FDI commitments rise by 18.34% compared to the same period last FY
KATHMANDU, Feb 16: Nepal received foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges worth Rs 26.84 billion in the first seven months of the current Fiscal Year (FY), an 18.34 percent increase compared to the same period in FY 2023/24.
Records from the Department of Industry (DoI) show that the country's FDI commitment increased by Rs 4.16 billion in monetary value between mid-July 2024 and mid-February 2025. In the same period last fiscal year, foreign investors registered projects worth Rs 22.68 billion.
Of the pledged amount this year, Nepal received commitments of Rs 2.67 billion in foreign capital through the automatic route. The remaining Rs 24.17 billion was recorded under the manual process.
Nepal receives FDI commitment worth Rs 25.31 billion in first s...
The government has been facilitating potential foreign investors through the automatic route system, which has been online since October 2023. Through this system, the government provides permits for FDI in seven specific sectors, including energy, agriculture and forestry, infrastructure, tourism, information technology, services, and manufacturing industries.
Under the automatic route, foreign investors can apply from abroad to invest up to Rs 500 million and receive pre-approval through the online system. According to the DoI, foreign investors interested in IT-related projects have been using this system to secure approvals.
This year, potential foreign investors have pledged investment in 386 different projects. According to the DoI, 216 projects have been registered in the tourism and service sectors, making up 56 percent of the total.
Recently, foreign investors have shown significant interest in Nepal’s tourism and service sectors. In the review period this year, the tourism sector received the largest investment commitments, with 168 firms pledging Rs 17.32 billion, accounting for 64.53 percent of the total pledged amount.
The service sector ranked second, with 48 firms receiving foreign investment commitments worth Rs 5.69 billion, or 19.8 percent of the total committed amount during the period.
According to the DoI, foreign investors pledged Rs 1.94 billion through share purchase agreements, share subscription agreements, and technology transfer agreements.
Out of the total foreign projects registered during the review period, 375 were small projects, while seven were medium-sized and four were large projects. The government aims to attract foreign projects worth Rs 44 billion in total for the current fiscal year.
