Kathmandu, December 28
A delegation of Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) led by its President Shreejana Rana has paid a courtesy call on newly-elected Minister for Finance Bishnu Paudel at the latter's office today.
On the occasion, HAN President Rana submitted a threepoint memorandum to Minister Paudel and requested him to postpone the implementation of guidelines related to the capital loan issued by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and to make provisions in the law to enlist tourism as a priority industry.
Stating that the most complex problem faced by businesses at present is the increasing interest rates, HAN has requested for reduction of interest rate as it is unfavourable for business operations and in attracting investment.
Similarly, the association has requested for the extension of the deadlines to pay the interest and principal taken by hotels as they are in no position to repay it since they are struggling even to cover their operational costs at present. Furthermore, HAN has requested for rescheduling and refinancing of loans through the upcoming half-yearly monetary policy review.
At the meeting, Rana congratulated Minister Paudel on his reappointment to the post and expressed her sincere gratitude on behalf of HAN for the supportive decisions taken by the minister during his previous tenure and hoped that the lost achievements would be regained with his reappointment. She also clarified that the hotel and tourism industry, which has been heavily affected by COVID-19, has not yet recovered, adding that tourism businesses and businessmen are on the brink of shutting their hotels or switching to another profession.
In his response, Finance Minister Paudel assured that the ministry is committed to improving the economy of the country and added that steps will be taken for the development and expansion of industry and business.
Senior Vice-President of HAN Binayak Shah, Secretary General Sajan Shakya, Executive Members Gopal Rana, Yuvraj Shrestha, Ram Kumar Puri, Thakur P Pokharel, among other members, of the association were also present in the meeting.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 29, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
