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KATHMANDU, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's Central Bank unveiled the monetary policy for the next fiscal year 2016-17 on Thursday by increasing the minimum lending requirement for commercial banks in agriculture and hydropower sectors.
As per the policy, the commercial banks have to ensure that they lend at least 15 percent of their entire loan portfolio in these two sectors within mid-July 2017. Earlier, they were told to maintain the lending in these sectors at 12 percent within the same deadline.
Unveiling the monetary policy, Chirajeevi Nepal, governor of Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of the country, said the measure was taken in line with the priorities of Nepalese government as outlined in the budget for the next fiscal year presented on May 28.
The budget has given special focus on hydropower and agriculture as a part of "kick-start year" for the "Decade of Economic Growth."
Nepal is expected to witness a 14-year low economic growth of 0.77 percent this fiscal year while inflation has remained at 9.9 percent. Enditem
