Govt Moots NOC Loan Write Off

The government is considering to write off the loans advanced to Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC). Shankar Prasad Koirala, Finance Minister said that the ministry is discussing over the agenda. At present, the NOC’s total debt to the government and financial institutions is around Rs 28.50 billion, out of which Rs 12.64 billion is borrowed from the government to finance petroleum imports. Proposal to write off Rs 12.64 billion was sent to the Finance Ministry two weeks ago. NOC will be the second public enterprise since last year to enjoy the government largesse, if the proposal gets approved. The government had written off Nepal Electricity Authority’s loan worth Rs 27.53 billion in January 2012.