On the second day of the 3rd Nepal Investment Summit, 2024, approval of Investments worth Rs 9.13 billion for four different projects was concluded. The Department of Industry inaugurated the system of foreign investment approval, through the automatic route today. Foreign investors can apply to establish a new company with 100 per cent share ownership or joint venture or investment capital in an already operating company through an automatic route. No minimum investment limit has been specified while approving foreign investment through automatic routes for information technology-based industries. The automatic route is expected to save the investors time and money in making investments in Nepal.
Minister for Communications and Information Technology Rekha Sharma addressing a session on Information Technology on Monday at the Nepal Investment Summit 2024, shared that the IT sector is appropriate for domestic and foreign investors. She informed that the government was determined to make Nepal an international hub of IT and appealed to investors to partner in Nepal’s digital transformation and prosperity through investment in the IT sector. Minister Sharma stressed that there is immense potential in Nepal to run IT-related industries at a low cost due to the availability of skilled human resources and an appropriate environment. In the Nepal Investment Summit, eight major projects were showcased including Data Centre, IT and Techno Park, Computer Hardware Assembling Plant, ICT Training Centre, Digital Services Centre, Smartphone Manufacturing and Assembling Plant, Incubation Centre and Film City. Minister Sharma also said that the government of Nepal was ready to forge cooperation to develop other projects to bring digital transformation in the country.
The closing session featured remarks from the chairman of the ruling CPN-UML and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. He stated that the present government has a clear vision, steadfast commitment, and a result-oriented action plan to achieve its SDG goal of graduating from LDC status by 2026. He also expressed confidence that the key objectives of the summit to project Nepal as a promising land of opportunities for investors have been achieved with the grand success of Investment Summit 2024.
By Sweta Singh (Kathmandu)