ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has slammed the federal government for its failure to attract foreign investment, saying the situation on ground suggests that the country’s economy is ‘surviving dangerously’.

PTI MNA Asad Umar said in a statement on Wednesday that the economic performance of the present government could be gauged from the fact that during the first quarter of the current financial year, foreign investment had witnessed a steep decline of 24 per cent.

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He said foreign investment in the country had been witnessing a declining trend throughout the two and a half years of the present government in power. In fact, he claimed, it had touched the lowest level in one decade.

When asked to explain, Mr Umar told Dawn that in 2006-2007, the country had been receiving $500 million in foreign investment every month which had now declined to around $20m. He said the government only performed well in securing loans, both from local banks and international institutions.

Mr Umar, who heads the PTI’s media and policy division, said that if Chinese investment was taken out of the total, the country had received only $87m in foreign investment during the current financial year.

“I am highlighting this because the government day in and day out claims that based on its good performance foreign investors have lined up for investment in the county,” the PTI leader said.

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As far as statistics for the first quarter of the financial year 2015-16 are concerned, the country has certainly not received significant foreign investment. But does it mean the present government has failed or it’s a temporary phase?

Talking to Dawn, Dr Qaiser Bengali, a known economist and adviser to Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik on economy, explained why the country had not received the required foreign investment in recent years.

First of all, he said, it was unfair to assess the performance of a government on the basis of one quarter’s receipt of foreign investment. And in case of Pakistan, the subject becomes even more complex because its foreign investment mostly depends on the proceeds of privatisation and portfolio investment that is done through stock exchange which keeps on changing on quite a fast pace.

All over the world, Dr Bengali said, investment was made on a long-term basis and, therefore, could only be explained on a year-to-year basis. But he had no qualms in accepting the fact that the country wasn’t doing well in attracting investment.

He said the country’s foreign exchange reserves were based on loans and investors knew that oil prices wouldn’t remain the same in the years to come. The government has nothing else to offer to the investors.

“Hardnosed investors don’t make investment on the basis of news reports. Since investment is a long-term process, they do their homework properly. Therefore, at present, I don’t think the government’s claims about economy are substantive,” Dr Bengali said.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2015