Kathmandu, May 17: Foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments to the Department of Industry crossed Rs 45 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, 2025/26, because, apparently, investors still enjoy paperwork and uncertainty in equal measure.
According to the department, FDI worth Rs 45.32 billion had been approved by mid-May. Of that, Rs 5.76 billion came through the automatic route, while Rs 39.55 billion was approved through the approval route. In mid-May alone, FDI commitments worth Rs 3.52 billion were approved.
The investment commitments came through 728 companies during the review period. Among them, 195 companies were registered under the approval route and 533 under the automatic route. In mid-May alone, 113 companies were registered, a small reminder that bureaucracy can move when it feels like it.
Only nine large companies were registered this fiscal year, along with eight medium-sized firms and 711 small enterprises. In mid-May, just one large company was registered, while the remaining 112 were small-scale ventures. These newly registered firms are expected to generate 23,530 jobs.
The department said the information technology sector attracted the highest number of registrations this year. A total of 58 per cent of all registered industries, or 421 companies, are in IT. Tourism followed with 189 companies, while 42 manufacturing firms and 55 service-based industries were registered.
The agriculture sector saw 16 companies registered, while mining and infrastructure recorded just one each.
The highest investment commitment this year came in the month of Shrawan (mid-July to mid-August). FDI commitments sharply declined after the Gen Z protests in Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September), but the trend appears to have picked up somewhat after the general elections and formation of the new government.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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