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Thirty-eight-year-old Dawa Lama is known as the silver man. He has been standing as a statue at Buddha Park in Swayambhu, Pashupati Nath, and other areas of Kathmandu for the past three years. He changes into his gear and puts on makeup near the performance site, in a narrow street where he tries to make sure no one can spot him.

Earlier, he used to wear a silver-colored suit and hence he was known as the silver man. But since most people are attracted to the golden color, he has now transitioned into wearing a golden suit. He uses chemical-free golden makeup for his face.

Born in Sindhuli in Bagmati Province, Lama lives alone in a rented room in Lalitpur. His wife and three children are back in Sindhuli, with Lama’s parents. He uses ride-sharing apps to travel to his desired location. During festivals, he has taken his act to various parts of Nepal. He plans to perform at the Sali Nadi festival before thousands of people.

“I was fascinated by this act after I saw videos of people doing it in China and other countries,” he says. However, it wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. He couldn’t stand for long. One and a half hours were the longest he could manage. Now, he can stand without moving an inch for up to five hours. The locals of his regular places have given him many names. He is the ‘sun manche’, ‘golden man’, and ‘dummy’, among other things.

There have been some scary incidents during his act as well. “Once, in Dang, these two girls thought I was a dummy and started taking pictures with him. As a joke, I moved a little to surprise the lady. She was so shocked that she fainted,” he says, adding he now refrains from giving the impression that he is an actual statue but he boasts that he can easily trick people if he wants to.

Lama is happy that he can take care of his family. And he loves what he does. He can also afford to part with a small fraction of his earnings to feed those in need. That is more than enough, he says.

Kathmandu: Nepal has requested Russia not to recruit Nepali youths in the Russian Army.

Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud made this request in the meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Vershinin, on the margins of the 19th NAM Summit that took place in Uganda.

A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says: "Foreign minister raised the issues related to Nepali nationals in the Russian Army, including the request not to recruit Nepali nationals, release those who are already recruited, repatriation of mortal remains of the deceased and compensation.”

The Russian deputy minister stated that efforts will be made to resolve the issues raised by the Nepali side.  There are no bilateral provisions on recruitment in the Russian forces, but reports suggest that Nepalis are serving alongside the Russians and fighters from several other countries lured by certain ‘incentives’.

Moscow has not responded to Nepal’s repeated requests for information about the Nepalis in the Russian army, though the government has said that hundreds of Nepalis have been serving the Russians, more than 100 have gone missing and 11 Nepalis have died in the war so far.

According to Saud, 115 families of Nepali youths, who have joined the Russian army, have submitted a request to the ministry calling for their early repatriation. We have asked Russia to repatriate the Nepalis serving its army and compensate the families of those killed in action, he said.

Nepali Congress leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula is looking to make a political comeback by securing a National Assembly seat. Having lost two consecutive general elections of 2017 and 2022, the former home minister seems eager to wear the parliamentarian’s tag. 

The election for 19 new upper house members is set to take place next week and Sitaula’s victory is almost certain, thanks to a strategic electoral alliance within the ruling coalition. Sitaula, whose influence in national as well as party politics has been waning of late, managed to clinch the NA candidacy due to his closeness with the NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba. 

Despite differing opinions within the NC on the election candidates, consensus among top leaders of the ruling parties solidified Sitaula’s position in the upper house. Even Deuba’s rivals in the Congress party, Gagan Kumar Thapa and Shekhar Koirala, are rallying behind Sitaula, hailing it as an exceptional decision. Earlier, Thapa and Koirala were critical of Sitaula’s candidacy. They were in favor of fielding new faces, preferably experts on some fields, to honor the spirit of the NA as envisioned by the Constitution of Nepal, 2015.  

The buzz is that Sitaula’s entry into the federal parliament is not just a personal victory; it’s a strategic move made by the NC leadership to fortify the constitution against mounting challenges from royalist and anti-federal forces.

Whispers of Sitaula taking the reins as the chair of the upper house are also getting louder. Sources say that both CPN (Maoist Center) and CPN (Unified Socialist) have thrown their support behind Sitaula, putting an end to their claims for the coveted position. The term of incumbent NA chairman, Ganesh Prasad Timalsina, is ending in April.

Sitaula’s bid to enter the national assembly despite previous election setbacks has piqued the interest of many. After losing the 2017 and 2022 general elections to Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Rajendra Lingden from Jhapa constituency 3, Sitaula was relegated to the margins of national politics. Though he enjoyed the title of a senior leader within the Congress party, his role and influence were limited.

Afraid that he could completely lose his relevance inside the party and national politics, Sitaula, who once harbored the ambition of leading the NC, got close to the party president, Deuba. In the meantime, he continued to maintain a good rapport with the top leaders of other major parties, mainly Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist Center. 

According to Sitaula, his candidacy is all about ensuring the complete implementation of the new constitution and safeguarding the rights of the people. 

Starting as a low-profile figure in the party after the restoration of democracy in 1990, Sitaula emerged as a key player during the peace negotiations with Maoist rebels. His alliance with then NC President Girija Prasad Koirala catapulted him into the national political arena, eventually leading to roles as deputy prime minister and minister for home affairs.

Sitaula’s moment to shine came as one of the chief negotiators of peace with the Maoist rebel group. His role in bringing the Maoists into mainstream politics was widely praised.  

After the success of Janaandolan-2, Koirala appointed Sitaula as deputy prime minister and minister for home affairs which further elevated his profile in national politics and inside the party. This also increased his political ambition and started projecting himself as the Koirala’s successor, ahead of other senior leaders including Deuba, Sushil Koirala and Ram Chandra Poudel. He even contested for the position of party president, only to lose the election with a huge margin.

It is no secret that Situala, who has lost his influence and supporters in the party, has only managed to maintain his relevance with Deuba’s support. Now Deuba’s support is set to land him the post of the upper house chair.

While China initially showed limited interest in Nepal’s early economic reforms for business investments, it emerged as the second-largest investor after India from 2012 onwards. During the initial period, Chinese economic engagements with Nepal were dominated by Official Development Assistance (ODA) rather than FDI, with Chinese investments in Nepal remaining under $1bn from 2002 to 2012.

The surge in China’s economic activities in Nepal, particularly as an investment destination, can be attributed to changes in the geopolitical landscape of the Himalayan region and the political transformation in Nepal from monarchy to multiparty democracy in 2008. Contrary to some Western scholars attributing this shift to China’s Western Development Programme (1999) and “Going Out” policy (2000), available information and Chinese investment data suggest that China did not significantly invest in Nepal from 1990 to 2012. China took approximately 12 years to become a major investor in Nepal from its “going out” policy, whereas India achieved a similar status in the 1980s. Notably, during this period, some small Chinese companies invested in Nepal’s food processing (primarily processed beef, pork, and buffalo meat) and agriculture sectors to supply processed foods to construction workers engaged in infrastructure developments in Tibet. China took interest in the hydropower sector around 2010, coinciding with Nepal’s further liberalization of the hydro energy sector for private company investments under the 1992 Electricity Act.   

In the restaurant sector, only 4-5 Chinese restaurants were present in the Thamel area of Kathmandu initially. However, the number of Chinese restaurants in Thamel skyrocketed in 2012, reaching approximately 150 in 2022. It’s worth noting that Nepal was the first South Asian country accorded Approved Destination Status by China in Nov 2001.

Various studies and data from the IBN indicate that Chinese companies have shown interest in investing in services, hydro energy, manufacturing, apparel, and agriculture sectors in Nepal. Sectors like tourism were identified based on low investments and guaranteed high-profit principles, as Chinese investors anticipated a surge in Chinese tourists in the future. In 2013, Chinese tourist arrivals in Nepal crossed the 100,000 mark for the first time. Just before the Covid-19 restrictions, Nepal aimed to attract 2m foreign tourists, including 350,000 Chinese visitors, under the Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign.

The available sources indicate a consistent surge in Chinese investment commitments in the Nepali market since 2012-2013, witnessing a decline in the fiscal year 2022-2023. The fiscal years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 marked the peak of Chinese investment commitments, accounting for over 70 percent of Nepal’s total FDI during that period. Officials from the DoI in Nepal noted that initially, Chinese investments were primarily focused on small restaurants but gradually diversified into hydropower and other sectors. The tourism sector received the largest share of Chinese FDI commitments, reaching $125m as of July 2021, followed by other services and the information technology sector.

Private sources indicate that over 1,005 Chinese companies were operating in Nepal as of July 2016, with varying levels of investment, including large, medium, and small enterprises. On average, around 200 Chinese companies entered the Nepali market each year from 2012 to 2016. While most small companies operated with 100 percent investments from China, larger and medium-scale projects typically involved over 60 percent share from Chinese companies and the rest from Nepali partners.

Interestingly, Chinese companies showed limited interest in banking, higher education, and high-value technology-intensive manufacturing projects in Nepal, in contrast to substantial investments made in other countries. While Chinese restaurants and hotels contributed over 10,000 jobs in Nepal and revenue to the Nepali state, their impact on the technology and capital-hungry manufacturing sectors, apart from the cement industry, was relatively minimal.

Major joint venture projects

In Sept 2017, the Investment Board of Nepal facilitated a Project Investment Agreement (PIA) for a joint venture (JV) between Hongshi Cement of China and Shivam Cement Pvt Ltd of Nepal, resulting in the construction of a 12,000 TPD cement project in Nawalparasi district. Hongshi Cement holds a 70 percent share in the project, which started trial production in May 2018, showcasing an efficient implementation process within a year of the PIA.

Following the Hongshi-Shivam Cement JV, another PIA was signed between Huaxin Cement Narayani and the IBN in Beijing in June 2018. This paved the way for the construction of the 3000 TPD Huaxin Cement Narayani Project in Dhading district, with test production beginning in January 2022. Despite successful implementation, a sub-committee formed by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of parliament raised concerns about the project not adhering to the terms and conditions outlined in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report. Issues related to haphazard construction of access roads affecting local irrigation canals were also noted.

In addition to manufacturing, the hydro sector has attracted Chinese FDI, as evidenced by the IBN’s signing of an MoU in January 2020 for a JV with the Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd (PCCCL) and Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Ltd. (HIDCL) of Nepal. The MoU pertained to the development of the Tamor Storage Hydroelectric project with an indicative installed capacity of 756 MW in Terhathum and Panchthar districts. However, the project faced a three-year delay, prompting the IBN to seek an explanation from PCCCL in May 2023. Little to no significant progress has been achieved in the project since the signing of the project development agreement in Dec 2022. 

Furthermore, in June 2021, the IBN, chaired by then Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, approved a proposed investment of Rs 33.41bn ($280m) for the development of the Lower Manang Marsyangdi Hydroelectric Project with a capacity of 139.2 MW. The project, developed under the build, own, operate, and transfer (BOOT) modality, involved a joint venture between Sichuan Provincial Investment Group Co Ltd, Chengdu Xingcheng Investment Group Co. Ltd, Sichuan Qing Yuan Engineering Consulting Co Ltd, and Nepal’s Butwal Power Company.

Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint venture in the aviation sector, was established in 2014, representing the largest FDI from China in Nepal's aviation sector. In the realm of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Oct 2019 between Lhasa Economic and Technological Development Zone Jing-Ping Joint Creation Construction Project Development Co Ltd (JPJCCPD) and Damak Clean Industrial Park Pvt Ltd (DCIP) with the assistance of IBN for building the China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park in Damak, Jhapa district. However, as of the latest update, the project implementation is pending, and the completion deadline has been extended to 2024.

Top 10 priority sectors 

• Services (Hotel, restaurants, telecommunication)
• Manufacturing
• Aviation
• Slaughterhouses
• Packaged drinking water
• Ready-made garments
• Electric vehicle assembly
• Copper mining
• Agriculture
• Hydro energy

Major Chinese FDI stock in Nepal

(In Rs, in m)

Source: Field Survey, 2023, published by Nepal Rastra Bank, Nepal

An excerpt of the policy brief published by Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs