Foreigners repatriate $790.8 million in six months

KARACHI: Foreign investors and companies repatriate $790.8 million in July-December 2014, a surge of 37 percent against $577.4 million in the same period of 2013, data released by the central bank said on Thursday.
An official at a multinational company said things were stable and companies had made profits, which were repatriated as per the permission of the central bank.
“Although, there has not been a major economic upheaval, the performance was stable and investors were reinvesting in the country,” he said.
Analysts said the improved economic activities increased the profitability of the local and multinational companies, resulting in a higher repatriation by investors.
The present government focused on revival of economic development and took several steps for improvement of the country’s ailing economy; hence, productivity of major industries improved.
Of the $790.8 million repatriated, return on foreign direct investment (FDI) accounted for $647.2 million, while profits on portfolio investment stood at $143.6 million.
The highest repatriation was witnessed in the communications business where investors sent $159.5 million back home; followed by financial business, repatriating $128.2 million in July-December 2014.
An analyst said the country’s economic performance had improved, which was reflected in the official statistics.
“There has been a growth in the real sector, industrial production and agriculture sector, while corporate profitability has considerably increased,” he added.