Foreign companies repatriated a record-high profit and dividend of $918.1 million in May 2024, clearing a backlog from the past two years and helping to restore international investors’ confidence.
According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the repatriation in May alone exceeded the total dispatches recorded in the first 10 months of the outgoing fiscal year 2023-24.
Multinational companies (MNCs) sent a total of $1.80 billion in the first 11 months of FY24, marking a 477% increase compared to $313.1 million in the same period last year.
Despite foreign payments of $2 billion in April and May, the country’s foreign exchange reserves remained stable at over $9 billion until mid-June 2024.
The SBP continued to purchase surplus US dollars from domestic currency markets to maintain this stability.
The government is also prioritising payments to foreign airlines as it clears the queue of repatriation dues.
An unannounced ban on foreign companies sending earned profits out of the country, imposed in July 2022 due to declining foreign exchange reserves, was lifted around September 2023.
Foreign investors are still waiting for full-scale stability in the domestic economy and will make significant investments once marketed with the right projects.
