Nepal Secures Over Rs 53 Billion in Foreign Investment Commitments in First Ten Months of Fiscal Year
n the first ten months of the current fiscal year 2023/24, Nepal has secured foreign investment commitments totaling over Rs 53 billion. According to the Department of Industry (DoI), these commitments span 420 projects, encompassing both new and existing initiatives.
For new projects, investment commitments have reached Rs 41.38 billion across 307 projects. Additionally, Rs 9.47 billion has been pledged for 92 established projects through Share Purchase Agreements (SPA) and Share Subscription Agreements (SSA). Following the government’s investment summit held on April 28 and 29, commitments amounting to Rs 13.85 billion were secured in late April alone.
The DoI's automated system, operational since April 28, has approved Rs 2.15 billion in investments. This system streamlines the process by automatically approving foreign investments up to Rs 500 million.
According to the DoI, 47 percent of the foreign investment pledges received in the first ten months were directed towards the tourism sector. The service industry attracted 34 percent of the investments, followed by 11 percent for the manufacturing sector, 3 percent for the information and technology industry, 2 percent for the infrastructure and agriculture sectors, and 1 percent for the mining and energy sector.
This year's investment commitments are nearly Rs 12 billion higher than the Rs 41 billion pledged by mid-April of the previous fiscal year. Arjun Sen Oli, Information Officer of the DoI, highlighted that the investment summit alone garnered commitments exceeding Rs 16 billion across various projects.
Furthermore, by mid-April, Rs 241.7 million have been returned to investors. Foreign investors have repatriated Rs 9.29 billion in profits from their Nepal-based projects during this period. Additionally, data from the Department of Customs show that investors have taken back about Rs 3.5 billion in royalties by mid-April of the current fiscal year.
