South Asian Business news and information

Two days ago, I wrote about 'The annual Economic and Social Survey of Asia and Pacific 2006' of ESCAP. Today, I like to discuss about what the report has said regarding Nepalese economy. Unfortunately,  the document does not contain too many good words about Nepal. The report says:

 'Economic growth in Nepal declined from a rate of 3.7 per cent in 2004 to 2.6 per cent in 2005 owing to weak performance of the agricultural sector, which accounts for 40 per cent of the country’s GDP.'

 Due to internal conflict, everyday economic activities frequently get disrupted in Nepal these days. As a result, tourism and hotel business did not grow as expected. Rising oil price in the international market is a major concern for Nepalese economy.  

 ESCAP report mentioned some bright side of Nepalese economy too. The share market also saw healthy growth. Nepal is also doing fine in terms of poverty reduction.

 Finally, ESCAP report says that Nepalese economy can do better in 2006 than last year if the political conflict does not go out of control.