KARACHI, March 27: The US foreign direct investment (FDI) into Pakistan has shot up to $148.5 million in the first eight months of this fiscal year from $46.7 million in a year-ago period.

“This clearly shows that investors’ perception has improved,” said president of Pakistan American Business Council Zubyr I. Soomro when reached by Dawn over telephone. He said the country might get still larger foreign direct investment in future due to greater international support that it had been receiving since September 11. But he warns that Pakistan will have to become more investment-friendly to translate the contractual investment into actual inflow of funds.

Soomro says bureaucratic hassles will have to be eased further and trouble shooting facility will have to be offered to ensure that those who have contracted long-term investment really bring it into Pakistan. “The challenge is for us.”

Official breakdown of the $148.5 million US investment is not available but top bankers and industrialists say oil and gas sector has attracted much of this investment.

A source close to the Board of Investment says the amount also includes long-term foreign investment contracted by Pakistanis settled in the US but he would not give figures. Bankers say that energy and telecommunication sectors have also got some of the US FDI.

BoI officials say Pakistan is well positioned to attract more of the US foreign direct investment after the revival of insurance cover for the US investors as well as lifting of the ban on the operations of export-import bank. But they say it is too early to expect a sudden growth in the US FDI due to these developments.

The government officials are also pinning hopes for attracting increased FDI from the US on the basis of the reforms that the country has brought about in various sectors of economy while remaining on track the IMF standby arrangement.

Since the country is also progressing well with a $1.3 billion IMF poverty reduction and growth facility chances are that the US investors as well as others will find it easier to invest more in Pakistan than in the past.

The latest State Bank statistics show that Pakistan attracted total foreign direct investment of $254.5 million during July- February 2001-02, up from $199.1 million received in July-February 2001.

Whereas the foreign direct investment from the US rose sharply, FDI from the UK fell to $20.5 million in the first eight months of this fiscal year from about $73 million in a year-ago period.

Foreign direct investment from Saudi Arabia also declined to $2.1 million from $34.7 million. But FDI from the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland rose from $3.2 million and $2.3 million, respectively, in July-February 2001 to $14.9 million and $6 million in July-February 2002. Foreign direct investment from Germany and France rose from $4.3 million and $700,000, respectively, to $5.8 million and $1.2 million.

FDI from Canada shot up to $2.9 million in July-February 2001- 02 from only $100,000 in July-February 2000-01. But FDI from Hong Kong and Japan slipped to $1.8 million and $3.5 million from $2.2 million and $7 million, respectively.

Investors from the Netherlands, who had invested $2.7 million in the first eight months of fiscal 2000-01, made a net investment of $9.6 million. Korea also made a low investment of $200,000 in the first eight months of this fiscal year, down from $3.7 million a year earlier. Singapore almost maintained its investment level at $2.5 million, but Australian investment fell from $1.5 million in the first eight months of fiscal 2000-01 to only $400,000 in the same period of this fiscal year.

China made no foreign investment. But its participation in the Gawadar deep seaport will put it high on the list of the foreign investors in Pakistan in near future.