Maha Prasad Adhikari, Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), said that the government has decided to introduce concessional loan to help the tourism sector revive from the loss caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
Governor Adhikari has said that the monetary policy of FY 2020/21 was focused on minimising the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the economic regime of the nation.
Making nation’s monetary policy public today, Adhikari said that the loan would be provided to airline services, hotel, restaurants and other businesses in the tourism sector.
The monetary policy has mentioned that the tax dues of the tourism industry till the end of Fiscal Year 2019/20 could be cleared by December, 2020.
Also, those businesses, which have been extensively affected by the pandemic, could clear their tax dues by the end of Fiscal Year 2020/21.
The government has aimed to gain seven per cent financial growth in the FY 2020/21. The monetary policy has incorporated some issues to fulfill the target.
The policy stresses on investing on agriculture, energy, small and minimum enterprises to recover the loss caused by the pandemic.
The policy also aims to move Agriculture Development Bank as the leading bank for the development of agricultural sector.
The banks and financial institutions will also be motivated to invest on agriculture sector, said Governor Adhikari. the CCD ratio for banks has been raised to 85 pc from existing 80pc.
The central bank has revised CCD ratio, which it considers the anchor of Nepal’s financial sector stability, to 85% from 80%. The latest revision will enable BFIs to release an extra Rs 183.3 billion in loans, considering total deposit of Rs 3,666.6 billion in the banking sector.
The CCD ratio stands for the credit to core capital plus deposit ratio. It is the limit until which the banks are allowed to issue the loans and advances.
Meanwhile, the issuance of licenses for new finance companies has been halted for the time being