Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, January 19:

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has raised its total investment (external and internal) by 15.4 per cent, reaching Rs 129.09 billion in the fiscal year 2003-04. According to a source in NRB, the central bank has increased its external investment compared to internal. In the current fiscal year, the central bank has increased its external investment by 25.6 per cent which comes to Rs 104.14 billion. In the previous fiscal year, the central bank had increased its external investment only by 10.1 per cent.

In comparison, internal investment of the bank has decreased to Rs. 24.94 billion, down 14 per cent from 19.8 per cent in the last fiscal year. The share of internal investment is 19.3 per cent while external sectors’ investment is 80.7 per cent. Under the internal loan investment, a huge chunk of money is invested for the incumbent government through credit, which comes to be about 76.7 per cent. The central bank’s credit to the government decreased by 21.3 per cent in this fiscal this year, compared to 19.5 per cent during the corresponding period last year.

In the external loan segment, which goes to commercial banks through refinancing, the central bank’s investment has gone up by 35.4 per cent totalling to over Rs 410 million.

Similarly, the central bank’s investment in financial companies has gone up by 4.5 per cent totalling to Rs 1.56 billion, which had decreased by 12.5 per cent in the previous fiscal year, Central bank’s credit to the private sector has gone up by 32.6 per cent, which had decreased by 10.6 per cent during the previous fiscal year. NRB credit to the private sector stood at Rs 3.82 billion in 2003-04 .