Pakistan’s economy has started to show signs of recovery as Foreign Direct Investment in first four months increased by 9 percent in the current financial year.
The statistics released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) show that in the July to October period of FY21, Foreign Direct Investment reached $733 million whereas in the same period last year it was $672 million, showing an increase of $61 million. The inflow of foreign investment in same period increased by 5.6 percent and outflow declined by 3.3 percent.
China was the major the contributor in foreign investment with $332 million. Other notable investment came from Malta, Hong Kong, Netherlands and Norway.
However, in first four months of this fiscal year, the investment in Equities and Debt market received massive battering with a net outflow of $243.7 million whereas last year it witnessed an increase of $115 million.
Experts say that the increase in FDI shows that the economy is on the path of recovery. They are view that increase in remittances and improving signs in exports indicate that confidence of local and foreign investors restored to great extent.
Regarding the sharp decline in portfolio investment they say that the pandemic of COVID-19 proving to be a nightmare for all the leading financial markets of the world and Pakistan is no exception. They believed that once the recovery of financial losses will start in the stock exchanges of the world, Pakistan Stock Exchange will also benefit from it.
