Foreign investors repatriated $864.3 million in profits and dividends from Pakistan during the first quarter of fiscal year 2026-27, marking a 7.67% increase from $802.7 million in the previous year. State Bank of Pakistan figures show that higher dollar outflows were accommodated due to stronger foreign exchange reserves.
September profit repatriation totaled $306.8 million, which is 3.58% higher than August and up 92.96% compared to the same month last year. This September figure included $296.1 million for foreign direct investment and $10.7 million for foreign portfolio investment.
Foreign direct investment payments made up $844.4 million of the July to September total, rising from $785.6 million last year. Portfolio investment outflows grew to $20 million from $17.1 million.
The United Kingdom led all countries for profit and dividend repatriation in the opening quarter with $188.5 million, dropping from $213.2 million previously.
China placed second with $315.1 million in foreign direct investment payments for the quarter, compared to $205.6 million last year. The Netherlands followed at $113.5 million, increasing from $92.3 million.
Total repatriation from the United States dropped to $55.7 million from $68.6 million, while Switzerland reached $32.5 million compared to $32 million.
The United Arab Emirates dropped to $29 million from $48.6 million. South Korea shifted to $23.8 million from $25.2 million, and France rose to $15.3 million from $600,000.
These numbers reflect payments categorized by country within the central bank repatriation table, encompassing both foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment payments.
Financial businesses led all sectors in repatriated earnings for the quarter, with outflows climbing to $242.5 million from $234.9 million.
The power sector followed in second place as profit repatriation grew to $217.7 million from $186 million. Communications sector outflows also climbed to $90.1 million from $68.3 million.
This rise in profit repatriation aligns with Pakistan's recovering foreign exchange reserves. The central bank governor informed international investors that the economy gained resilience against shocks.
Official foreign exchange reserves bounced back from under $3 billion in February 2023 to reach $21.5 billion by October 9.
This robust reserve level allowed Pakistan to handle larger payments to foreign investors and manage external pressures like import expenses driven by geopolitical tensions.
Profit and dividend outflows kept climbing in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, with the financial and power sectors leading the volume, while the UK, China, and the Netherlands topped the country sources.
