Cafe & Group Works

FDI hits 10-month high
Inflows came in at $317.4m in October against $126.5m last year

akistan received 10-month high foreign investment of $317.4 million in different sectors of the economy in October 2020, particularly power production, 3G/4G mobile internet and oil and gas exploration, according to central bank data released on Monday.

A significant share of investment, estimated at over 70%, flowed into the country from all-season friend China. Most of the investment went to coal-fired power projects, the data suggested.

“Most of the other potential foreign investors are still engaged in fighting Covid-19 and may take some more time to stabilise their economies and then they will resume investment activities around the world, including Pakistan,” Alpha Beta Core CEO Khurram Schehzad said while talking to The Express Tribune.

Besides, global investors continued to pull investment out of government securities like treasury bills and Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) and companies listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

Foreign direct investment (FDI) surged over 150% to $317.4 million in Pakistan in October 2020 compared to $126.5 million in the same month of previous year, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported.

Cumulatively, in first four months (Jul-Oct) of current fiscal year 2020-21, the foreign investment increased 9% to $733.1 million compared to $672 million in the same period of last year.

“China is the largest investor in Pakistan for different reasons, which include Beijing’s strategic interest in the shape of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Pakistan being a highly potential but largely untapped market for foreign investment,” Schehzad said.

In the meantime, China’s economy has continued to recover from the Covid-19 impact. The world’s second-biggest economy grew 4.9% in the Jul-Sept quarter compared to the same quarter of previous year.

The growth recovery in China allowed it to refocus on CPEC projects in Pakistan. On the other hand, the flow of FDI and remittances slowed down globally amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the analyst said.

Source:

FDI hits 10-month high | The Express Tribune Inflows came in at $317.4m in October against $126.5m last year

Qatar Imports2004-2020 Data

Imports to Qatar fell 6.4 percent from a year earlier to QAR 7.0 billion in September 2020, as purchases dropped for parts of aero planes (-26.3 pct), motor cars (-29.1 percent) and turbojets, turbo propellers & other gas turbines; parts thereof (-62.3 pct). Imports were down from the US (-36.4 pct), India (-6.2 pct) and Germany (-18.6 pct), while surged to China (60.7 pct) and the UK (10.5 pct).

Source: https://tradingeconomics.com/qatar/imports