Foreign Direct Investment Commitment Reaches NPR 58.1 Billion in FY 2082/83

Kathmandu. In the last one year, i.e., the last fiscal year 2082/83, the commitment of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has reached NPR 58.1 billion 1 crore 85 lakh 305 rupees. According to the Department of Industry, FDI worth NPR 58.1 billion 1 crore 85 lakh 305 rupees was approved from Shrawan to the end of Ashad. This commitment is about NPR 7 billion less than in the previous fiscal year 2081/82. In that fiscal year, a commitment of approximately NPR 65 billion was received. Foreign investors had committed investments worth NPR 64.96 billion 51 lakh 43 thousand from Shrawan to Ashad of the last fiscal year 2081/82. Of this, NPR 60.35 billion was through the approval system and NPR 4.61 billion through the automatic system, totaling NPR 64.96 billion in investment commitments. This investment commitment was received for 840 industries. Last year, there was an encouraging FDI commitment in foreign direct investment in Nepal. During this period, NPR 9.58 billion was approved through the automatic route and NPR 48.41 billion through the approval route for 97 projects. The last month of the fiscal year, Ashad, alone saw an investment commitment of NPR 10.38 billion 41 lakh. In this month, approvals were granted for a total of 202 industries/projects. It is projected that 2,078 people will get employment through foreign investment in the month of Ashad alone. In the month of Jestha 2083 alone, foreign investment worth NPR 2.29 billion 53 lakh was approved, and a total of 186 projects were approved. In the last fiscal year, the total investment commitment came through 1,116 companies. 219 companies were registered through the approval route and 897 companies through the automatic route. Through this, an environment has been created for the creation of employment for a total of 28,423 people from foreign investment industries during this period. Out of 1,116 approved projects in one year, 1,090 are small-scale industries, while 12 are medium-scale. 12 large-scale industries have also been approved. The department stated that the government has approved 7,424 investments for the registration of 5,464 industries so far, with a commitment of NPR 671.09 billion 87 lakh in foreign investment. Former Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, Dr. Chiranjibi Nepal, stated that it is necessary to increase domestic investment to build capital and encourage foreign investment. "We need to make diplomatic and policy initiatives to make Nepal an investment destination. Unless we provide better facilities than India and China, the possibility of foreign investment coming is low," he said. 12 Months Data (Shrawan-Ashad) In the fiscal year 2082/83, a total of 1,116 foreign investment projects have been approved. During this period, a total investment commitment of NPR 58.1 billion 1 crore 85 lakh 305 rupees has come to Nepal. Of these, 1,090 are small, 12 are medium, and 12 are large industries. During this period, employment has been proposed for a total of 28,423 people. According to the Department of Industry, the agriculture and forest-based sector appears to be the most attractive in terms of investment. The agriculture and forest product-based sector appears to be the most advanced in terms of investment amount. 40 percent of the total commitment, i.e., NPR 23.18 billion 80 lakh, has come to the agriculture sector alone. However, in terms of the number of projects, the information and communication technology sector has shown the most attraction. Although the number of projects is small, the agriculture and forest product-based sector appears to be the most advanced in terms of investment volume. For this sector, an investment commitment of NPR 23.18 billion 80 lakh has been received for only 18 projects. This accounts for about 40 percent of the total investment amount. In terms of the number of projects, the information technology sector has shown considerable attraction from investors. Out of a total of 1,116 projects, 727 projects (about 65 percent) are from the information technology sector alone. An investment commitment of NPR 2.83 billion 34 lakh has come to this sector. In the tourism sector, an investment commitment of NPR 13.99 billion 74 lakh 50 thousand has been received through 227 projects. In terms of amount, this is the second largest sector after agriculture. Similarly, although there are only 4 projects in the energy sector, a large investment commitment of NPR 7.16 billion 86 lakh has come. In the service sector, NPR 4.91 billion 40 lakh for 71 projects, in the manufacturing sector, NPR 3.91 billion 87 thousand 532 rupees for 63 projects, in infrastructure, there are 2 projects for which NPR 1.80 billion 44 lakh 22 thousand 900 rupees, and in mineral-based, NPR 18.50 crore has been committed for 4 projects. The agriculture, tourism, and energy sectors appear to be the main choices for large investments, while the information technology and service sectors show more interest from investors for small and numerous projects. According to the department's comparative graph, there has been fluctuation in investment during the one year of the current fiscal year. The highest investment (around NPR 25 billion) of the year was approved in the initial month of the fiscal year, Shrawan. In the month of Bhadra, investment decreased compared to Shrawan. From Ashwin to Magh, the investment graph dropped to a very low point. Investment was lowest in the months of Mangsir and Poush. In the month of Falgun, there was some improvement in the investment graph. Last Shrawan, the highest investment of about NPR 24 billion was approved for the year, while in Bhadra, it decreased to about NPR 9 billion. In the following months, investment commitments were around NPR 3 billion in Ashwin, NPR 1.50 billion each in Kartik and Mangsir, and around NPR 1 billion in Poush. The investment reached NPR 1.50 billion again in Magh and dropped to about NPR 1 billion in Falgun. Investment reached about NPR 3 billion in Baishakh after being NPR 1 billion in Chaitra, and in Jestha, NPR 2.29 billion was approved. The month of Ashad saw an increase, with investment exceeding NPR 10 billion approved. Foreign Aid Increases to Eight-Year High In the fiscal year 2082/83, foreign aid worth NPR 31.26 billion has been received. The government had set a target of bringing in NPR 53.44 billion in foreign aid. However, it has succeeded in receiving 58.5 percent of the target in foreign aid. However, compared to the previous fiscal year 2081/82, aid has increased this year. Last year, NPR 23.52 billion in foreign aid was received. In that year, 44.97 percent of the target of NPR 52.32 billion was received. While the aid provided by donor organizations has been decreasing in recent years, this year it has been the highest in 8 years. The aid received so far is the highest compared to both the target and the amount set in the last 8 years. The Ministry of Finance stated that there has been an improvement in receiving aid compared to previous years. The ministry stated that the improvement in aid is due to the work done on projects as per the agreements made while receiving foreign aid. In the budget of fiscal year 2074/75, a target of NPR 72.16 billion in aid was set. Of this, NPR 39.31 billion in aid was received by the end of the year. This was 54 percent of the annual target. However, in fiscal year 2071-72, 52 percent of the annual target was received. In that year, NPR 38.17 billion was received against a target of NPR 73.38 billion. Similarly, in fiscal year 2074/75, 54 percent of the target was received. In the fiscal year 2080/81, the target was to receive NPR 49.94 billion in foreign aid, but only 5.52 percent, i.e., NPR 2.75 billion 80 lakh, was received. In the fiscal year 2079/80, it was estimated that NPR 55.45 billion in foreign aid would be received. Of this, NPR 21.67 billion was received. This was 39 percent of the annual target. Similarly, in the fiscal year 2078/79, the government's aid target was NPR 59.91 billion, of which NPR 18.29 billion was received. This was 30 percent of the annual target.