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The Third Investment Summit concluded in Kathmandu on Monday, approving investments for various projects. The two-day event resulted in the Department of Industry approving investments totaling Rs 9.13bn across four projects.

The breakdown of these investments includes Rs 6bn for establishing an investment company in Bhaktapur, Rs 3bn for a business complex in Kathmandu, Rs 76.6m for a 200 KW hydropower project in Kailali, and Rs 62.5m for hotels and restaurants in the Lalitpur district. This information was provided by Shankar Singh Dhami, Director of the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Unit at the Department of Industry.

Additionally, the department has implemented a new system for approving foreign investments through an automatic route. This system allows foreign investors to apply for establishing a new company with 100 percent ownership, a joint venture, or capital investment in an existing company via an automated process. Investors can apply starting today and receive a foreign investment approval letter immediately upon application. Notably, no minimum investment limit has been set for foreign investment through the automatic route for information technology-based industries. This streamlined process is expected to save investors time and money when investing in Nepal.

The Federation of Nepalese Industries and Commerce (FNIC) and the Indian Industries Association (IIA) also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote bilateral cooperation. The MoU was signed by FNIC President Khimlal Bhandari and IIA Chairperson Anuj Kumar Garg. According to FNIC General Secretary Khim Narayan Parajuli, the agreement aims to encourage cooperation and shared interests in investment, trade, and industrial development. This collaboration between private sector organizations from both countries is expected to facilitate trade.

On the same day, FNIC signed another MoU with China’s Dongguan Jinyang Lighting Co, Ltd. to establish cooperation for investment facilitation in Nepal. Additionally, Australian investment has been secured to open a luxury resort near Rara Lake in Mugu. The agreement was reached with the Expert Group of Australia, with Badri Aryal and Sanjeev Sharma signing on behalf of the Expert Group and Abhisek Bikram Shah representing Rara Holdings Resort Pvt. Ltd. The resort, to be constructed on 80 ropanis (approximately 10 acres) in Murmatop of Chhayanath Rara Municipality-9, will have an initial investment of about Rs 700m in the first phase and around Rs 400m in the second phase, according to Shah.

Finance Minister Barshaman Pun stated that the Third Investment Summit was a grand success, attributing the achievement to the strong participation of development partners and the interest shown by investors in the presented projects.

In a sideline meeting held earlier today with representatives from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and various ambassadors, Minister Pun noted that the event's success reflected Nepal's potential as a key destination for global investment. He highlighted that the enthusiasm and support of these development partners underscored Nepal’s growing appeal to the international investment community.

“The significant presence at this Summit confirms that Nepal is among the most promising emerging destinations for investment,” said Minister Pun. He further expressed his government’s commitment to strengthening ties with development partners in the coming days, aiming to foster an environment that encourages investment.

He emphasized that the participation of major political figures, including opposition leaders, during the Summit signaled a unified effort to create a favorable atmosphere for investment in Nepal. This cross-party cooperation contributes to the stability and predictability that investors seek.

Minister Pun thanked the development partners for their remarkable presence and support, indicating that such involvement played a key role in the Summit’s success. He also noted that the Summit’s projects had garnered significant attention, showing investors’ genuine interest in the investment opportunities in Nepal.

Overall, the Minister expressed satisfaction with the Summit’s outcomes and reiterated his commitment to building stronger partnerships with development partners, ensuring that Nepal continues to be an attractive and conducive location for investment.

CPN-UML candidate Suhang Nembang has been elected as a member of the House of Representatives from Ilam-2.

He defeated Nepali Congress candidate Dambar Khadka by a wide margin to emerge victorious.

Nembang garnered 27, 772 votes while his closest contender Nepali Congress candidate Khadka obtained 21, 942 votes.

Similarly, independent candidate Dekendra Singh Thegim received 11, 457 votes and Rastriya Swatantra Party’s Milan Limbu got 5, 050 votes.

The by-election was held in Ilam after the demise of Suhang’s father Subash Nembang.

Sidhakur.com has removed the news/video content entitled ‘Deal to dismiss 400 corruption cases.’

 The news portal took down all the related content from the website, YouTube and social media.

The Sidhakura said that all the contents have been suspended for now as the investigation process has moved ahead as per a letter from the Press Council Nepal.

The Supreme Court had also issued an order to summon the publisher of the Sidhakura to record the statement in the contempt of court case.

A division bench of Justices Nahakul Subedi and Tek Prasad Dhungana had issued the order.

Earlier, Press Council Nepal had directed Sidhakura.com to remove a fake news published on April 26, 2024, claiming that the leadership of Annapurna Media Network and Kantipur Publications were part of a meeting involving sitting and former Supreme Court justices and senior lawyers to dismiss more than 400 corruption cases.

The news portal has named Capt. Rameshwar Thapa, chairman of Annapurna Media Network (AMN), and Kailash Sirohiya, chairman of Kantipur Publications, as key members of the so-called high profile secret meeting.

Sidhakura.com had, however, refused to remove the content.

On Monday itself, the Council had written to the editor, program presenter and operator of Sidhakura to appear with evidence.

On Sunday, the Supreme Court Administration had raised a contempt of court proceedings against the news portal, sidhakura.com, and its YouTube channel.

The court administration sought legal action against the publisher sidhakura.com, Yuvaraj Kandel, for publishing a fake news report, accusing a sitting Supreme Court justice, various senior advocates, and the publishers of two prominent media houses, among others, of trying to dismiss more than 400 corruption cases.

Kandel’s news portal has accused Supreme Court Justice Anand Mohan Bhattarai, Chairman of the Annapurna Media Network Rameshwar Thapa, Managing Director of the Kantipur Media Group Kailash Sirohiya, special correspondent of Annapurna Post Surendra Kafle, and senior advocates Hari Upreti and Kishor Vishwakarma, of being part of a clandestine meeting.

Actor CP Lohani passed away this afternoon at the age of 86. He is known as the lead actor of the first privately-produced hit Nepali movie 'Maitighar,

Suffering from Alzheimer as well as pneumonia, Lohani died in the course of treatment at Maitighar-based Annapurna Neuro Hospital, said Lohani's nephew and journalist, Bikas Prasad Lohani.

He had served at the Ministry of Finance and Industry Ministry as well as worked as Director of the Biratnagar Jute Mills and Raghupati Jute Mills.

Lohani was also a renowned personality in the film and music sector.

He was married to famed Bollywood actress Mala Sinha, who was his co-star in the movie 'Maitighar'.

His final rites would be performed at Pashupati Aryaghat today itself, according to family sources.

Finance Minister Barshaman Pun has said the Third Nepal Investment Summit-2024 has been a grand success.

The minister said this in his address to a sideline meeting with representatives from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and ambassadors of various countries to Nepal held earlier today under the Summit.

He said the government has been encouraged by the enthusiastic participation of development partners in the meeting and such participation made the Summit a grand success.  "The presence in the meeting is a testament to suggest that Nepal is one of the suitable and emerging destinations in the world for investment."

Pledging to further strengthen the cooperation with the development partners in the days ahead, he said the event sent a message to the world that Nepal is united in terms of efforts to build an atmosphere conducive to investment.

He said that the political presence, remarks, and commitments including from the major opposition leaders contributed to establishing the fact that Nepal presents ample investment opportunities. He thanked the development partners for their remarkable presence and commitments expressed during the Summit, contributing to making it successful.

He also expressed his happiness over the good attraction of development partners and investors towards the projects presented during the Summit.

He took time to say that the amendment of nine laws through an ordinance on the eve of the Summit to build an investment-friendly atmosphere has enhanced the level of confidence among investors. According to him, the process of Sovereign Credit Rating, one of the concerns of development partners, has been initiated.

The minister states that there are abundant opportunities for Nepal's energy, tourism, information technology, agriculture, and infrastructure sectors.

As Nepal is progressing towards graduation to a middle-income developing country from the category of the least developed country and in this context, other capacity enhancements are the priorities of the government.

He said that Nepal situated in between two emerging nations: China and India suggest a great opportunity for domestic and foreign investment.

Minister Pun further said that Nepal's biological diversities and the abundant availability of natural resources make it a suitable zone for investment.  He pledged further policy and legal reforms and procedural simplification for investment in the days to come.

The finance minister utilized the forum to say that social justice, good governance, and prosperity are the priorities of the CPN (Maoist Centre)-led government, and the budget for an upcoming fiscal year will address these matters with much priority.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 0.07 points to close at 1,980.34 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 1.14 points to close at 351. 95 points.

A total of 7,341,177-unit shares of 317 companies were traded for Rs 2. 95 billion.

Meanwhile, Pokhara Finance Ltd. (PFL) and Janaki Finance Company Limited (JFL) were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, People's Power Limited (PPL) was the top loser as its price fell by 6.00 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 3. 14 trillion.

Two persons died when a Bolero jeep met with an accident at Parakuwa in Dummana of Aamchowk Rural Municipality-8, Bhojpur on Monday.

The deceased have been identified as Runa Rai (27) and Shanti Rai (33) of Pangcha, Aamchowk Rural Municipality-10.

The four-wheeler (Ko 1 Ja 2617) was heading towards Maiyutar from Balanka via Dummana when the tragedy occurred.

The injured have been taken to the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences for treatment, Inspector Dal Kumar Rai, Information Officer at the District Police Office, Bhojpur said.

Inspector Rai said that the jeep fell some 200 meters down the road.

Daman Bhandari of CPN-UML won the by-election in Bajhang.

Also, the District Committee Chairman of the UML, Bhandari defeated his closest contender Abhishekh Bahadur Singh of the Nepali Congress to emerge victorious in Province Assembly (A).

UML, Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN (Unified Socialist) among other parties contested the by-election in Bajhang without forging electoral alliance.

Earlier, Prithvi Bahadur Singh had won the election in Province Assembly (A) in 2022.