<p>Nepal’s Prime Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/pushpa-kamal-dahal" target="_blank">Pushpa Kamal Dahal </a>on Friday named centrist politician and economic expert Prakash Sharan Mahat as finance minister, a presidential statement said, as the country tackles falling revenue collection and high-interest rates.</p>.<p>Mahat has previously served in the foreign and energy ministries and is a member of the centrist Nepali Congress party, the biggest group in the nine-party coalition.</p>.<p>He replaces Bishnu Paudel of the Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party, which pulled out of the government last month amid differences with the prime minister.</p>.<p>The 64-year-old is considered an expert on the economy.</p>.<p>Nepal has shored up its foreign exchange reserves after the government last April restricted imports of 10 “non-essential” goods.</p>.<p>However, its manufacturing sector has been stymied by power shortages and a lack of investment, while government revenue collection has been poor, crimping growth in the $40 billion economy.</p>.<p>Gross domestic product in the year to mid-July is expected to decline from the 5.8 per cent growth recorded last year, officials told Reuters.</p>.<p>“The biggest challenge of the finance minister is to create a conducive atmosphere for investment and win the confidence of all stakeholders including the common people,” Deependra Bahadur Kshetri, a former governor of the central bank, told Reuters.</p>.<p>In addition, businesses are protesting against high lending rates, which now stand at about 13 per cent compared with 12 per cent a year ago, demanding that interest be cut to single digits.</p>.<p>Annual inflation eased to 7.88 per cent in mid-February, but this is still above the central bank target of 7 per cent.</p>
<p>Nepal’s Prime Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tag/pushpa-kamal-dahal" target="_blank">Pushpa Kamal Dahal </a>on Friday named centrist politician and economic expert Prakash Sharan Mahat as finance minister, a presidential statement said, as the country tackles falling revenue collection and high-interest rates.</p>.<p>Mahat has previously served in the foreign and energy ministries and is a member of the centrist Nepali Congress party, the biggest group in the nine-party coalition.</p>.<p>He replaces Bishnu Paudel of the Communist Unified Marxist-Leninist (UML) party, which pulled out of the government last month amid differences with the prime minister.</p>.<p>The 64-year-old is considered an expert on the economy.</p>.<p>Nepal has shored up its foreign exchange reserves after the government last April restricted imports of 10 “non-essential” goods.</p>.<p>However, its manufacturing sector has been stymied by power shortages and a lack of investment, while government revenue collection has been poor, crimping growth in the $40 billion economy.</p>.<p>Gross domestic product in the year to mid-July is expected to decline from the 5.8 per cent growth recorded last year, officials told Reuters.</p>.<p>“The biggest challenge of the finance minister is to create a conducive atmosphere for investment and win the confidence of all stakeholders including the common people,” Deependra Bahadur Kshetri, a former governor of the central bank, told Reuters.</p>.<p>In addition, businesses are protesting against high lending rates, which now stand at about 13 per cent compared with 12 per cent a year ago, demanding that interest be cut to single digits.</p>.<p>Annual inflation eased to 7.88 per cent in mid-February, but this is still above the central bank target of 7 per cent.</p>