The Foreign exchange reserves have slid by Rs 45.21 billion to Rs 1353.82 billion in the mid-September, the first two months’ report of the current fiscal year (FY) showed.
The “Current Macro-Economic Situation” of mid-September released by the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) showed that foreign exchange reserves have been shrunk to Rs 1353.82 billion in mid-September down from Rs 1399.03 billion of mid-July.
The unanticipated shrank foreign exchange putting stress on the already languishing balance of payment of Nepal. Though Nepal witnessed the export doubling in the first month of the current FY in comparison to the same period of the previous FY, its dependency on large amounts of imports places it in a vulnerable position.
This rapid shrinkage of foreign exchange reserves caught the attention of the government and Nepal Rastra Bank. Subsequently, the Committee of the house of representative for the welfare of the industry and commerce and labour and consumer-directed the Home Ministry, Nepal Rastra Bank, ministry of foreign affairs, ministry of labour, employment and social security to study the details of transaction of last 6 months of the those who are seeking tourist visa on September 26.
The committee on September 10 discussed that people are being driven to take the tourist visa and converted it into a labour permit visa in the foreign destination. So the demand for foreign exchange rose.
The Deputy Spokesperson of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), Narayan Prasad Pokhrel said that NRB is informed of the committee decision. He, however, added that NRB will continue to provide foreign exchange to anyone who is seeking a foreign exchange.
Meanwhile, he said that foreign exchange shrank over the recent months citing the first month’s macroeconomic data of NRB. He added that rising imports, the decline in remittance, and the reduction in theinflow of foreign direct investment among others have also dented the foreign exchange reserve.
Source : TRN,
