Pledged Chinese FDI commitment in Nepal surges in Q1 of FY 2021-22

KATHMANDU, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Chinese investors pledged investments into Nepal in the first quarter of the current 2021-22 fiscal year close to the amount they committed in the entire 2020-21 fiscal year, Nepal's Department of Industry said.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) committed by Chinese investors totaled 21.91 billion Nepali rupees (182.41 million U.S. dollars) during the first three months of the current fiscal year starting in mid-July, which accounts for 97.37 percent of the total investments pledged by Chinese investors during the whole 2020-21 fiscal year, showed data released by the department.

Nepal received a total of 22.5 billion Nepali rupees (187.32 million U.S. dollars) in FDI commitment in the previous fiscal year.

"Chinese investors have been at the forefront of pledging the highest investments in Nepal for the last several years and it is a continuation of that trend," Jiblal Bhusal, the department's director general, told Xinhua.

China had topped in the FDI commitments to Nepal for six years in a row till the last fiscal year, according to the agency.

Bhusal attributed more FDI commitments to fewer COVID-19 cases in the country. On Saturday, Nepal reported 297 new infections, as new cases have remained in hundreds for weeks, according to the Ministry of Health and Population.

Though regular flights between Nepal and China have remained halted, local agents have been working on behalf of the Chinese investors, said Bhusal.

The Chinese investors had registered 92 enterprises in Nepal in the past three months, covering hotels and restaurants, international cargo handling, mask manufacturing, construction service, software development, packaged drinking water, assembling of electric vehicles and furniture, among others, according to the department.

Nepal received a total of 23.71 billion Nepali rupees (197.4 million U.S. dollars) in FDI commitment in the first three months of the current fiscal year.