AdvertisementBelt and Road InitiativeEconomyGlobal EconomyChina to step up investment in Nepal’s hydropower sector: Nepalese official
China has ‘already proposed some projects’ in Nepal, as it looks to tap the country’s huge hydropower resources and sell power to India
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China has plans to increase its investments in Nepal to take advantage of the country’s rich hydropower resources, according to a Nepalese official.
Nepal’s hydropower sector is particularly attractive to Chinese investors because there is potential to sell some of the power generated to India, said Hong Kong-based Consul General Bindeswar Prasad Lekhak.
The Himalayan nation, which borders China and India, has vast untapped hydropower resources and it is keen to attract more foreign investment to expand the sector. It is already part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, which focuses on building infrastructure.Advertisement
“China is the biggest investor in Nepal, so I think China will support us more and more in the future,” Lekhak said on the sidelines of the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong earlier this week.
“They are planning for this year and they have already proposed some projects,” he added. “Maybe in the near-term future they will come up with some new (foreign direct investment) in Nepal.”Advertisement
China is Nepal’s largest foreign direct investor, and Chinese companies have been involved in the country’s hydropower industry ever since Nepal opened up the sector to private investment in 2010, according to the Nepal Economic Forum, a research institute.
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