No relief for Pakistan as FDI continues to slump

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 25 : Pakistan's foreign direct investment (FDI) is witnessing a continuous slump with the month of September being the worse, media reports said.
During the month of September, the country attracted around USD 110 million in foreign direct inflows. This figure is down by 60 per cent year-on-year. The outflows for the months stood at USD 63 million, rising by 130 per cent year-on-year, and leaving net FDI of less than USD 84, down by 66 per cent year-on-year, reported Business Recorder.
Net FDI in September on a month-on-month basis too depicted a decline of 24 per cent. FDI in the first Quarter of Fiscal Year 23 as per State Bank of Pakistan's data also shrank by 47 per cent year-on-year.
It is pertinent to note that there has been a weak FDI from key investing countries including China, the USA and the UK. Moreover, United Arab Emirates was the largest contributor during Q1 FY23. China landed second during 1QFY23, the media portal said.
Pakistan's power sector attracted the majority of FDI. It was followed by the financial sector and the oil and gas sector.
Only the power sector depicted a rise of around 49 per cent; while FDI in the financial business, telecommunication and oil and gas sectors declined significantly.
FDI in information technology sharply fell by 75 per cent year-on-year in 1QFY23. While that in oil and gas and financial business was down by 70 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively.
Pakistan is grappling with a crippling economic crisis and the deepening political turmoil is spawning doubts about the government's ability to make tough decisions going forward and tackle the longstanding structural issues of the economy responsible for the recurring balance-of-payments crisis.
Amid this, Pakistani citizens are taking their financial woes online and criticizing the country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) top leader Maryam Nawaz for doing nothing for the relief of the masses.