KARACHI: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) recorded negative growth and declined by 51 percent during the first five months of this fiscal year (FY23).

According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan fetched FDI amounting to $430 million during July-Nov of FY23 as against $885 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year (FY22). During the period under review, overall FDI inflows were $681 million as against $ 1.306 billion inflows in the previous year.

The detailed analysis revealed that although overall FDI from China fell 20 percent to $103 million in July-Nov of FY23, it still has the largest 24 percent share in overall FDI. The UAE ranked second with $81 million direct investment and Switzerland third with $58 million during the first five months of this fiscal year.

During the period under review, major investment poured into the power sector amounted to $204 million followed by the Financial Business Sector $141 million and Oil and Gas Exploration worth $40 million.

Net FDI in Pakistan falls over 52% in first four months of FY23

The portfolio investment also registered a downward trend with an outflow of $14.8 million during July-Nov of FY23.

According to SBP, total foreign investment in Pakistan, comprising foreign direct investment, portfolio investment and foreign public investment shrunk by 27 percent or $145.2 million to $397.2 million in July-Nov of FY23 compared to some $542 million in the same period of FY22.

Month-on-month basis, foreign direct investment stood at $82 million in November 2022 compared to $158.4 million.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022