Nepal approves $360m investment from Chinese firm

KATHMANDU - Nepal has endorsed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposal worth $360 million made by China's Hongshi Holdings Limited to establish a cement plant in Nepal in partnership with Nepal's Shivam Cement.

A meeting of the Investment Board of Nepal (IBN) chaired by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala took such a decision on Tuesday in Kathmandu, a statement issued by the IBN secretariat said.

This is the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) pledge yet from China, according to the government officials.

China's Hongshi Holdings and Nepal's Shivam Cement reached an agreement in March this year to set up a cement plant in Nepal. Officials at the IBN said this is the third largest FDI in cement factories in Nepal.

As per the agreement, the Chinese company will invest 70 percent in the project, while the Nepali partner will invest the remaining amount.

According to Nepal's Cement Manufacturers' Association, there are over 40 cement plants in this Himalayan nation and domestic products only account for 85 percent of the total consumption in this country.