No interest.

HOW high must promised returns be to encourage foreign investors to divert their dollars to Pakistan? Apparently, even an eye-watering 21pc is not enough. The yields on treasury bills are currently better than the rates being offered in India and Bangladesh, but it appears they're still not sufficient to convince foreign investors to briefly park some direly needed dollars in our economy. According to recent reports, there have been zero dollar inflows in T-bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds since the start of this calendar year. From July till December 2022, inflows in treasury bills had been a meagre $18m, while outflows for the same period were recorded at $59m. In that same period, there was zero inflow in PIBs, while outflows summed up to $0.328m. Quite clearly, foreign investors are content with foregoing otherwise unthinkable gains rather than putting any of their money into Pakistan.

There is a multitude of reasons why the country is being viewed with such disfavour. For one, companies that are already invested in the country are...