LAHORE: Expressing concern over the declining trend in foreign direct investment (FDI), the Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) said on Friday that the FDI has declined to $114 million in July 2020, which depicts that the government has failed to win the confidence of foreign investors.

PIAF Chairman Mian Nauman Kabir, in a joint statement with Senior Vice Chairman Nasir Hameed and Vice Chairman Javed Siddiqi, observed that it is good omen that the FDI is higher on a year-on-year basis, but still lower compared to the average of $250-$300 million during the pre-Covid-19 period. He added that FDI figures of the previous year reflect the same scenario, which plunged to a nine-month low at $73.4 million in July 2019, the first month of the current fiscal year 2019-20, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

He said that Pakistan has succeeded to improve its balance of payments with record remittances in FY20 while the FDI witnessed 88% growth last year. China has been the leading investor in Pakistan since the last few years and was a major contributor to the increase in the size of FDI in 2019-20. However, the new fiscal FY21 may drag down the inflows from elsewhere due to slowdown of economies in the developed countries, he warned.

Nasir Hameed said that Pakistan has remained a potential market for foreign investors, who still have plans to make fresh investment in the country, but they have continued to wait for the return of economic stability.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020