KARACHI: Foreign investors are gradually returning after a long hiatus, with short-term investment in Pakistan rising 84 percent to a 30-month high of Rs 501.30 billion.
According to the State Bank’s weekly update, total investment in June 2023 reached a 12-year low of Rs 272.54 billion. On Monday, Pakistan Stock Exchange’s benchmark KSC 100 index successfully reached 74 thousand points. Go, it was at the level of 61,500 in December 2023 and 61,500 in June 40,000 thousand.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, CEO Arif Habib Limited Shahid Ali Habib said that due to the completion of the $3 billion IMF program and the start of negotiations for a new program, foreign investment has started coming to Pakistan.
According to a study, the Pakistan Stock Exchange has given high returns on investment, and the country is running on an IMF program that has never been run in the last 20 to 25 years, which has boosted the confidence of foreign investors. .
CEO Topline Securities Muhammad Sohail said that economic and currency stability is attracting foreign investors to T-bills and market.
According to State Bank data, foreign investment in the Pakistan Stock Exchange has increased to 449.24 billion rupees, which was 271.45 billion in June 2023.
Aksir Research Director Muhammad Owais Ashraf said that foreign investors are investing in government debt securities due to the stable exchange rate of rupee and dollar, this situation will be short-lived, he is also looking at this. With the State Bank of India holding interest rates at a high level of 22 percent till September 2024, the IMF in its recently released report has lauded the central bank’s policy of maintaining interest rates at 22 percent.
He said that high interest rates are attracting foreign investors, however, Shahid Habib says that investors are investing in the stock market in view of a possible reduction in interest rates in the near future. After the rate fell to a two-year low of 17 percent, the State Bank is likely to cut interest rates in June, which will help businesses run and boost economic activity.
He predicted that the PSX benchmark KSE 100 index would touch 85,000 points in December 2024 and cross 105,000 points by June 2025.
