<article>UK-based development finance institution CDC Group has made its first direct investment in Nepal by extending a $15-million, three-year loan to NMB Bank, according to an official announcement on Wednesday.</article>

UK-based development finance institution CDC Group has made its first direct investment in Nepal by extending a $15-million, three-year loan to NMB Bank, according to an official announcement on Wednesday.
This marks the second debt investment in the Nepalese banking sector since regulatory reforms were introduced in 2018.
CDC said its investment will allow the bank to grow its lending to key sectors of the Nepalese economy including infrastructure, agriculture and foreign currency-earning sectors such as tourism and hydropower projects.
“In making our first direct investment in Nepal, NMB is a key part of Nepal’s financial sector and our investment will allow it to provide increased long-term support to the businesses that contribute to Nepal’s growth,&#8221; said Holger Rothenbusch, Managing Director, Debt and Infrastructure, CDC.
NMB currently has 15,000 business accounts and 110 branches across Nepal serving a range of large and medium-sized business customers. The bank aims to grow its proportion of loans to micro, small &amp; medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) in the coming years.
“CDC’s investment in Nepal comes at an important time as the country transitions into a decentralised state and should help increase investors’ confidence in coming to Nepal,&#8221; said UK&#8217;s Department for International Development Head of Office in Nepal Rurik Marsden.
NMB is the only member bank from Nepal in the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, an independent worldwide network of banks whose objective is to use finance to deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental development.
CDC, which has been an investor in Asia for 70 years, continues to invest in job-creating, transformative sectors such as infrastructure, construction, business services, and manufacturing in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar.
In late 2018, CDC announced its aim to invest $1.7 billion in South Asia over the next three years and set out its commitment to partnering with local businesses to help boost growth, job creation and increased investment.
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The financing marks CDC's first direct investment in Nepal and the second debt investment in the Nepalese banking sector.

UK-based CDC Group extends $15m loan to Nepal's NMB Bank

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UK-based CDC Group extends $15m loan to Nepal's NMB Bank

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