Wendy Werner, regional manager for Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh of IFC exchanging MOU with Maha Prasad Adhikari, CEO of Investment Board Nepal during the Nepal Investment Summit, Saturday. Photo: Dinesh Gole/Republica

17 projects receive investment applications

KATHMANDU, March 31: The two-day ‘Investment Summit 2019’ concluded on Saturday with the signing of 15 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with and among various investors, in addition to investment commitments to 17 various projects.

Most of the MoUs are for joint venture agreements between/among private companies and government agencies. These range from bringing in investments to mutual cooperation between the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) and the Investment Board of South Korea, to verbal announcements on investments and development of hydropower projects.

Apart from the signing of MoUs, the government has received applications for over a dozen projects from both foreign and domestic investors. While the government had showcased 77 projects at the summit to attract investment, it was able to draw applications for investment only in 17 projects. Unlike at the investment summit of 2017, the government did not hype up the amount of investments these commitments will draw.

A total of 735 delegates from 40 countries representing 300 companies, in addition to 600 domestic participants from over 100 companies, took part in the summit, according to IBN.

Some notable deals signed at the end of the summit include a joint venture agreement between CG Corp Global and SkyPower Global for developing a 600-megawatt solar power in Nepal, an MoU between CG Corp Global and Sharaf Group headquartered in Dubai for the development of a multi-model logistics park in Nepal, and a deal between CG Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and the chief minister’s office of Province 2 for the development of a solar photo-voltaic energy project.

Also notable were the announcement of financial investment confirmation of $650 million for the 216-MW Upper Trishuli Hydropower Company by a Korean company and an agreement between the International Finance Corporation, IBN and the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Authority of Nepal for the development of Shimra SEZ on a public-private partnership model.

Another commitment letter signed at the end of the summit between SJVN Arun-III Power Development Company (SAPDC), the State Bank of India and three Nepali commercial banks for the financing of the 900-MW Arun-III hydropower project will pave the way for financial closure for the development of the mega project . The Indian SBI Bank has made a commitment to provide Rs 65.6 billion while Everest Bank Ltd (Rs 8.13 billion) and Nabil Bank Ltd (Rs 4.88 billion) will also contribute to the project estimated to cost Rs 112.28 billion.

Regarding commitments for investment in various projects pitched by the government, IBN CEO Maha Prasad Adhikari said they have received applications for seven projects in transport infrastructure, four in energy sector, three in agriculture infrastructure, two in education and health and one in logistics (bulk terminal). The government had pitched 77 projects worth nearly $32 billion during the summit.

But it was not immediately clear which projects have drawn applications from investors.

The two-day summit also featured a number of sideline events on themes of business climate, future of venture capital in Nepal, and women entrepreneurship, along with 36 bilateral meetings with the prime minister and other ministers, over 39 business to government meetings and over 30 business to business meetings, according to IBN.

Amid concerns over the post-summit efforts of the government to translate those MoUs and investment commitments into reality, IBN CEO Adhikari said the government will set up a robust follow-up mechanism to take the signed deals into implementation.

MoUs/Announcements