A meeting of the Industrial Promotion Board (IPB) on Tuesday approved the proposal of Nepal Metal Company Limited (NMCL) to increase its capital to Rs 9.8 billion from Rs 330 million. The board is chaired by Industry Minister Som Prasad Pandey.  

The proposal to increase the budget has been approved at a time when businesses have been severely hit due to political unrest in the Tarai.

The government has 76 percent stake in Nepal Metal Company. The rest of the shares belong to various government and private companies and the general public.

According to DoI, companies such as Mutual Trading Company, NIDC (Nepal Industrial Development Corporation Development Bank) and a Chinese company command rest of the stakes in the company, apart from public shares. The Mutual Trading Company is a subsidiary of Khetan Group which has stakes in a number of manufacturing and service industries.

“After reviewing the proposal thoroughly, we have accepted the company’s proposal to increase the capital,” Maheswar Neupane, director general of the Department of Industry said. “The company has met all the requirements.”

 According to Neupane, the company had filed a proposal at the DOI seeking to increase the capital in line with the decision approved by its recently held annual general meeting (AGM). As per the plan, the government will capitalise the loan amount and private stakeholders will be responsible for making further investment. “The company aims at exploring minerals and increasing its production capacity,” Neupane said, adding that the company will have to acquire mining sites by acquiring permission from the department as its proposal of investment increment has been passed. Nepal Metal Company Limited was established in 1976 with an aim of extracting zinc-lead ores in Dhading district. However, it has not come into the operation so far. “Despite having enormous potential, the company has not come into the operation so far. The company requires a huge and credible investment to fulfil its objectives,” Bimal Wagle, chairman of Public Enterprises Board, said.