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The government has decided to conduct an investment summit on 22-23 April 2024, the third of its kind in nine years.

Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat gave this information during a meeting in the Capital on Sunday, which decided to step up preparations for the summit by formulating an immediate plan.

Mahat said the summit aims to float proposals to competent investors soliciting foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments and making sure that the commitments come to fruition. 

Mahat pledged a safe and secure environment for the investors. 

At the meeting, Tourism Minister Sudan Kirati stressed the need to improve the working style and come up with more investment-friendly laws for attracting FDI. Minister Kirati expressed confidence that geopolitical interests will also bring in FDI.

Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari suggested that all seven provinces organize pre-summits (for selection of projects) without further delay, giving local communities a platform to float their investment ideas and projects. 

“Based on experiences, I must say that time for organizing the investment summit (in April) is very short. Most of the projects under consideration for investment are from the energy sector. Studies covering other areas are few and far between,” Adhikari said. Organizing the (investment) summit will be costly, but there’s no question of backtracking from it, he said. 

Ram Kumar Phuyal, a member of the National Planning Commission, stressed the need for a thorough review of earlier summits, pointing that the commission had studied them.

Some of the speakers noted that past investment summits were not that successful, stressing the need to prioritize Nepal’s requirements, protect the interest of investors and provide them facilities as stipulated in relevant laws. 

The first investment summit was held in 2015 after the Gorkha earthquake, followed by the second one in 2019. Despite these summits, FDI flow to Nepal remains dismal even after changes in legal and institutional frameworks to make them more FDI-friendly. 

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 47. 75 points to close at 1, 907. 95 points on Sunday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 7. 83 points to close at 364. 81 points.

A total of 6,530,64-unit shares of 294 companies were traded for Rs 2. 01 billion.

Meanwhile, Chhyangdi Hydropower Ltd and Bhagawati Hydropower Development Company Limited were the top gainers today, with their price surging by 10. 00 percent. Likewise, Infinity Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited​​​​​​​ and NMB Sulav Investment Fund - 2 were the top losers as their price fell by 2. 47 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 94 trillion.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 600 per tola in the domestic market on Sunday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 116, 900 per tola today.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 116, 350 per tola.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,485 per tola today.

Nepal has received foreign investment commitments, totaling Rs 22.85bn, for 199 business ventures in the first four months of the fiscal year 2023/24.

According to the Department of Industry (DoI), foreign investors have pledged investments amounting to Rs 18.35m across 178 new industries. Additionally, commitments totaling Rs 3.72bn have been made for 21 existing industries.

In the fourth month (mid-Oct to mid-Nov) of 2023/24 alone, foreign investors expressed a commitment to invest Rs 2.74bn. This includes Rs 1.75bn earmarked for 27 new industries and Rs 56.3m dedicated to share purchase agreements (SPA) and share subscription agreements (SSSA) in two existing industries, according to the DoI.

However, the actual investments received by Nepal are notably lower. According to Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central monetary authority, the country received foreign investments amounting to Rs 3.37bn in the first three months (mid-Sept to mid-Oct) of 2023/24.

In the first four months of 2022/23, Nepal attracted foreign investment commitments of Rs 33.14bn. The DoI approved 327 foreign investments during that period, promising the creation of 17,012 jobs. The commitment figure stood at Rs 54.14bn in the first four months of 2021/22.

The breakdown of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the first four months of 2023/24 reveals commitments for 170 small industries, five medium-sized, and three large industries. The tourism sector received the highest investment commitment, followed by the service, manufacturing, ICT, and infrastructure sectors.

As of mid-July 2022, the total stock of FDI in Nepal reached Rs 264.33bn, as per the central bank, with contributions from 57 different countries.

However, the trend of repatriations by foreign investors from Nepal continues to outpace the FDI received. In the first four months of 2023/24, foreign investors repatriated Rs 748.67m as royalty and Rs 1.41bn as dividends. In the same period of the fiscal year 2022/23, foreign investors took home Rs 2.12bn in dividends and Rs 875.40m in royalty.

According to the central bank, foreign investors repatriated Rs 26.7bn as dividends in 2020/21.