Foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments surged by a whopping 113.68 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
According to the Department of Industry (DoI), Nepal received FDI commitments worth Rs 35.13bn for 311 projects during the review period.
In comparison, such commitments had stood at Rs 16.44bn for 204 projects in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year.
The DoI’s monthly report shows that it received FDI commitments worth Rs 2.04bn for 75 projects in the third month (mid-September to mid-October) of the current fiscal year alone.
The department also approved share purchase and share subscription approvals worth Rs 2.02bn for 18 projects, along with technology transfer approvals for 16 projects during the first quarter.
Nepal had received FDI commitments worth Rs 24.1bn for 127 projects in the first month (mid-July to mid-August) and Rs 8.98bn for 109 projects in the second month (mid-August to mid-September).
The 311 new FDI projects approved in the first quarter have pledged to create 1,660 jobs.
Of these, 300 are small-scale industries, seven are large industries, and four are medium-scale industries.
The ICT sector remained the most popular among foreign investors, with 162 projects receiving FDI commitments. Tourism followed with 103 projects, while Services (19), Manufacturing (15), Agro and Forestry-based (11), and Energy (1) accounted for the rest. No FDI commitments were recorded in the Mineral and Infrastructure sectors.
In terms of committed amounts, however, Tourism led with FDI pledges worth Rs 1.46bn, followed by Manufacturing (Rs 211m), Services (Rs 181m), ICT (Rs 153.73m), and Agro and Forestry-based (Rs 40m).
Nepal’s total FDI commitments for fiscal year 2024/25 stood at Rs 64.96bn for 840 projects, which had pledged to create 19,536 new jobs.
However, there remains a significant gap between commitments and actual inflows. According to the Nepal Rastra Bank, only 37.89 percent of total FDI commitments—amounting to Rs 395.92bn—have been realized so far.
