FDI soars due to lowered threshold limit: DoI report

KATHMANDU: New foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals saw a surge of 27, reaching a total of 226 projects in six months, according to a monthly report released by the Department of Industry (DoI) on January 16.

During the review period from July 17, 2023, to January 14, 2024, the FDI commitment amount stood at Rs 1,725.939 million. Likewise, the total FDI commitment amount stood at Rs 22.336 billion. These projects are forecast to create employment for 12,167 individuals.

In terms of industry categorisation based on investment, small industries are set to benefit the most with 22 projects in the pipeline, followed by medium industries with 5 projects. In six months, 211 ventures have been approved in the small-scale industries. Additionally, 12 projects have been approved in the medium-scale and three others in the large-scale industries.

Based on the nature of output and service, the service industry received the highest FDI (9.33%), followed by tourism (8.3%) and manufacturing (4.15%) in Poush.

In the annual budget for the fiscal year 2022/23, the minimum FDI threshold was reduced to Rs 20 million from the previous Rs 50 million to attract foreign investments in small and medium-sized industries. This step is a major driving factor behind the soaring FDI numbers in recent months.