Foreign direct investment & market entry
Approvals, structuring and registration for foreign investors establishing operations in Nepal.
Foreign investment into Nepal runs through a defined approval pathway. The Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2019 sets the minimum investment threshold, the permitted and restricted sectors, and the approving authority for each class of investment. Depending on the size and sector of the investment, approval is granted by the Department of Industry or by the Investment Board Nepal.
We advise on which pathway applies to a proposed investment, prepare the approval application and supporting documents, and carry the file through to company registration, industry registration, tax registration and the opening of the investment account.
Approval is the beginning rather than the end. Repatriation of dividends, capital and royalties requires separate recording of the investment with Nepal Rastra Bank, and we advise on that step at the point of entry rather than when the first dividend is declared.
Services
- Sector eligibility and threshold analysis under FITTA 2019
- Foreign investment approval applications to the Department of Industry
- Applications to the Investment Board Nepal for large-scale projects
- Company incorporation at the Office of the Company Registrar
- Industry registration and operating licences
- Nepal Rastra Bank investment recording and repatriation approvals
- Technology transfer, licensing and royalty agreements
- Joint venture and shareholders agreements
- Branch and liaison office establishment
Statutes
- Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2019 (FITTA)Approval pathway, thresholds, restricted sectors
- Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Rules 2021
- Companies Act 2063 (2006)
- Industrial Enterprises Act 2076 (2020)
- Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act 2019 (1962)
- Public Private Partnership and Investment Act 2075 (2019)
Regulators
- Department of IndustryApproving authority for most foreign investment
- Investment Board NepalLarge-scale and specified projects
- Office of the Company Registrar
- Nepal Rastra BankInvestment recording and repatriation
- Inland Revenue Department