Foreign investors return to Pakistani equities in FY24

June 28, 2024 (MLN): Foreign investors have started tiptoeing back into Pakistani equities after almost a decade. Overseas investors purchased stocks worth a total of $140.8 million in the fiscal year ending June 2024, according to data compiled by Mettis Global.

In the previous year, foreign investment stood at a meager $1.6m, while the five-year average was -$263.2m. From FY17 to FY23, foreign investors had dumped equities worth over $2.3 billion.

Foreign investors heavily accumulated debt-ridden nation’s stocks in FY24 amid optimism over improved economic conditions, enticing valuations, and the central bank's shift to monetary easing.

The Pakistan stock market recorded its best yearly return in over two decades in FY24. Its benchmark Index climbed 94.4% in USD terms to become the best-performing market among more than 80 global equity indexes tracked by MG Link.

The historic bull run began when the country narrowly avoided a sovereign debt default, thanks to the International Monetary Fund’s rescue package toward the end of the last fiscal year.

Read: PSX FY24, A Year for the History Books

Flow-wise, Foreign Corporates were the dominant buyers, with a net investment of $152.4m.

They allocated the majority of their capital, $62.7m, to Commercial Banks, while divesting from the Debt Market sector, amounting to $16.6m in sales.

Copyright Mettis Link News