Foreign Investment Commitments Cross Rs. 60 Billion in 11 Months, Over Rs. 3.5 Billion in Jestha Alone

Nepal has received foreign investment commitments exceeding Rs. 60.60 billion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year. According to the Department of Industry, approvals through the certification system accounted for Rs. 56.74 billion, while the automated route contributed Rs. 3.86 billion. These investments were pledged for 717 industrial ventures.

Of the total, 347 industries were approved under the certification process, and 370 industries received approvals through the automated system. Additionally, Share Purchase Agreements (SPA) and Share Subscription Agreements (SSA) led to commitments worth Rs. 1.96 billion across 32 industries. Technology Transfer Agreements (TTA) were approved for 66 industries.

The department reports that out of the 717 approved industries, 702 were small-scale, 9 medium, and 6 large-scale industries. If realized, these investments could generate employment for 17,255 individuals.

Till date, Nepal has received a total foreign investment commitment of Rs. 590.35 billion for 7,116 industries—Rs. 11.98 billion via the automated route and Rs. 578.36 billion through the approval system. If all commitments materialize, they could create 345,165 jobs.

The majority of foreign investment commitments were made in the Information Technology and Tourism sectors. IT received 313.44%, tourism 266.37%, service 76.11%, manufacturing 48.7%, agriculture 11.11%, infrastructure 2%, and energy just 1% of the total commitments.

Specifically, the tourism sector saw commitments for 266 industries totaling Rs. 23.94 billion. The service sector attracted Rs. 30.44 billion across 76 industries. The IT sector received Rs. 1.57 billion for 313 projects. Manufacturing saw Rs. 3.12 billion for 48 industries, agriculture Rs. 1.44 billion for 11 industries, and infrastructure Rs. 50 million for 2 industries.

In the month of Jestha alone, Nepal received foreign direct investment commitments worth over Rs. 3.5 billion across 141 industries. The approval route accounted for the majority, with Rs. 3.04 billion across 53 industries, while the automated route contributed Rs. 501.7 million from 88 industries.

From Shrawan to Jestha, foreign investors repatriated Rs. 9.6 billion in dividends with Department approval. In the same period last year, the approved dividend repatriation stood at Rs. 9.97 billion.

Royalty repatriation during this period reached Rs. 1.68 billion. This includes USD 991,720, INR 831.7 million, and EUR 61,431. In Jestha alone, dividend repatriation approvals stood at Rs. 87.8 million, while royalty repatriation approvals included Rs. 161.5 million, USD 552,289, and INR 425.1 million.