all these facts warrant member countries to evaluate the trend and i urge all the fellow governors to rethink on how we can better serve the enshrined objectives of establishment of the acu. 17. since the establishment of acu, nepal has always been an active member. with regard to our activities under acu, the share of nepal on total transactions of the acu member countries routed through acu mechanism accounts for roughly 1 percent, which has remained almost the same over the last few years. 18. in this opportune occasion, i would like to reiterate my firm commitment and belief in the mission of our union. apart from improving the existing operational mechanism of acu to enhance efficiency of the union, i am optimistic that this forum would also explore new avenues of co - operation that will further simplify the existing payment mechanism in order to facilitate trade amongst member countries and enhance monetary as well as technical cooperation among us. 19. before concluding, i would like to once again express my utmost thanks to the central bank of sri lanka for the kind hospitality and excellent arrangements rendered for this important meeting. thank you very much!

7. nepal has followed a liberal foreign investment policy, and a need for investment - friendly environment is recognized everywhere in nepal. recent commitments in the areas of foreign investment show the huge attraction among foreign investors. currently, the stock of fdi stands around rs. 114 billion ( 5. 1 percent of gdp ), which is mainly in the areas of energy, manufacturing, service, tourism, minerals, and financial services. 8. nepal has signed the bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement ( bippa ) with six countries including france, germany, uk, mauritius, finland and india. commitment from these counties covers more than half of the total foreign investment. 9. legal reforms are underway in the areas of investment and exchange regulations. amendment in the acts relating to foreign investment and foreign exchange management will pave ways for foreign investors in nepal. public procurement act has already been amended. new labor act is under discussion. we are also in the process of formulating the ppp act. further, nepal rastra bank has been facilitating foreign investors through flexible approaches in foreign exchange regulations. these reforms will be instrumental in promoting investment friendly environment in nepal. ladies and gentlemen, 10. the number of financial institutions increased significantly after the adoption of the liberal economic policy in 1980s. out of 28 commercial banks, we have 7 joint venture banks. this shows the trust among foreign investors on nepal's institutional and policy framework. 11. nepal's financial system is sound and well regulated. in addition to a low level of nonperforming loans and a wider bank - branch network, the planned hike in paid - up capital of banks is geared to supporting infrastructure financing. the banking industry, which is in the phase of consolidation, is in its capacity building process for large project financing. 12. further, we are in the process of laying the ground work for establishing specialized entities for infrastructure development. a legal framework to establish infrastructure development bank has already been crafted. this will move ahead once the bafia gets the seal of affirmation from the president. the provision for infrastructure bank will also encourage private sector to participate in nation building. 13. our financial policies are directed towards creating real economic value, promoting sustainable development and contributing to long term productivity growth. nrb has made mandatory provisions for commercial banks to invest at least one - fifth of their resources in the designated productive sectors. of which, at least 15 percent of the loan should be extended to agriculture and energy sectors. similarly, a provision of counting bank loans