working procedure has stipulated that the government, banks and financial institutions, foreign donors and interest received from refinance facility provided by the central bank of the country would be sources of the fund for the Rehabilitation Fund.

"We have already sent a letter to the Finance Ministry asking to inject fund," said Chintamani Siwakoti, deputy governor at the central bank. "We are waiting for the government's response."

"As the government has not injected the fund, banks also have not stepped up to put their money," said Siwakoti.

A senior official at the Finance Ministry said that a decision will be taken very soon regarding the injection of fund.

"The documentation process has moved ahead but decision has not been taken on how much fund to be injected," said the official.