The outflow from foreign portfolio from the country's equity market amounted to $11.619 million during the week ended on February 21, 2009. The foreign investors bought shares worth $7.8 million and their sales amounted to $19.4 million during the week. According to National Clearing Company of Pakistan (NCCPL) data, the cumulative outflow of this mode of investment reached $34.175 in the current month.
This figure had increased to $561.205 million in the period from January 1, 2008 to date, while the net selling post-lifting of the price floor reached $201 million. "The foreigners, who held shares worth $1.3 billion at the beginning of 2009, now hold Pakistan equities estimated around $1.1 billion on account of eroding share values and offloading of shares", Atif Zafar, an analyst at JS Global Capital, said.
The week opened on a negative note and an outflow of $4,623,724 of foreign investment was witnessed on Monday and $1,809,620 on Tuesday. This trend continued as the offshore investors withdrew another $2,888,451 on Wednesday, $1,482,937 on Thursday and $814,427 on Friday.