Kathmandu, October 16 Non-resident Nepalis (NRNs) invested Rs 29.85 billion in nine districts of the country till 2014, creating 8,276 jobs, a report released today says. A significant chunk of investment made by NRNs went into the services sector. The sector attracted Rs 17.54 billion, or 59 per cent of the total investment made by NRNs in Nepal, says the report, ‘NRN Investment in Nepal’, prepared by the Society of Economic Journalists Nepal. Another sector that drew the most NRN investment was energy. This sector drew Rs 7.36 billion, or 25 per cent of the total NRN investment in Nepal. This was followed by investment in manufacturing, which stood at Rs 4.73 billion. All these investments went into 67 different enterprises, says the report prepared after conducting surveys in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Gorkha, Makwanpur, Baglung, Siraha, Chitwan and Kaski. These enterprises created 8,276 jobs, of which 2,780, or 33.59 per cent, engaged women. A big chunk of these jobs — 3,559 or 43 per cent — were generated in the services sector, followed by energy (2,648), manufacturing (1,821) and not-for-profit, like health and education (248). Those engaged in jobs created by enterprises opened by NRNs earned average minimum monthly wage of Rs 10,997 and maximum average monthly salary of Rs 70,165. The report, however, shows that investments made by NRNs are urban centric. For instance, Kathmandu Valley, which includes Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur districts, drew Rs 23.15 billion of NRN investment till the end of 2014. This makes up around 78 per cent of the total investment made by NRNs in Nepal. Another attractive investment destination for NRNs was Baglung, which attracted investment to the tune of Rs 2.98 billion. Makwanpur attracted Rs 1.20 billion, while Siraha remained least attractive investment destination for NRNs, drawing Rs 233 million — that too for charities. Addressing the Seventh International General Assembly and Global Conference of the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) today in Kathmandu, NRNA President Shesh Ghale said NRNs want to emerge as development partners of Nepal. “But to attain that goal, we have to start planning from today,” he said, urging all NRNs to take part in the development process of the country. However, NRNs have complained there are certain roadblocks that have prevented them from increasing investment in the country. One among them, as per the report, is the poor law and order situation in Nepal. They have also identified politicisation of trade unions, lack of adequate electricity, inconsistency in government policy, lack of skilled human resources and rigid labour law as other problems facing NRNs.