Pakistan foreign investment slip 33 pc in February

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 18 : Pakistan's Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell year-on-year (YoY) by 33 per cent and decreased by 17.3 per cent compared to the month of January, media reports said on Friday.
The State Bank of Pakistan released some data which showed on FDI inflows during July-Feb 2021-22 noted a positive growth of 6 per cent compared to the same period of last fiscal year, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The second half of the current fiscal has been facing several negative impacts including the war in Ukraine and a hike in oil prices in the international markets, the report added.
This drop-in investment said the record surge in oil prices and other commodities rates has widened the trade deficit.
According to Dawn, the 6 per cent FDI growth is far lower than the USD 11.6 billion current account deficit confronting the country.
The Pakistani publication added that poor investment climate hit the FDI inflows which noted a sharp decline of 50 per cent to USD 110 million in January this year from USD 218.7m in December 2021.
Besides this, Pakistan's FDI inflows from China dropped to USD 384.5 million during July-Feb FY22 compared to USD 522.7m in 8MFY21.
China has retained its position as the biggest investor in the country. However, Pakistan is unable to attract Chinese investors for any vital change in the economy.
The report further noted the biggest change in the inflows from the US which more than doubled in 8MFY22 to USD 175m compared to USD 84.2m in the same period in FY21.