Despite widening political rift and business instability, a latest Nepali government report said Thursday that foreign direct investment (FDI) commitment to Nepal recorded a robust 250 percent growth during the first six months of the current fiscal year (from July 16, 2005 to July 15, 2006).

The FDI commitment received during the first half of 2005/06 touched 1.2 billion Nepali rupees (17.5 million U.S. dollars), mentioned a statistics of Department of Industry of Nepal. It showed that FDI commitment during the same period of 2004/05 was 483.82 million Nepali rupees (6.9 million U.S. dollars).

"The amount soared because the number of FDI projects registered with the Department of Industry (DoI) itself doubled during the period," a senior government official said on condition of anonymity.

According to the statistics, a total of 67 FDI projects were approved for operations in the country during the period. Those were numbered at 31 during the same period last year.

As in the past, India topped the list of largest FDI generating countries for Nepal. Of the total FDI projects, 20 projects registered during the period came with the Indian investment.

The United States and China has emerged as the second and the third largest foreign investment generating country for Nepal.

A total of 19 countries invested in Nepal during the first half of the current fiscal year. During the same period last year, only 12 countries had invested in Nepal.

Source: Xinhua