Foreign Companies Sent 13x More Profit Out of Pakistan in February 2024

Foreign companies’ repatriation of profits and dividends rose to $759 million in eight months of the financial year 2023-24, up 3.4x year-on-year (YoY) from $225.4 million in the same period last year. In February 2024, this figure also saw a 13.1x rise to reach $65 million compared to just $4.9 million in SPLY, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan. The Petroleum Refining sector had the highest payments on total foreign investments, totaling $126.4 million in 8MFY24, up 613x compared to $0.2 million in the same period last year. However, compared to $23.2 million in January 2024, foreign companies working in this sector repatriated zero dollars from Pakistan in February. Profit repatriation from the Power sector clocked in at $109.1 million during the period in review, compared to $32.2 million in foreign investments in SPLY. Outflows from the Financial Business sector totaled $104 million in the 8 months and $20.7 million in February 2024. Meanwhile, payments from the food sector clocked in at $97.4 million during 8MFY24 and $12.3 million in February. The Chemicals sector returned $34 million in 8MFY24 and $3.7 million in February 2024 in profits to their overseas outlets. Notably, higher earnings in multiple sectors allowed overseas companies to repatriate higher returns.