KARACHI, Pakistan: Pakistan in January 2023 received the highest net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in seven months at US$ 223 million, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Monday while the Current Account Deficit (CAD) dropped to US$ 0.2 billion in the first month of the year, down 90 percent from last year as the rupee’s depreciation slowed down imports.
The Country last received the net investment of US$ 271.1 million in June 2022. However, the net FDI witnessed a decline of 44 percent year-on-year during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY23).
Current Account Deficit (CAD) recorded $ 0.2 billion in Jan 2023 against a deficit of $2.5 billion in Jan 2022. https://t.co/q3LNv3HgLshttps://t.co/Od8ikVvpBF pic.twitter.com/C3v9k4pZDb
— SBP (@StateBank_Pak) February 20, 2023
The net inflow was recorded at US$ 683 million during the current Fiscal Year 2022-23 as compared to US$ 1.22 billion in the same period in the last fiscal year.
The power, food, and financial services sectors attracted a major portion of the investment for January 2023, the State Bank said.
China topped the list of Countries sending FDI, investing US$ 68.4 million in Pakistan in January 2023 followed by Japan with US$ 59.7 million and Switzerland with US$ 16.7 million.
A major inflow was recorded in the Power Sector with US$ 79.2 million including US$ 58.4 million alone in the Coal Sector.
In January 2023, Pakistan also recorded a 23-month low CAD which clocked in at US$ 242 million, the lowest monthly deficit after February 2021, according to the Central Bank.
However, the Country stocks closed bearish on Monday with the key stock index KSE100 dropping by 444 points, or 1 percent, to close at the 40,673 level.
In less than a month, Pakistani rupee has lost more than a quarter of its value against the US dollar after the removal of artificial caps, and fuel prices have risen by more than a fifth as the government implemented fiscal measures required to unlocking funds from an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
