Investing in Nepal: need advices

Hi Richard,

As far as I know, the correct way would be to
1) set up a company (Pvt. Ltd.) and become a shareholder
(this would generally require a Lawyer to do a *lot* of footwork).
All needs to be done officially, and your shares need to be registered with various departments of the Ministry of Industry in Tripureshwor (taxi drivers generally only understand when you ask for Tirpureswor not Tri...).
The first place to take information (or get informed of a good Lawyer for you) would be the Foreign Investment Section of the Department of Industry there. Go to the Tripureshwor round-point, walk 200 meters in the direction of Teku (ask - anyone can point you to Teku from there) past the big superstores building and enter the gate on the right. Once inside the gate, the first building at your left hand has the Foreign Investment Department, on the second floor, if I remember correctly.

2) AFTER registering your new company you open a bank account for the company in Nepali Rupee currency and transfer the required sum to pay for your shares into the companies bank account.
(Since the Nepali Rupee is not a freely convertible currency, this basically means you give your money to the company, knowing you cannot get it out of Nepal anymore. Only after you start making profits, you can take the profits abroad, but not the initial payment for the shares).

Make sure you transfer the money directly from your personal bank account in your home country to your company bank account in Nepal, and afterward go to the bank and REQUEST CREDIT ADVICES for your transfer. These you will later be asked for when you want to request for a Business Visa, and after some time the advises will go into the banks archive and are HARD to retrieve!

Good luck setting it all up.
Kind regards,

Jorge.

Hi
My name is Raj, I am doing my law in university and doing my practices in Foreign Investment. There is no special lawyers for foreign investment.Nepal is littele different than Europe.some times systemd don`t work.admin job is not smooth as developed countries. I have worked with several people, from UK and Franch.I know one Italian just return back to home due to all thses admin and several problems.Iam  currently based in Kathmandu.If you want more details about  your plan I can work for you.Richard is right.But need lots of works and crazy mentality of people who are in admin.You should learn different ways to deal with people. I can handle your all process with nepalese way.You need to work nepalese way. It won`t be easy but possible.If you want to know more contact me [email protected]
bye
Regards
Raj

Hi
I am again here. First do basic research.I can provide you detail information. But some time information do not work.The best way is to know nepalese ways to dealing people from admin.If you want to know some one who deal with Nepali admin people I can introduce you through mail.Finally he is back to home.But your business plans seem very good and  Pokhara is best place to satrt such business.Which part of France?I have been there and know many Franch people. If you want to know more detail from Franch people I can introduce you.with whom i worked.
If you are interested  we will manage time to see and explain you.If you like we will go a head  if not good luck and will have good coffee.I will tell you details which you need to prepare during our meeting or in mail.
regards
Raj

Hi Raj,
Thanks for your reply. It would be niceto meet you, i'm in Kathmandu for the rest of the week and maybe more. I hired a lawyer for the start of my project, company registration, visa... But i'd like to hear what you have to say, as i welcome any information.
here's my phone, call me ***
i hope we talk soon,
Richard

what kind of investments are good there?

Wonder why no one has come forward to answer the question Bestcoach raised 7 years ago - in 2010:  "Which investments are best"? 
Maybe a new thread is required here?
All I know is that I have dis-invested over that same period of time and therefore in a poor position, myself, to make recommendations to others.... to do the exact opposite of what I have done!

From more pertinent and reliable international sources of published data, Forbes.com is now ranking Nepal as No. 118, in their list of "Best Countries for Business" in the world, Yemen being last at No. 136. In Country Profile, Forbes states that Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with about one quarter of its population living below the poverty line. Nepal, they add, is heavily dependent on remittances from the many nepalese who work abroad, and which amount to as much as 29% of GDP. This same source reminds us that agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for almost 70% of the population and accounting for about one third of GDP...industrial activity mainly involving agricultural products...sugarcane, grain, jute, tobacco...etc.
Challenges to Nepal's growth, they conclude, include its landlocked location, persistent power shortages and underdeveloped transportation infrastructure.
Forbes places Nepal's GDP at $21 billion as of December 2016 - GDP growth: 2.7% - GDP per capita: $700 -  Population: 29M - Public Debt/GDP: 30% - Unemployment: 46% - Inflation: 7.2%
Against this background, it was published just recently that the Tourism sector of Nepal accounts for  7.5% of GDP according to Economic Impact Research Report for 2017 (Source: Ktm Post 31/03/2017)
Certainly there is a lot to do in that sector with need to promote it and bring in foreign investment which has remained at less than 0,6% from 1972 to the present. The World Bank's latest available statistic for this same foreign investment relates to the year 2015 when it was 0.24485% of GDP.
Indeed, the whole Tourism sector in Nepal notably with the help of foreign investment has a long way to go before it becomes the country's biggest industry.

There are restrictions on the type of businesses foreigners can invest in. Guest houses have been on that list, but maybe it's changed. However, guest houses are on every corner in Nepal and even in high season, few independently owned guesthouses fill up.

My opinion: Westerners can market circles around the local people and bring huge amounts for investments, but the Nepali belong here; we don't. It seems unfair to come in with huge sums of money and then compete with local families who may have sold family land to make a guesthouse. Also, if you don't do everything by the book the Nepali (you must have a Nepali Partner for 51%) will end up with it and you'll go home whining about how you got cheated by a Nepali. The laws favor the Nepali so the Chinese and Indians don't take the entire country-I agree on such laws. Just look at what the Chinese have done to Madagascar and Brazil. And don't get me started on India.

If a person wants to bring innovation to Nepal it's wonderful. Things like the US's MLS for real estate are great and really needed in Nepal. But another guesthouse-not so much.

A company I continue to have contact with is heavily committed to Tourism and Travel worldwide.
Their clients mostly international are always on the lookout for "best business opportunities" in that field, and with the clear intention of making a profit. To achieve that goal, they need a favorable political and economic climate to do it in, together with:
- already existing transportation infrastructure
- solid investment guarantees to repatriate both capital and earnings
The background information I  quoted before from trustworthy sources of the World Bank and other should tell us something about the current situation but to the extent that the main indicators all there continue to head south, profit-minded investors will find little or no incentive to invest in this specialty field in Nepal.