Daily Times

Singapore remained the top foreign direct investor in Pakistan, with a total investment of $16.4 million during July, the first month of the fiscal year 2021-22.

According to figures released by the State bank of Pakistan (SBP), the five largest contributors of foreign direct investment in Pakistan were Singapore, United States, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, and China.

The inflows from Singapore were recorded at $19.7 million during July 2021 against $2.3 million inflows in July 2020. The United States emerged as the second leading foreign investor in Pakistan as its net direct investment into Pakistan amounted to $14.9 million in the month of July, followed by Hong Kong with $12.3 million, UK with $9.1 million, and China with $6.6 million.

The foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country dropped by 30.15 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to $89.9 million in July 2021 as compared to the net investment of $128.7 million recorded in July 2020.

According to the PBS data, during the said period, the foreign private investment into the country amounted to $88.8 million, out of which, $89.9 million were attributed to direct investments, whereas disinvestment of $1.1 million was attributed to equity securities i.e. a part of portfolio investments.

Within the direct investments, there was an inflow of $176.3 million and an outflow of $86.4 million during the month, according to the central bank. Under the foreign public investment, $1.002 billion worth of investment was witnessed in debt securities during July 2021.

All in all, the foreign investments in the country during the month amounted to $1.09 billion in July 2021 against the net inflows of $2.4 million in July 2020. The foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by over 27.68 percent during the 11 months of the last fiscal year 2020-21 compared to the same period in the previous financial year. However, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed that the inflow during May 2021 increased compared to the same month of last fiscal year.

The country received $1.75 billion FDI during July-May FY21 against the inflows of $2.42 billion in the same period last financial year – a decline of around $670 million, or 38 percent. The FDI on a month-on-month basis increased by 25 percent in May 2021 to reach $198.3 million against the net inflow of $158.4 million in April 2021. According to the SBP data, on a year-on-year basis, FDI increased by 63.34 percent when compared to the net investment of $121.4 million during May 2020.

The power sector attracted the single largest investment of net $41.9 million in July 2021 compared to $40.5 million in the same month last year. Financial business received $27 million compared to $22.3 million. Oil and gas exploration sector got $22.4 million in July compared to $16 million in the same month last year.