Profits on foreign investments nosedive

The outflow of profits and dividends on foreign investment drastically declined during the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY23), reflecting both positive sign for lower repatriation of dollars and negative one for the poor economic growth. The latest data released by the State Bank showed that $128.7 million was paid on foreign investments in Pakistan during July-Nov FY23 compared to $776m during the same period last year. The massive decline saved dollars for the country, but at the same time it reflected the poor economic growth which failed to generate profits on investments. The weak economic performance further reduced foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country by over 50 per cent during the first five months of FY23 as it fell to just $430m against $885m during the same period last year. Analysts and researchers said there is no hope for higher FDI in the coming months since the economic growth is much lower than expectations.