A three-member panel constituted to pick the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Investment Board of Nepal has shortlisted four candidates, including the incumbent CEO Radhesh Pant, for the job.

Other shortlisted candidates are Maha Prasad Adhikari, former deputy governor of Nepal Rastra Bank; Ramesh Nath Bastola, former executive director of Road Board Nepal; and Saroj Koirala, according to a source at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

The panel, headed by Minister for Finance Bishnu Poudel, has National Planning Commission Vice-Chairman Yubaraj Khatiwada and former government secretary Keshav Bhattarai as members.

 The panel has asked the candidates to make presentations on their strategy and plan on Tuesday.

“The selection panel will then pick three names and recommend them to the Cabinet,” said the source. “The next Cabinet meeting will appoint the new IBN CEO.” The four candidates were shortlisted from a total of eight applicants. Prakash Awasthi, Surendra Kumar Poudel, Khadga Bahadur Bishta and Bishwo Lal Shrestha were the other aspirants to the job.

As per the Investment Board Act, fast-track roads, railways, international and regional airports, fertiliser factories and petroleum refineries come under its purview. The Investment Board of Nepal  also oversees foreign investments coming in major projects and banks and financial institutions, medical colleges and hospitals above 300 beds, hydropower projects with more than 500MW capacity and special economic zones.   

As per IBN regulation, the CEO candidates are marked under four criteria: qualification and experience; proposed business programme, plan and work-plan; strategic discussion or interview or both and moral values, social standing and personality.

The qualification and experience of the candidate carries 15 percentage points and proposed business programme, plan and work-plan carries 50 percentage points. Similarly strategic discussion or interview or both carries 25 percentage points and 10 percentage points are for moral values, social standing and personality.

The IBN was set up as a one-step service centre for foreign and local investors willing to bring investment projects worth Rs 10 billion during the Baburam Bhattarai-led government in 2011, and Pant was appointed the CEO.

Following the constitution promulgation, the Sushil Koirala-led government had extended Pant’s tenure by another four years. But

The KP Oli-led government, formed in October last year, which was for finding a replacement for Pant, had later decided to let him continue “until next arrangement”.

Pant, who left Kumari Bank as the CEO to join the IBN, is credited for setting up institutional framework of the IBN and two important power development agreements with Indian developers GMR and SJVN to develop Upper Karnali and Arun III hydropower projects respectively.

In the race

• Radhesh Pant, incumbent CEO
• Maha Prasad Adhikari, former deputy governor of NRB
• Ramesh Nath Bastola, former executive director of Road Board Nepal
• Saroj Koirala