Foreign Direct Investment Up 11% in February

The net foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan jumped to $101 million in February compared to $91 million in inflows recorded in the same month last year, reflecting an increase of 11%.

The FDI inflows in February were down significantly compared to inflows of $222 million registered in the previous month i.e. January, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Country witnessed a net foreign inflow of USD 101mn during Feb’23

Feb’23: $ 101mn; +11% YoY
8MFY23: $ 784mn; -40% YoY
@StateBank_Pak #SBP #Investment #Pakistan #Economy #AHL pic.twitter.com/h9vrc29SPM

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Major decline in FY23

However, the FDI inflows during the first eight months (July-February) of the current fiscal year (8MFY23) have plunged by 40 percent to $784 million compared to inflows of $1.315 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year, reflecting a decrease of over half a billion dollars ($531 million).

During February, the investment inflows from China and Switzerland were $22.7 million and $16.5 million, respectively. Other significant inflows were from the US ($10.5 million) and UAE ($5.5 million) during the period.

On a sector-wise basis, the power sector attracted $31.5 million with $15.9 million going toward thermal. This was followed by financial business with a $27 million investment and beverages with $9.4 million.

The communications sector with $5.6 million and the construction sector with $4.6 million also attracted decent inflows.