Canada overtakes China as top source of FDI into Pakistan in September

October 16, 2026 (MLN): Canada emerged as the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Pakistan in September 2026, with gross inflows of $85.3m and no outflows, according to provisional data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

Canada’s net FDI stood at $85.3m, up 70.60% month-on-month (MoM) from $50m in August 2026, and made up 38.86% of the country’s total net FDI for the month.

For July–September FY27, Canada’s cumulative net FDI stood at $229.2m, up 1.91% year-on-year (YoY) from $224.9m in the same period of FY26.

China was the second-largest source by gross inflows at $77.4m, but outflows of $33.6m left net FDI at $43.8m.

That was down 61.24% MoM from $113.0m in August, as inflows fell 42.24% from $134.0m and outflows rose 59.24% from $21.1m.

China’s cumulative net FDI for the first quarter of FY27 reached $197.5m on gross inflows of $295.5m and outflows of $98.0m, up 62.82% YoY from $121.3m.

The United Kingdom recorded gross inflows of $52.7m against outflows of $4.0m, resulting in net FDI of $48.7m, the second-highest among all countries.

This was up 255.47% MoM from $13.7m in August, as inflows rose 61.16% from $32.7m and outflows fell 78.95% from $19.0m.

The UK’s cumulative net FDI of $83.4m was up 36.05% YoY from $61.3m.

Switzerland posted gross inflows of $15.2m and outflows of $0.4m, bringing net FDI to $14.8m, down 6.33% MoM from $15.8m. Its cumulative net FDI of $44.7m was down 5.50% YoY from $47.3m.

The United Arab Emirates recorded gross inflows of $12.2m against outflows of $5.6m, leaving net FDI at $6.5m, a decline of 86.43% MoM from $47.9m in August.

Cumulative net FDI from the UAE still rose 175.38% YoY to $54.8m from $19.9m, with gross inflows doubling to $74.0m from $37.0m.

Hong Kong contributed gross inflows of $3.2m and outflows of $1.0m, leaving net FDI at $2.2m, down 90.79% MoM from $23.9m. Its cumulative net FDI of $25.6m was down 24.48% YoY from $33.9m.

The Netherlands recorded a net outflow of $3.4m, as outflows of $16.1m outweighed inflows of $12.6m. Its cumulative net FDI of $13.9m was down 48.90% YoY from $27.2m.

The September data show Canada and the United Kingdom offsetting a sharp slowdown from China, the UAE and Hong Kong.

Overall net FDI eased from August’s high but remained on course for a stronger first quarter, with cumulative net FDI of $719.7m, up 19.87% YoY from $600.4m.

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