Foreign investment falls 45.9pc
PAKISTAN - 16 MARCH 2010
KARACHI: Net foreign investment in Pakistan fell 45.9 per cent to $1.02 billion in the first eight months of the 2009/10 fiscal year compared with $1.89 billion in the same period last year, the central bank said on Monday.
Worry over a Taliban insurgency based in the countrys northwest and chronic power shortages have put off investors. Out of the total foreign investment, foreign direct investment fell 52.8 per cent to $1.32 billion in the July to February period, from $2.79 billion the previous year, the State Bank of Pakistan said.
There was a net outflow of $295.2 million of foreign portfolio investment in the first eight months of this fiscal year, compared with a net outflow of $902.3 million in the same period last fiscal year.
Authorities imposed a floor on the Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark index in August 2008 as political uncertainty and economic and security worries drained investor confidence. The floor discouraged new investment and also led to a sharp outflow of funds, as foreign investors sold holdings in off-market trade.
The floor was removed in December 2008. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) saved Pakistan from a balance of payments crisis with a $7.6 billion emergency loan package in November 2008. The loan was increased to $11.3 billion on July 31 last year.
Source: The News International
PAKISTAN - 16 MARCH 2010
KARACHI: Net foreign investment in Pakistan fell 45.9 per cent to $1.02 billion in the first eight months of the 2009/10 fiscal year compared with $1.89 billion in the same period last year, the central bank said on Monday.
Worry over a Taliban insurgency based in the countrys northwest and chronic power shortages have put off investors. Out of the total foreign investment, foreign direct investment fell 52.8 per cent to $1.32 billion in the July to February period, from $2.79 billion the previous year, the State Bank of Pakistan said.
There was a net outflow of $295.2 million of foreign portfolio investment in the first eight months of this fiscal year, compared with a net outflow of $902.3 million in the same period last fiscal year.
Authorities imposed a floor on the Karachi Stock Exchange benchmark index in August 2008 as political uncertainty and economic and security worries drained investor confidence. The floor discouraged new investment and also led to a sharp outflow of funds, as foreign investors sold holdings in off-market trade.
The floor was removed in December 2008. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) saved Pakistan from a balance of payments crisis with a $7.6 billion emergency loan package in November 2008. The loan was increased to $11.3 billion on July 31 last year.
Source: The News International
