State-owned Nepalese tobacco factory might be leased to private sector

Nepal’s Public Enterprises Management Board has recommended leasing the assets and management of the Janakpur Cigarette Factory to the private sector, according to a story in Republica.

The Board believes this is the only course of action that might lead to the revival of the state-owned tobacco company, which has been closed for two years.

The recommendation is contained in a report that the Board, a government advisory body on the functioning of public enterprises, is due to hand to the Ministry of Finance.

It will be implemented only if the finance ministry and the Cabinet give the go-ahead.

Leasing out the factory to the private sector had been recommended, in part, because the Board believed the government should not be involved in the production of goods, such as cigarettes, that were harmful, Board member Narayan Bajaj was quoted as saying.

Bajaj, a chartered accountant, said also that the Board believed it was time for private sector involvement in running the factory since the government had failed to generate profits and had lost a significant level of market share to private companies.