Karachi, Sep 19 (IANS): Pakistan's foreign direct investment (FDI) has plunged by 58.4 per cent during the first two months of this fiscal year, data published by the Pakistani government has shown.

According to reports in the Pakistani media, the total FDI during the July-August period fell to $156.7 million from $376.9 mn in the same period last year. Moreover, on a month-on-month basis, the FDI inflows in August declined by a massive 57.8 per cent to $83.4 mn from $197.9 mn in August 2018.

Despite improvement in the energy infrastructure and security situation, the Pakistani government has failed to attract investment whereas the completion of the first phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has also brought down overall FDI inflows, according to the report.

The data revealed that slowdown of inflows from China have brought down the overall figure, as inflows from Beijing during July-August fell to $28.9 mn compared to $216 mn whereas inflows during August clocked in at $33.4 mn.

The United Kingdom emerged as the second leading investor in the country pouring in $11.7 mn, followed by the UAE with $5.9 mn and Malaysia with $5.4 mn.

The FDI numbers are a huge setback to the Pakistani government as it is currently undergoing a $6 bn reforms programme led by the International Monetary Fund to avoid a balance of payments crisis.