Key takeaways: Foreign investors repatriated $2.305bn from Pakistan in FY26, $665m more than net FDI of $1.64bn. Manufacturing led the outflows; the government says the two figures are not directly comparable, despite the gap.
Foreign investors took $2.305 billion in profits and dividends out of Pakistan during the 2025-26 fiscal year — about $665 million more than the $1.64 billion the country received in net foreign direct investment (FDI) over the same period, the National Assembly was informed on Friday.
The figures were given in a written reply from the minister in charge of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) Division, in response to a question from Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto. Of the total sent abroad, $2.202 billion came from earnings on direct investments, while a further $103.7 million was remitted by portfolio investors. The combined outflow was nearly 41 per cent higher than net FDI for the year.
Manufacturing accounted for the largest share of the payments, at $564.3 million, followed by financial and insurance activities at $537.4 million and electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply at $496.5 million. Together, those three sectors made up close to $1.6 billion, or roughly seven in every ten dollars repatriated.
Other significant outflows came from wholesale and retail trade ($211.6 million), information and communication ($166.9 million), transportation and storage ($162.1 million) and mining and quarrying ($124.6 million). The seven sectors combined accounted for more than $2.26 billion of the $2.305 billion total. The sector figures cover payments on both direct and portfolio investments, rather than direct investment alone.
Why it matters: On its own, a large profit outflow is not necessarily a warning sign — it shows that foreign-owned firms in Pakistan are earning money, and that they can move those earnings abroad. That freedom matters to investors: during Pakistan’s foreign-exchange crisis, delayed payments left many multinationals unable to transfer legitimate earnings, and the return to normalised outflows is one reason confidence has partly recovered. The concern is the balance. In FY26, Pakistan paid out about $1.41 for every $1 of net new direct investment it attracted, while repatriation rose from $2.219 billion the previous year and net FDI fell from $2.48 billion.
The government cautioned against reading the two headline numbers as a simple comparison. Profits sent home in any one year can come from investments built up over many years, it said, whereas net FDI measures only new direct investment after relevant outward transactions. It also said improved foreign-exchange liquidity had allowed previously delayed profit and dividend payments to be cleared. In its reply, the SIFC Division pointed to gross FDI inflows of $4.268 billion in FY2024-25 and $3.603 billion in the first ten months of FY2025-26 — figures that cover different periods and, unlike net FDI, do not net out outward transactions.
Sources:
- Business Recorder — SIFC informs NA: FY26 foreign profit repatriation 41pc higher than FDI — https://www.brecorder.com/news/40445725
- Profit (Pakistan Today) — Pakistan’s profit repatriation exceeds FDI by $665m — https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2026/10/24/profit-repatriation-exceeds-net-fdi-by-dollar665-million-in-fy26-sifc-tells-na
- Dawn — 13.4pc fall in profit outflow during first 2 months of FY27 — https://www.dawn.com/news/2030995/134pc-fall-in-profit-outflow-during-first-2-months-of-fy27
