June 7: Foreign investment commitment to Nepal has declined by 9.66 percent as of mid-April of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

According to the statistics of the Department of Industry, 151 projects have received a total of Rs 27.03 billion foreign investment commitment as of mid-April 2021. In the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, such commitment amounted to Rs 29.92 billion. The investment commitment in each of these two fiscal years is greater than that of the pervious fiscal years, before the outbreak of Covid-19.

In 2018-19 the investment commitment was Rs 11.57 billion for 268 projects. Projects backed by foreign investment in the country were estimated to decline after coronavirus outbreak in Nepal in March 2020. However, the data of the Department of Industry shows that the pandemic has not adversely affected investment commitment compared to the previous fiscal years.

As per the commitment recorded in the current fiscal year, the pledged projects are expected to create employment opportunities for 4,535 people.

Director-General of the Department, Jiv Lal Bhusal, confirmed that the investment commitment has declined in the current fiscal  year. He informed even in such a situation, the investment pledge has remained positive. 

The department believes foreign investment commitment in this fiscal year would have been greater than the previous year if the second wave of coronavirus had not occurred.

"Even if foreign investment declines a little, it doesn't seem to be discouraging overall. It's just because of the current circumstances," he added.