FDI plunges 52pc in April.

Byline: Shahid Iqbal

KARACHI -- The foreign direct investment (FDI) plunged by 52.23 per cent to $133 million in April, from $278.7m in March, reported the State Bank of Pakistan on Monday.

Since the spread of coronavirus in Pakistan, FDI has taken a huge hit, consistently declining month-on-month. Inflows in February were recorded at $562.6m, which have since cumulatively declined by 76.3pc by April.

However, on a yearly basis, inflows continued to rise, posting a 33pc jump to $133.2m in April, from $100.8m in the same month last year.

During 10MFY20, FDIs surged by 127pc to $2.281 billion, compared to $1bn in the same period of last year.

Jumps 33pc year-on-year

Despite the coronavirus hitting the global economy, FDIs to Pakistan are still higher than last year mainly because of extremely poor performance in FY19, when they were at a five-year at just $947m.

Further details show that the highest inflow was noted from China - which is also Pakistan's biggest trading partner - with FDIs from the country amounting to $877.8m during 10MFY20, up from just $45m in...