The case for Nepal’s sovereign wealth funds to attract FDI

Nepal can reach its goal of becoming a $100 billion economy in five years by adopting innovative tax policies to build a foreign sovereign wealth fund, and by creating a friendly business climate.

As Nepal targets an ambitious growth plan to become a $100 billion economy in the next five years, strategic foreign direct investment is a cornerstone of achieving this vision. Tax treaties and bilateral investment protection agreements (BIPA) between nations are crucial, especially with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, given that we have close to 3.5 million Nepali migrants in these countries. Hence, GCC is key to Nepal, as it is a major source of remittance income. Currently, Nepal has only 11 tax treaties, including Qatar, but no other GCC nations have a tax treaty or BIPA with any GCC country yet.