Foreign investment dropped by 26.1% in July-August - Finance ministry report

ISLAMABAD: Foreign investment in the country dropped by 26.1%, while remittances by 3.2% from July to August, a report issued by Finance Ministry shows, ARY News reported. 

According to the report, the inflation rate in the country in July-August was 26.1%. The report shows that the annual inflation rate in August was 27.3%, while the inflation rate was 8.4%. 

The report shows that the production of big industries in the country also dropped in July-August. In comparison to June, the produce dropped by 16.5%, it added. 

Automobile production dropped by 26.6%, while automobile sales lessened by 49.8%. It added that cement production dropped by 24% in August, while foreign investment went down by 26.1%. 

According to the report, remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis also dropped by 3.2% in July-August. 

However, Benazir Income Support Funds went up to Rs70 billion from July-August, which the authority distributed among 9,65,000 flood-affected people. 

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The current account deficit in July-August was recorded at 1.9%, while it was 2.4% in July-August 2021. 

However, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Ishaq Dar took oath as finance minister on Wednesday. Miftah Ismail formally resigned from the post of finance minister on Tuesday.

He said, “I will try my best to fulfil all the responsibilities. We will try to take the country from the economic maelstrom it is stuck in […] the way we did in 1998 and 2013.”