Fiscal Nepal
First Business News Portal in English from Nepal
KATHMANDU: Nepal recorded foreign investment commitments worth more than Rs 38.59 billion during the first five months of the current fiscal year, reflecting steady interest from foreign investors despite ongoing economic challenges.
According to data released by the Department of Industry, foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments amounting to over Rs 38.59 billion were approved through projects sanctioned between mid-July (Shrawan) and mid-December (Mangsir). During the review period, a total of 438 foreign investment–related projects received approval.
In terms of the number of projects, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector emerged as the leading destination. Of the total approved projects, 236 were ICT-related, accounting for more than half of all foreign-invested projects. Officials note that growing demand for digital services, software development, IT outsourcing, and technology-based startups has driven strong project inflows into the ICT sector, which is expected to enhance its contribution to the national economy in the coming years.
However, in terms of total investment volume, the agriculture and forest-based industry sector ranked first. This sector alone attracted foreign investment commitments of nearly Rs 22 billion. Large-scale projects in agro-processing, herbal products, forest-based industries, and export-oriented ventures significantly boosted the overall investment value in this segment.
The tourism sector also secured a notable share of foreign investment. According to the Department of Industry, 135 tourism-related projects were approved during the five-month period, with proposed investments exceeding Rs 10 billion. Foreign investors have shown sustained interest in hotels, resorts, adventure tourism, and service-oriented tourism projects.
Sector-wise data show that ICT accounted for 54 percent of total approved projects, followed by tourism with 31 percent. The service sector and manufacturing sector each accounted for 6 percent, while agriculture represented 3 percent. Despite the large number of ICT projects, the total investment amount in the sector remained limited to around Rs 1 billion, highlighting the relatively small scale of most technology-based ventures.
Based on project size, out of the 438 approved industries, 423 were classified as small-scale, eight as medium-scale, and only seven as large-scale industries. This distribution indicates that foreign investment in Nepal remains largely concentrated in small and service-driven projects rather than capital-intensive large industries.
The Department of Industry further stated that in the month of Mangsir alone, foreign investment commitments worth approximately Rs 1.91 billion were approved across 56 industries, the majority of which were small-scale enterprises. During the same period, foreign investors also received approval to repatriate more than Rs 1.62 billion in royalty payments.
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