During the two-day investment conference, important agreements regarding cooperation in various fields were signed. Sushil Bhatta, Coordinator of the Investment Conference Secretariat and Chief Executive Officer of the Board of Investment, said that through the conference, domestic and foreign investors were able to convey the message that Nepal is an attractive destination for investment. He also said that investors are willing to look for investment opportunities in Nepal.
“During the investment conference, about a dozen agreements have been signed with memorandums of understanding to advance the concept of public private partnership. Besides, more than 30 foreign delegations have held separate meetings with the ministers of various concerned ministries,” he said.
Three agreements were concluded during the conference on Sunday. An agreement has been signed between BLC Group Nepal and Yotta Data Services India for cooperation in data center construction and operation. The agreement was signed by BLC Group Managing Director Megha Chaudhary and Yotta CEO Sunil Gupta.
Similarly, on Sunday, an agreement was signed between the Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the National Chamber of Commerce, Malaysia regarding cooperation for bilateral trade and investment promotion. Federation President Chandra Prasad Dhakal and Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malaysia President Tan Si Dato’ Thain Lai signed the agreement.
Similarly, the Federation has also entered into an agreement with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers for cooperation.
On the second day of the investment conference, a bilateral cooperation agreement was signed between the World Association of PPP Units and Professionals (WAP) and the Nepal Association of PPP Professionals of Practitioners (NAP) for the promotion of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Nepal. The MoU was signed by President Ziad-Alexander Hayek on behalf of WAP and Anup Kumar Upadhyay, President on behalf of NAP.
In the said agreement, it is mentioned in the agreement that both organizations will cooperate on matters of common interest, exchange knowledge and experience related to public-private partnership (PPP). Both organizations have agreed to cooperate in strengthening physical infrastructure and PPP pipeline in Nepal, promote international best practices in PPP project and program preparation and implementation, jointly organize meetings, seminars and prepare joint publications.
Anup Kumar Upadhyay, President of NAAP, said that this cooperation will help in the enhancement of knowledge, experience and capacity related to PPP in Nepal and also help in strengthening PPP projects. “This agreement has opened the doors of collaboration with Wapa, which has acquired long experience, research and practical knowledge in the field of PPP and has built a global identity as a specialized organization,” said Upadhyay.
WAP President Ziad-Alexander Hayek said that Nepal has a long experience in implementing PPP projects and that PPP has brought transformation in Nepal especially in the fields of hydropower and clean energy and said that Nepal’s own experience is also unique.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WAP is a non-governmental organization that promotes studies, research and international best practices in the field of PPPs. Likewise, NAP is an organization of PPP practitioners in Nepal.
During the conference, an agreement on cooperation in hotel business was signed between Sakh: & Company Private Limited and Bor Group of Hotel China.
Similarly, two agreements have been concluded regarding facilitating the private sector of Nepal to bring in investments from Chinese companies.
A separate agreement has been reached between ‘Nexgen Management Solution Private Limited’ and China’s ‘MABC Investment Private Limited’ and between Nepal Industry and Trade Confederation (FNIC) and China Dongan Jing Long Lighting Product Company Limited.
Nexgen will facilitate MABC’s Maui company to make foreign investment in Nepal, while FNIC will facilitate China’s Dongan Jing Long. Ambassador of Nepal to China Bishnupukar Shrestha also participated in the signing ceremony of these two MoUs.
Through this investment conference, Australian investment has been brought in to open a facility-rich resort in the Rara Lake area of Mugu district. Australia’s Expert Group is going to invest in the said resort. Badri Aryal and Sanjeev Sharma on behalf of Expert Group and Abhishek Vikram Shah on behalf of Rara Holdings Resort Private Limited signed for the investment related cooperation.
Shah said that in the first phase, about Rs 700 million worth of investment is going to be invested in this resort, which will be built on an area of 80 ropani in Chaya Nath Rara Municipality-9, Murmatap, Mugu District.
It is said that about 400 million rupees will be invested in the second phase for the construction of this project. This resort is expected to be completed within a year and a half. This resort will be built in a way that reflects the local culture and the use of local resources. Shah said that the detailed project report of the resort has been prepared.
Similarly, during the conference, a bilateral cooperation agreement was signed between the Confederation of Nepal Industry and Trade (FNIC) and the Indian Industries Association (IIA). The agreement was signed by Chairman Khimlal Bhandari on behalf of FNIC and Chairman Anuj Kumar Garg on behalf of IIA.
Secretary General of FNIC Khim Narayan Parajuli informed that this agreement was signed to promote mutual cooperation and interest in investment, trade and industry between Nepal and India.
Private sector of two countries It is expected that this agreement between the two countries will help to facilitate trade mainly. The Federation of Nepal Industry and Trade has also entered into an agreement with China Dongan Jing Long Lighting Product Company Limited regarding cooperation for facilitating investments in Nepal.
During the third investment conference, an investment worth Rs 9.13 billion has been approved for four different projects through the Department of Industries. According to the information given by Shankar Singh Dhami, director of the foreign investment and technology transfer branch under the Department of Industry, Rs. An investment worth Rs 7.66 million has been approved for the construction of hydropower projects and Rs 6.25 million for the construction of hotels and restaurants in Lalitpur district.
The department has today inaugurated the system of foreign investment approval through the automatic route. According to the first amendment of the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Regulations, 2077, published by the Government of Nepal on the 7th of May 2017, for the arrangement of approving foreign investment through the automatic route, a foreign investor who has established a new company with 100% share ownership or joint venture or is operating with foreign investment in such a company. There is a system of applying and approving investment for capital increase through automatic route.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed for the operation of the Remit Hydro Project, in which the amount of remittances will be invested in hydropower projects. Today, on the second day of the investment conference, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company Limited and Non-Resident Nepali Association, National Coordination Councils.
The agreement was signed by Ramesh Bhatt Qatar, Rajkumar Shrestha Bahrain, Vinod Thapa Malaysia, Vinod Shrestha Iraq, Vikas Shahi UAE, Vikal Jha Oman and Tikaram Kharel Japan on behalf of the National Coordination Council. During this conference, an agreement was reached between the Nepal Chamber of Commerce and the professional representatives of Croatia to facilitate trade and investment in the tourism sector.