KATHMANDU, Oct 12: Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, who is in Marrakesh of Morocco in connection with participating in the World Bank (WB)'s annual meeting, has urged Korean companies to invest in Nepal, saying the foreign companies investing in Nepal have been making good profits.

In a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Korea, Choo Kyung-ho, today, Finance Minister Mahat urged the Korean companies also to mobilize their capital in investments in Nepal as it is an appropriate opportunity for them, the Ministry of Finance stated.

"Not only the Indian multinational company Dabur, the American multinationals Coca-cola and Pepsi, and Indian company ITC India have been earning profits by investing in Nepal, the Malaysian telecom company has also been making profit," Minister Mahat shared on the occasion.

He informed his Korean counterpart that the government is effortful to further facilitate private sector investment through the current fiscal year's budget, adding that it plans to provide such a privilege to the private sector in the coming days as well.  "We are eager to welcome Korean investors to Nepal," he reiterated.

Stating that the trade and investment climate is continuously improving in Nepal, the Finance Minister assured that the Korean investors will not have any hassles investing in Nepal. He also said that the Government of India has already decided to buy 10,000 megawatts of electricity from Nepal.

He suggested that investing in hydropower production, construction of transmission and distribution lines, digital, agriculture and tourism sectors in Nepal would pay off well.

The finance minister urged the Korean government to support Nepal in capacity development through concessional loans and grants for building tourism infrastructures.

The Korean deputy prime minister and finance minister said that Korea is ready to provide assistance for the development of infrastructure in Nepal. Stating that there was the problem of double taxation in some Korean investments, he urged Minister Mahat to address this problem. Finance Minister Mahat said he was ready to resolve the problem related to double taxation and also expressed commitment to protect Korean investment.

Finance Minister Mahat also invited his Korean counterpart to visit Nepal. The Korean deputy prime minister and finance minister said he was eager to visit Nepal and urged Minister Mahat to set the agenda of the visit at the earliest.

Minister Mahat lauded the Korean government for providing employment opportunities to 12,000 Nepalis in South Korea. He also requested the Korean minister to start initiatives for providing permission to Nepal Airlines Corporation to operate direct flights to Korea.

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