Investment Summit draws commitment of Rs. 1.35 trillion

Kathmandu, Mar. 3: The Infrastructure Summit 2017 concluded Friday with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) commitments of about Rs. 1.34 trillion from the investors from six countries – China, Bangladesh, Japan, United Kingdom, Sri Lanka and India.

With Rs. 1.15 billion from the Nepalese investors, total investment pledge reaches Rs. 1.35 trillion, said Maha Prasad Adhikari, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN), a co-organiser of the summit with the government.

Chinese topped the charts in terms of pledged amount.

Amount of intent and areas of interest

Country	Amount of intent (USD)	Areas of interest
China	8.3 billion	Hydro, Metro rail, Airport, Highway, Mining
Bangladesh	2.4 billion	Food, Construction
Japan	1 billion	Hydro
UK	1 billion	Energy, Agriculture, Infrastructure
Sri Lanka	500 million	Hydro, Solar, Wind
India	317 million	Investment bank, Solar, Steel Plant, Tourism
Nepal	11.5 million	Agriculture, Manufacturing, Pulp and paper
Total	13.52 billion

Source: Investment Summit 2017 Secretariat

At least six Chinese companies have shown their interest for investment in infrastructure and service areas such as hydropower, metro rail, airport, highways, mining, tunnel, finance and hospital.

The highest amount of investment interest is shown by the China Machinery Engineering Corporation which has pledged more than Rs. 300 billion in hydropower, hospital, Kathmandu metro (line 1 and 2).

Likewise, China State Construction and Engineer Co. intends to invest about Rs. 200 billion in the construction of airport, highway and tunnel.

"Wuling Power Corporation Ltd. has shown interest to develop Tamakoshi Third hydropower project, one of the mega projects prepared by the IBN, and CTCE Group has pledged Rs. 100 billion in the areas of water supply, hydropower, railways, road and tunnel," said Adhikari.

Second largest investment commitment is received from Bangladesh, Himadri Food Pvt. Ltd. – a subsidiary of Pran Group has shown interest to invest Rs. 240 billion in food and construction industries.

Japanese investors are attracted to the hydropower projects, and Kansai Electric Power has pledged to invest more than Rs. 100 billion in large-scale hydropower projects ranging from 100-1000 megawatts.

Similarly, British investors are interested in energy, agriculture and infrastructure while Sri Lankans are attracted to hydroelectricity, solar and wind.

However, the summit couldn't attract much investment from India.

Only three Indian companies showed interest to invest Rs. 31.7 billion in investment bank, solar, steel plant and tourism sectors.

Adhikari informed the investors that the government would review the received letter of intent and contact them for further information, required documents and proposals.

"We will facilitate you in every step from visa application to registering your business in Nepal," he said.

However, of eight IBN proposed large infrastructure projects, only two – Kathmandu Valley Metro Rail and Tamakoshi – 3 Hydropower Project could draw the attention of and investment commitment from the investors.

Speaking at a plenary session, ceo of the Dolma Impact Fund urged the foreign investors to collaborate with the Nepalese private sector businessmen as the latter were the risk management experts since they successfully survived the decade long insurgency, devastating earthquakes and border blockade.

He suggested the government to develop a system whereby a foreign investor doesn't need any permission for investment.

"Large investors will not tolerate delay in the process. Therefore, institute an automatic route for the investment in priority sectors. Have capable team at the Department of Information, start the process of sovereign ration," he said.

Governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank Dr. Chiranjibi Nepal said that the increased paid up capital of the banks would strengthen the banking sector which would support in financing large infrastructure projects.

Foreign secretary Shankar Das Bairagi said that the commitment from the foreign investors was the testimony that Nepal was a suitable destination for investment.

He said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been promoting economic diplomacy with the aim of enhancing Nepal's international trade, attracting more tourists and investment.