The Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) concluded its 57th annual general body meeting on 12 April, 2023. The grand gathering also held election for the new leadership. For the post of Senior Vice President Anjan Shrestha was elected. Anjan Shrestha, Umesh Lal Shrestha and Ramchandra Sanghai were contesting for the top elected post of the FNCCI. According to the FNCCI statute, in the first phase election any one must secure more than 50 per cent of votes to be elected for the post of Sr. Vice President. But no one of three received enough to get declared in the first phase. The second phase election was prepared to conduct voting between Anjan Shrestha and Umesh Lal Shrestha who received 37.99per cent and 31.71 per cent respectively. In the first phase, Sanghai stood behind the second highest by a thin margin. However, Umesh Lal Shrestha supported Anjan Shrestha to be declared winner by withdrawing from the election procedure.
Before, leaving the election procedure, Umesh Lal Shrestha addressed the FNCCI gathering for election that the election procedure needs to reform to avoid unhealthy and filthy competition. He stressed to make elections not much expensive also.
After elections were declared, the outgoing president Shekhar Golchha handed over presidential responsibility to Chandra Prasad Dhakal who automatically elevated the be President form Senior Vice President, as per the statute of the organisation. Similarly, Golchha become the Immediate Past President which is also an honoured designation in the organisation’s executive team.
Earlier, Hem Raj Dhakal, Sur Krishna Baidya and Jyotsna Shrestha were declared winners for the posts of vice presidents representing commodity sector, district and municipalities sector, and associates sector respectively.
Chandra Prasad Dhakal, who was the senior vice-president and become now President, is the founder chairman of the IME Group. He leads more than two dozen businesses related to remittance, banking, information technology, energy, tourism, automobile, insurance and entertainment, among others.
The newly elected Senior Vice President Shrestha is the executive director of the Laxmi Group, a conglomerate of Sujal Food and Dairy Products, packaging industry, automobile trading, infrastructure, steel manufacturing and agriculture, among others. Shrestha will be automatically promoted to the position of the FNCCI president after three years.
Anjan Shrestha has been engaged in lobby and advocacy for the better financial and banking environment for the business community including trading business. Lowering rate of interest that commercial banks are charging is his one of agenda.
The elections of the apex body of Nepal’s business sector had elected 14 executive members for the commodity sector, 18 from the chambers sector, 19 from associate sector, 7 provincial representatives and 1 representation from founders’ group.
