KARACHI: Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country increased 88pc to $2.56 billion in the fiscal year 2019-20, compared to $1.36 billion in FY19, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The FDI in the country has bounced back to FY18 levels, when it stood at $2.78 billion, before falling to $1.36 billion in FY19.
Specifically, in the month of June, FDI in Pakistan rose 70.5pc to $174.8 million, compared to $102.5 million in June last year. On a monthly basis, FDI increased by 45.6pc in June, from $120 million recorded in May 2020.
Foreign direct investment remained on the rise, particularly in the first three months of the calendar year 2020, where the monthly FDI was consistently above the $200-million mark.
One notable month was December 2019, where FDI increased to $487 million, against $319.5 million recorded during the same month in 2019.
Country-wide data released by the central bank shows that China remained the largest investor, with net FDI of $844 million during FY20, compared with an investment of $130.8 million during the same period last year.
The second-largest investor was Norway, with a net FDI of $402 million, compared with $115.8 million during the same period the year before.
Malta made a significant investment, with a net FDI of $222.2 million, while the Netherlands had net inflows of $133.2 million. FDI from the UK stood at $117.3 million, while inflows from the US came in at $97 million.
The highest amount of FDI during FY20 was in the power sector, at $764.3 million. The second highest was communications, at $663.9 million, followed by the oil and gas exploration sector, at $311.4 million.
