April 23: Although Nepal expects to attract a large amount of foreign direct investment (FDI), the actual investment has been marginal. However, the country has been holding investment conferences to attract huge FDIs but has only received  Rs 110 billion so far, which is 34.1 percent of the total commitment amount.

Although foreign investors have expressed their intention and commitment to bring billions of rupees to Nepal in investment conferences held at different times, it seems that the country has received very little investment. A report on 'Foreign Direct Investment in Nepal' released by Nepal Rastra Bank on April 21 shows that the investment received by Nepal is not in accordance to the investment approved by the foreign investors.
From FY 2052/53 to FY 2076/77, Nepal has approved FDIs of Rs 325.52 billion. However, the actual investment received by the country is much less than the commitment made by the investors. The Department of Industry and the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) register the projects comprising foreign investment. The amount received by the registered projects is also less. In some years,  it has been observed that the outflow of money from the country seems to be more than the inflow of investment.
The government held an investment summit in March 2017 BS and 2019 to attract foreign investment.
Likewise, the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), a private sector organization, held the 'Nepal Infrastructure Conference' in August 2018.
Nepal is eager to attract foreign investment, but there are procedural and policy hurdles.   Issues like investment security have discouraged investors to invest. Even if the foreign investment projects are registered and approved, not all investments come in the same year.
For the first time, the government has made a provision to bring 100 percent amount of the approved investment within 1 to 2 years

By amending the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer (FITTA) Rules-2077 BS.

Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Board of Investment Radhesh Pant said that regulation was made as the investors would not invest in the absence of a conducive environment.
According to a survey conducted by the Central Bank in 2060/61, Nepal approved an FDI of Rs 2.76 billion but received zero investment.
"South Asian countries like the Maldives and Bhutan have received more FDI than Nepal," added Panta.
He said that even though the Investment Board was established to attract investment, but nothing has improved. He argues that the tendency of government not to consider the private sector as a partner is less likely to attract investment even by partnering with foreign investors.
How will investors come when there are multiple hurdles, argues Pant. The government needs to facilitate investors' by making the compliance hassle-free from project registration to the field, he questioned.
He suggests that the investment will only increase if the project bank shows that Nepal is safe for investment.
According to the central bank, in some years, investors have taken away around 23 percent of the approved FDI, out of Nepal. In 2058/59, 23.3 percent of the investment approved by Nepal was taken back by foreign investors.

According to the NRB report, 51.1 percent or half of the amount approved in Nepal in 2076/77 has already come in. This year, Rs. 38.15 billion has been approved, while Nepal has already received Rs. 19.47 billion.