Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat has said that Nepal needs substantial resources to implement big projects, especially in the hydropower sector, and is looking for all types of long-term financing options.

Sharing Nepal’s development priorities while addressing a high-level business roundtable on ‘Long Term Financing Options for Nepal’s Renewable Energy Growth’ at Guildhall, London on Monday, he stressed the need for foreign investment for rapid economic growth.

The event was jointly hosted by the Embassy of Nepal and Dolma Impact Fund with the support of Lord Mayor Elect of the City of London Prof. Michale Mainelli. It was attended by major institutional investors, banks and insurance companies, informed the Embassy of Nepal in London in a statement on Tuesday.

On the occasion, Dr. Mahat outlined the current reforms made by the government to attract foreign investment and the guarantee of profit repatriation, no default on debt payment among others.

“He also informed that the government had been making necessary legal, policy and institutional arrangements for the development of renewable energy projects, provisions for hedging and initiation of country rating procedures,” read the statement of the embassy.

Ambassador of Nepal to the UK, Gyan Chandra Acharya, stated that London as a major financial centre of the world could play an important role in attracting global capital in Nepal’s priority sector including hydropower as it contributes to reducing Green-House-Gas (GHG) emissions not only in Nepal but in the South Asian region with an enhanced level of energy trade.

Tim Gocher, Chairman of Dolma Impact Fund, Adeel Ansari from Standard Chartered Bank, Lord Mayor Elect Prof. Michael Mainelli, Christopher Marks from MUFG had led the discussions on different financing options.

Christopher Marks, Managing Director of MUFG, and Dominic Coyne Senior Underwriter for Renewable Energy for Munich Re, Nick Dunlop, shared their views about the global capital markets and how best to attract investment from major institutional investors.

They stressed that Nepal can attract institutional investors with right incentives and regulatory and institutional support measures.

High officials from the UK and Nepali government and private sector including Lesley Craig, Deputy Director from the Foreign Office, Sandeep Kumar Dev, Joint Secretary from the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Chandra Prasad Dhakal, President of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Ganesh Karki, President of Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal also expressed their views on the long-term financing options for Nepal’s renewable energy growth.

Finance Minister Dr. Mahat also held a meeting with Baroness Penn, Treasury Lords Minister at the Department of Treasury on Monday. During the meeting, the Minister shared the development priorities of the government and stressed the need for substantial investment in different sectors, particularly renewable energy.

Appreciating the support from the British government in Nepal’s development, he requested an enhanced level of support in climate finance, which would be critical to accelerate economic growth and transform its economy in the days ahead, read the statement.

In response, Minister Penn assured of continuous support from the British government in Nepal’s development efforts and outlined some of the support extended by the UK in facilitating foreign investment in Nepal.

The Minister also met the representative of Ex-Gurkha organisations at the Embassy and expressed the hope that the ongoing meeting of the bilateral committee on Gurkha issues will be able to address the grievances of the Gurkha veterans.