KARACHI: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) jumped by 51.7 per cent to $258 million in March compared to $170m in the same month last year.
Analysts attributed China’s aggressive withdrawal of investment from power projects to the reduction in FDI in the energy sector. During July-March FY24, total direct investments from China decreased by 53 percent to $262 million.
According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s data, the power sector received the largest amount of FDI in March, totaling $167.5 million followed by the oil and gas exploration sector ($19.9 million) and the financial businesses ($25.1 million).
Net FDI inflows, however, fell by 10 percent to $1.09 billion in the nine months of the current fiscal year.FDI in the power sector fell by 38 percent to $443 million between July and March of FY24.
In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, foreign direct investment in the financial sector fell to $151 million, a 33 percent decrease from a year ago. Direct investment in the petroleum refining sector was $70 million, down from $71 million a year earlier.
Foreign Direct Investment in the oil and gas exploration sector, however, rose to $171 million, a 71 percent increase. Pakistan is estimated to see a rise in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the coming months as Islamabad is in talks to secure a new loan from the International Monetary Fund. Investor trust in the nation’s economy will increase as a result.
