Pakistan fetched Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounting to $1.3 billion, up 6 percent, during the first eight months of this fiscal year (FY17). Economists said FDI is presenting an improved picture because of low base of previous years and in absolute terms the volume of FDI in the country is very low.
"Although, the government is making efforts to remove major hurdles such as energy for economic development, however Pakistan still needs to develop investment-friendly and long-term economic policies to attract more foreign investment," they added.
According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), FDI posted an increase of 6 percent during July-Februaryof this fiscal year compared to the same period last fiscal year. FDI amounting to $ 1.285 billion arrived in first eight months of FY17 compared to $ 1.212 billion in the same period of FY16, depicting an increase of $ 72.5 million. During the period under review, FDI inflows stood at $ 1.587 billion against the outflow of $ 302.3 million.
Month-on-month basis, FDI declined by 20 percent or $ 32 million to $ 123 million in February 2017 compared with $ 155.2 million in February 2016.
The SBP revealed that during the period under review, portfolio investment witnessed a downward trend falling by 1.6 percent. Portfolio investment stood negative at $ 353.2 million in July-February of this fiscal year compared to the outflow of $ 347.6 million in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.
During the period under review, foreign public investment surged by 120 percent or $ 547 million to reach $ 1.003 billion.
Similarly, total foreign investment in Pakistan, comprising FDI, portfolio investment and foreign public investment, surged by 46 percent to $ 1.935 billion at the end of eight months of current fiscal year.