Nepal received foreign direct investment (FDI) commitments amounting to Rs 57.97 billion from the beginning of the current fiscal year Shrawan (mid-July) up to the end of Chaitra (mid-April).

According to the data released by the Department of Industry, FDI commitments amounting to around Rs 58 billion have been received in the nine months of the current fiscal year.

Compared to the same period last year, there has been a rise in foreign investment commitments. The increase is around Rs 27.85 billion. According to the department's statistics, FDI commitments amounted to Rs 30.11 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year.

In the previous month of Baisakh, the Department of Industry implemented a system for automatic approval of foreign investments through an online platform during the third investment conference. Since the implementation of this system, there has been an increase in foreign investment commitments during the first nine months of the fiscal year.

According to the department's data, the highest foreign investment commitments have come through the approval route, rather than the automatic route. The automatic route saw commitments in 224 industries amounting to Rs 2.89 billion, while the approval route saw commitments in 256 industries amounting to Rs 55.77 billion.

According to data, FDI commitments amounting to Rs 13.31 billion were made in the month of Chaitra alone. In the current fiscal year's Chaitra month, 53 industries received investment commitments totaling Rs 13.31 billion.

Out of the total, FDI worth Rs 13.17 billion were made for 23 industries through the approval (certification) system. Similarly, the department has said that FDI commitments worth Rs 141.1 million were made for 30 industries through the automatic system.

In the current fiscal year, the highest amount of foreign investment commitments was recorded in the month of Falgun (mid-February to mid-March), totaling Rs 17.79 billion. In Chaitra alone, investment commitments were made for 53 small-scale industries. No investment commitments were received for medium or large-scale industries during this month.

According to Nepal Rastra Bank, only Rs 5.96 billion in FDI entered Nepal in the last fiscal year. In the fiscal year 2021/22, foreign investment commitments totaling Rs 54.15 billion were made for 295 industries.

In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, investment commitments totaling Rs 1.94 billion were made for 32 industries through Share Purchase Agreements (SPA) and Share Subscription Agreements (SSA). Similarly, the department has reported that Technology Transfer Agreements (TTA) have been approved for 51 industries.

According to the department, during the nine-month period, investment commitments were received for 468 small industries, 8 medium industries, and 4 large industries.

The highest amount of investment commitments during the nine-month period was received in the service sector. Out of the total investment commitments received in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Rs 34.92 billion was committed to the service sector. This amount was committed for 63 industries within the sector.

Similarly, investment commitments totaling Rs 18.38 billion were made for 189 industries in the tourism sector. In the manufacturing sector, 34 industries received commitments amounting to Rs 2.74 billion. The information technology sector saw commitments of Rs 1.11 billion for 185 industries.

According to the department, the energy sector received investment commitments worth Rs 255 million, the agriculture sector Rs 761 million, and the infrastructure sector Rs 20 million. Investment commitments have been made for 189 industries in the tourism sector and 185 industries in the information technology sector.