KARACHI: For the second month in a row, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) jumped month-on-month by 62 per cent to $163.4 million in March against a net outflow of $30.4m in the same month last year, reported the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday.

This could be surprising for many that FDI has been increasing despite persistent political and economic crises.

The FDI inflows in March were the second highest in the current fiscal year. The country attracted $221m in FDI in January.

However, the FDI inflows during July-March FY23 noted a decline of 22.5pc.

Pakistan has been receiving the smallest amount of FDI in the region for the last many years due to multiple factors that have damaged its image as an ideal destination for investment.

However, the biggest chunk of FDI was still coming from China.

The inflows from China were $319.7m during the first nine months of the current fiscal year compared to $375.6m in the same period of last year. Chinese inflows accounted for 30pc of the total FDI.

Japan invested $156m during July-March FY23 against the net outflow of $9m in the same period last year.

FDI from Switzerland rose to $122m during 9MFY23 against $109m in the same period last year.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2023