Significant Drop in FDI Commitments in Saun Month, Limited to NPR 377 Crores
The Industry Department has reported a total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) commitment of NPR 377 crores in Saun month of the current fiscal year 2083/84. Investment commitments were made across 191 industrial projects during Saun, marking a substantial decrease compared to NPR 2.41 billion recorded in the same month last year. The Information Technology sector saw the registration of 128 industries, while the tourism sector registered 33 industries with an investment commitment totaling NPR 163.78 crores. (2 Bhadra, Kathmandu)
In the first month of the fiscal year 2083/84, FDI commitments stood at just NPR 377 crores, spread over 191 industrial projects according to the Industry Department. This represents a sharp decline from the NPR 2.41 billion committed during the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year 2082/83.
In the previous fiscal year, investment commitments were made across 127 projects. That year, the largest single investment commitment was secured by the “Processed Cooked Buffalo Meat Factory” company, which exports buffalo meat to China. The project accounted for NPR 2.045 billion in commitments last year, whereas this fiscal year’s large investment commitment came from only one industry. Other investments were mostly medium to small scale.
This year, the highest FDI commitments were registered through the Automatic Route. Following the government’s removal of the upper limit on investments under this route, approvals via the Automatic Route have increased significantly.
The Information Technology (IT) sector dominated approved FDI in Saun, with 128 registered industries. However, total FDI commitments in this sector amounted to NPR 56.98 crores only.
The tourism sector ranked second in terms of number of industries registered, with 33 registrations and investment commitments reaching NPR 163.78 crores, according to the Industry Department. Service-based industries came in third with 19 registrations and NPR 68.2 crores in committed investments. Manufacturing industries stood fourth with 9 registered projects and commitments totaling NPR 84.32 crores. Additionally, although only one industry each was registered in agriculture and energy sectors, the investment commitments were nearly identical, limited to approximately NPR 2 crores each.