The Industry Ministry will be following up on investment pledges made during the Nepal Investment Summit 2017 held from March 2-3 in Kathmandu.

According to Industry Minister Nabindra Raj Joshi, the ministry will be sending follow-up letters to the potential foreign investors reminding them of their commitments.

“Currently, my staff at the ministry are preparing letters to be dispatched to the 16 companies that have signed letters of intent to make investments in Nepal,” said Joshi. “I will personally sign the letters and they will be dispatched within a couple of days.”

The 16 companies based in seven countries pledged a combined investment worth $13.52 billion during the two-day event.

The figure represents more than half of Nepal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The country’s GDP was recorded at Rs2,248.69 billion (approximately $21 billion) in the last fiscal year.

Chinese companies top the list of potential investors with commitments totalling more than $8.3 billion. Half a dozen Chinese companies have shown interest in putting money in areas like hydropower, airport, road, railway, mining and hospitality, among others.

Bangladesh comes second with Himadri Foods pledging to invest $2.4 billion in the food and beverage and construction sectors.

However, Joshi said the impressive figures don’t mean anything unless some portion of the commitment is actually realized. “Therefore, we must continuously monitor whether the amount pledged during the summit is entering the country as foreign direct investment,” Joshi said.

In a bid to keep a watch on investment inflow and assist potential investors, Joshi has formed a 21-member high-level committee under his coordination to look after every aspect of foreign investment.

Energy, Tourism, Foreign and Physical Planning ministers and secretaries from major ministries will also be inducted into the panel. “The committee will soon prepare its work plan and start work immediately after that,” said Joshi.

Likewise, the ministry has formed a sub-committee to coordinate policies governing foreign investment under the leadership of the National Planning Commission member looking after industry.

“The committee’s role is to facilitate the endorsement and amendment of the acts and policies related to foreign investment,” said Joshi. “With foreign investors demanding policy stability, the role of this committee will be crucial.” 

Similarly, the ministry has formed two other sub-committees — one under the industry secretary to promote foreign investment and another under the CEO of Investment Board Nepal to coordinate projects for foreign investment.

According to Joshi, the three sub-committees will also prepare their work plans and go into action soon.