KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has said that Nepal’s economic transformation can gain significant momentum if the government, Nepal Rastra Bank, the banking sector, and the private sector work with policy confidence, clarity, and effective coordination.
Addressing an inter-institutional coordination meeting with executive directors of Nepal Rastra Bank on Wednesday, Minister Wagle said the central bank should make its policy initiatives more effective to support the economic reforms and structural transformation agenda introduced through the government’s budget.
He said recent discussions with industrialists, business leaders, and chief executive officers of commercial banks showed that the private sector is seeking clear policies, stable rules, quicker decisions, and credible implementation rather than concessions alone. According to him, effective cooperation between the government and regulatory bodies is essential to build investor confidence.
Wagle noted that past policy decisions had not been implemented as expected, weakening the investment environment. He also pointed out that although liquidity in the banking system has increased, credit flow to productive sectors has not met expectations, and the link between the capital market and the real economy remains weak.
The finance minister called for open discussions with central bank officials on expanding credit to productive sectors, connecting excess banking liquidity with industry, production, and employment, establishing a balanced relationship between the capital market and the real economy, and strengthening coordination between monetary and fiscal policies.
He also emphasized the need for policy reforms to facilitate digital finance, fintech, alternative finance, startup financing, and new financial instruments. Regulation, he said, should not be limited to control alone but should also encourage productive economic activities and innovation.
Wagle stressed that policymakers should move beyond the mindset of “this is not possible” and instead focus on “what needs to be done to make it possible.” He said the Nepali economy currently needs policy confidence above all else and expressed confidence that if the government, Nepal Rastra Bank, the banking sector, and the private sector move in the same direction, the goal of economic transformation can become a reality.
