KATHMANDU: Out of 44 public institutions operating in Nepal, only 26 have been found to be profitable.

According to the Annual Status Review of Public Enterprises presented to parliament by the Ministry of Finance on Sunday, 26 institutions were profitable in the fiscal year (FY) 2022/23, 15 were in loss, and three had zero turnover. The total operating income of these institutions is Rs 661.01 billion.

Compared to FY 2021/22, the net profit of public institutions has increased. The net profit for FY 2022/23 reached Rs 48.51 billion. The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) played a crucial role in this increase, making a profit of Rs 11.72 billion last year, after a loss of Rs 38.17 billion the previous year.

The government’s total investment in public institutions increased by 8.62 percent to Rs 661 billion compared to the previous fiscal year. This includes Rs 379 billion in share investments and Rs 281 billion in loan investments. Public institutions have provided employment to 32,180 people, contributing to the overall profit increase to Rs 61.14 billion.

As of last year, 20 institutions have been audited. The most profitable are NOC, Nepal Electricity Authority, Nepal Telecommunications Authority, Citizen Investment Trust, and Deposit and Credit Guarantee Fund.

Conversely, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Nepal Water Supply Corporation, Dairy Development Corporation, Udayapur Cement Industries Limited, and Nepal Television reported the highest losses.

As far as the ownership is concerned, the government fully owns twenty public institutions while it has majority shares in twenty four public institutions.

Meanwhile, out of 18 privatized institutions, 10 are profitable. According to the Ministry of Finance, the administrative expenses of public institutions amount to Rs 43.10 billion per year.