KATHMANDU, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- China topped the chart in terms of committing foreign direct investment (FDI) to Nepal during the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2020-21 that began in mid-July.
The FDI pledges from China stood at 132 million U.S. dollars, taking up about 81 percent of total FDI during the period.
The tourism sector, despite being the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, has received the largest FDI pledges, according to the latest data released on the website of Nepal's Department of Industry.
FDI pledges in the tourism sector from China stood at 89 million U.S. dollars which represents around 66 percent of total FDI committed by Chinese investors to Nepal during the period, according to the industry department.
Jiblal Bhusal, director general at the department told Xinhua earlier this week that most of the Chinese investment commitments during the first quarter of this fiscal year were related to the hotel and restaurant sector.
"Significant FDI commitment in the tourism sector despite massive impact of the pandemic in the sector suggests that investors could now make preparation for eventual recovery of the sector after the pandemic is over," he said.
Meanwhile, British Virgin Islands, India, Britain and Mexico also made FDI commitments to Nepal during the period, according to the department.
China has been topping the chart in terms of FDI to Nepal for five years in a row till last fiscal year.
Overall the FDI pledges during the first quarter was nearly half of total FDI commitments Nepal received in the last fiscal year. In the last fiscal year 2019-20, Nepal had received total FDI pledges of 317 million U.S. dollars, according to the department.
"Significant FDI pledged during the first quarter of this fiscal shows that there was the prospect of better FDI pledges in the normal situation," said Bhusal. "A stable government and efforts made to reform policies and laws that matters to the investors have attracted the investors to Nepal even during this difficult period." Enditem
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