Competition Law for Economic Development
A one day workshop on Competition Law for Economic Development was organised jointly by South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE) and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) in Kathmandu on 16 March 2006. The workshop aimed at apprising relevant stakeholders on competition issues and discuss the relevance of a Competition law.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the programme, Mr Bharat Bahadur Thapa, Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies said that the draft of competition law is in its final stages and would be enacted soon by ordinance. He expressed hope that this law would be instrumental in creating a conducive environment for businesses to flourish and would also allow consumers to benefit.
Dr Posh Raj Pandey, President of SAWTEE while welcoming the participants said that enacting the Competition Law is not enough and a strong and effective competition authority is required for the effective implementation of the law.
Mr Chandi Raj Dhakal, President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and chairperson of the workshop also said that the need of the hour is a competition law with a strong and effective authority in order to put our ailing economy on the right track. He added that Competition law is important to safeguard Nepalese industries from the anti-competitive practices that the big multinationals may embark on.
Three papers; Status of Competition in Nepal by Mr.Navin Dahal, Executive Director of SAWTEE , Contours of Competition Law by Mr.Tikaram Bhattarai and Competition Law and Private Sector by Mr Ashok Kumar Todi, Chairperson, Industrial Rehabilitation and Business Law Committee, FNCCI, were presented during the workshop. The paper presenters stressed on the need of competition law to address anti-competitive practices that are prevalent in the Nepalese economy. They said that such distortions need to be corrected so that the consumers are able to benefit from healthy competition in the market. They also urged the government to make extra efforts to ensure that the law would boost existing industries.
Likewise Mr Ranjan Krishna Aryal, Joint Secretary at the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Dr Pushpa Raj Rajkarnikar, Executive Director, Institute for Policy Research & Development (IPRAD) and Mr Pradeep Jung Pandey, Chairperson, Industrial Promotion Committee, FNCCI, also expressed their views on the occasion.
More than 65 participants from different sectors participated in the meeting.
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