February 22, 2021 (MLN): Pakistan’s Trade Sector has received the highest net FDI worth $61.5 million in January’21, followed by the Power and Financial Business sector with net FDI of $40.9 million and $35.3 million respectively.
Cumulatively, during 7MFY21, the Power sector remained the major recipient of the foreign inflows, as it fetched a net $475.8 million, showing an increase of 28% YoY when compared to the net inflows of $373 million in the corresponding period of FY20.
According to the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on total Foreign Investment received by sectors, Coal Power projects under Power Segment attracted the most of investors’ attention as it received the highest net inflows of $271 million during 7MFY21 compared to the net outflows of $23.2 million in Jul-Jan FY20. This was followed by Hydel Power Projects which attracted a net FDI of 110.9 million during the period mentioned above as against $78.1 million in the corresponding period of last year.
The detailed analysis revealed that the second sector with higher net flows in Pakistan is Oil & Gas Exploration sector. During July-Jan FY21, the sector fetched a net of $136.7 million, which was 27% lower when compared with the net investment of $186.5 million in the same period of FY20.
The third-highest net FDI receiver is the Financial Business sector with net inflows of $181.3 million during the period under review, showing a marginal increase as the sector observed $178.9 million net foreign inflows in July-Jan FY20.
The next in line is the Trade sector which fetched a net of $118 million, compared with the net investment of $22.3 million net in 7MFY20, showing a whopping increase of 428% YoY.
Furthermore, the Electrical Machinery sector received net inflows of $70.5 million against $133.2 million reported in the same period of last year.
Other sectors such as Automobile, Textiles, and Chemicals also managed to fetch decent investments worth $18.2 million, $14.3 million, and $13.1 million respectively during Jul-Jan FY21.
On the other hand, the Communication sector which attracted a net FDI of $446.7 million during 7MFY20, witnessed a net investment of only $9.8 million in 7MFY21 as the Telecommunication sector under the Communication head pulled in $23.9 million foreign direct investment in the 7M of this fiscal year, compared to the inflows of $432.6 million during Jul-Jan FY20.
Moreover, the other sectors that saw notable foreign disinvestment during the period include; Petroleum Refining (-$13.9 million), and Mining & Quarrying (-$9.7 million).
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