Foreign direct investment (FDI) declined by 35 per cent to $1.395 billion during July-March FY21 compared to $2.15bn in the same period of last fiscal, according to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data issued on Monday.
The inflow in March was just $167.6 million compared to $278.7m in the same month of last year — a decline of 40pc. However, as the inflow in March this year slightly improved compared to February when the inflow was $155m, the FDI trend shows that the overall trend is on the decline.
The FDI had dropped by 30pc during the first eight months of the current fiscal, and due to the 40pc decline recorded last month it has now fallen by 35pc after nine months.
However, the situation on external front is much better as the current account of eight months of FY21 is surplus with $881m and the SBP reserves have reached a four-year high.
The latest data shows that inflow from China during the nine months of this fiscal was $650.8m, constituting 46pc of the total inflows so far. China has been the largest investor in Pakistan for several years, but the inflow declined this year. In the same period of last fiscal, the inflow from China was $859.3m; the decline this year was 24pc.
The inflow from Hong Kong also declined to $105.7m compared to $135m in the same period of last fiscal. The inflows from the United Kingdom improved to $105m compared to $90.4m. The FDI from the United States also increased to $88m compared to $65m of last fiscal.
