Government to remove threshold of Rs 50 million on foreign investment

KATHMANDU: The government is preparing to remove the minimum threshold of Rs 50 million on foreign investment.

“The government is preparing to remove the minimum threshold of Rs 50 million on foreign investment,” Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini said while addressing a programme organised to mark 7th Industry Day on Thursday.

He said that the government is planning to remove the threshold to increase foreign investment in the country.

“We will set the new limit by observing the new technology, not just by capital investment,” he said.

Though a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has been established in the country, the government is preparing to remove the limit due to lack of industries, Marasini said.

He further said that albeit China and India have been establishing new industries through SEZ, the SEZ in Nepal is in dire straits.

Secretary Marasini said that the trade deficit has been increasing as the Nepalis have been giving priority to the foreign products rather than the domestic ones.

He went on to say that the government is also preparing to provide land to the industries producing textiles.

The government had set a limit of Rs 50 million on foreign investment in May, 2019 in Nepal.

Saying that Nepal could not attract small investment after setting the threshold, he said that the government is preparing to remove the limit to clear the decks.

Earlier in 2019, despite reservations from the private sector, the government had decided to revise the minimum threshold on foreign direct investment from Rs5 million to Rs50 million.

Meanwhile, Bharat Raj Acharya, chairperson of Industry Committee in Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that all the industries should not formulate a provision to bring in investment less than Rs 50 million.