ISLAMABAD, Feb 22: The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) has registered a 52 per cent increase during the first seven months (July-January) of the current fiscal year over the same period of the last year.

Official figures released by Board of Investment (BoI) here on Tuesday showed that the inflow of FDI during the period under review reached to $515 million against $339.5 million during the same period of last year.

The board expected that with the inflow of funds from M/s Kanooz Al Watan of Saudi Arabia for the purchase of KESC, the FDI inflows during the fiscal year would not only exceed $1 billion mark but would also be the highest in Pakistan's history.

Federal Minister for Privatization and Investment Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said in a statement that the substantial increase in the FDI inflows could be attributed to the good governance, improvement in policies and Pakistan's image abroad.

During the period a record increase in portfolio investment has also been witnessed, which has been $92 million, bringing total foreign investment up to $607 million.

The major sectors which attracted FDI during the period under review were: Oil and Gas ($123.2 million), Communications ($72.1 million), Power ($43.4 million), Chemicals ($30 million), Trade ($27.5 million), Financial Business ($60.1 million) and others ($158.7 million). The United States has taken the lead during this period by investing $129.2 million while the United Kingdom stood second with $95 million investment.