Business leaders warn of investment flight as private sector faces systematic targeting during protests

BIRATNAGAR: Chamber of Industries Morang (CIM) and National Business Initiative (NBI), with coordination from Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Koshi Province, organised an interaction programme titled 'Private Sector: Question, Identity, and Commitment' in Biratnagar on Saturday.

The event aimed to conduct a self‑reflection on the pain experienced by private sector and to express a firm commitment towards a shared future.

During the programme, CIM President Nand Kishor Rathi said that industries, commercial centres, shops, warehouses and homes belonging to private sector systematically become targets of vandalism and arson during every protest movement, adding that this has reached a point where industrialists are afraid to invest in their own country, “There is no proper institution either. Hence, we get easily influenced and always juggle between real news and conspiracy theories. Therefore, the impact is severe,” he said.

He warned that false, misleading and provocative information spread through social media is creating a narrative that questions whether investing is a sin, or if earning a profit is a crime, and asked how the private sector's dream of creating employment in Nepal, stopping youth migration and building a self‑reliant economy could be realised if such thinking continues to deepen in society.

President Rathi further said that while the private sector expects sustainable, stable and predictable policies, the tendency for policies to change with every change in government, along with irregularities, a lack of good governance, delays and corruption, continues to obstruct the private sector. He asserted that industrialists have been forced to seek proximity to political power centres to resolve obstacles encountered while operating businesses, and emphasised that this situation is neither healthy for the private sector nor appropriate for a democratic state system.

NBI President Kush Kumar Joshi noted that the private sector, which serves as the backbone of economic development, is currently trapped in a whirlpool of pain, fear and uncertainty, despite contributing to economic development by paying taxes and following state laws and policies, “The negative narrative spreading against the private sector is weakening the business‑friendly environment day by day,” he said, adding that as the morale and confidence of industrialists decline and the investment climate becomes bleak, it is everyone's responsibility to present the real challenges of the private sector clearly and powerfully at the national level based on facts and logic.

NBI Central Coordinator Kishor Pradhan said that industry and trade do not belong to any specific class, individual or group, but are the backbone of the national economy, and urged reflection on the sector's contribution in providing employment to millions of Nepalis, empowering the state through taxes and revenue, and opening the door to development through capital formation and investment. He added that, because the tendency to portray the private sector merely as a profit‑oriented group close to power centres has deepened mistrust, such programmes will be organised in all seven provinces to increase mutual trust, clear misconceptions, and reveal the reality.

During the panel discussion, Dr Chiranjibi Nepal, former governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, said the private sector is extremely hardworking, industrious and capable of taking risks, and called on all stakeholders, including the government, to uplift the recently declined morale of the sector while ensuring stability in the state's economic policy. Subodh Taj Pyakurel, former chairperson of Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), expressed concern over a developing mentality that the private sector can be suppressed at will, and said the message must be conveyed that the private sector is not weak but empowered, capable and strong. He added that the bureaucracy is intimidating the private sector and suggested the state should abandon policies that weaken the sector in the name of strengthening the bureaucracy.

Bhawani Rana, former president of FNCCI, emphasised that the role of the private sector towards the state has been vital in every era and urged the state to take the sector's voice seriously, while Rakesh Surana, immediate past president of CIM, said that if existing laws were implemented easily and fairly and governance were based on systems rather than individuals or parties, the private sector would not need to seek the shadow of any political party or power. He called on political parties to commit to providing a fair, secure and reliable environment for the private sector.

Bhaskar Raj Rajkarnikar, chairperson of Media Alliance Nepal (MAN), warned that when the private sector is weak, employment, society and the nation itself become weak, and said every state agency must contribute responsibly to restore confidence. Young entrepreneur Siddhi Adhikari suggested that an investment‑friendly environment will only be created if the incoming government formulates a long‑term industrial policy and ensures the easy, transparent and effective implementation of existing laws, which would inspire the private sector to invest with confidence and open the path to job creation, increased production and overall economic prosperity.

The programme was attended by presidents of district chambers of commerce and industry in Koshi Province, economists, civil society representatives, young and women entrepreneurs, industrialists and chairpersons of province‑level organisations.