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Indian fast-moving consumer goods company Dabur has decided to make an additional investment of Rs 9.68 billion in Nepal.

The Investment Board Nepal and Dabur Nepal Pvt. Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday for the construction, operation, and management of capacity building and product diversification projects under the private investment concept.

Though the Investment Board Nepal had approved the additional investment by Dabur in February last year, the MoU was signed only on Thursday.

Sushil Bhatt, CEO of Investment Board Nepal, and Harkirat Singh Bedi, Business Head at Dabur Nepal, signed the MoU on behalf of the respective parties. Ramesh Rijal, Nepal's Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies, was also present on the occasion, according to a press statement issued after the signing ceremony.

The Indian multinational company had sought to make additional investment in Nepal before the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, but it was kept pending due to the prolonged Covid wave in Nepal and India.

As per the proposal, Dabur Nepal, which is producing various kinds of beverages, beauty and healthcare products in Nepal, will increase its capacity enhancement and diversification.

After signing the MoU, Bedi expressed his happiness for investing a part of the company's accumulated capital in Nepal for capacity enhancement and diversification of products.

The Investment Board Nepal is the special vehicle of the government of Nepal that has the authority of approving and facilitating any investment above Rs 6 billion in the country.

As per this rule, Dabur Nepal took permission from the Investment Board. As per the available data, the overall contribution of Dabur Nepal in Nepal's export trade stands at 5.35 per cent. As much as 97.5 per cent share of Dabur Nepal is owned by Dabur International Limited, while the remaining 2.5 per cent is owned by a Nepali partner.