Dollar outflows swell 5 times in two months
Repatriation of profits and dividends by multinational companies swelled more than five times in the first two months of the current fiscal year, reflecting the ease of restriction-free dollar outflows amid stability on the external account front. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on Thursday that the profits outflow reached $274.7 million during July-Aug FY25 against $49.2m in the corresponding period last year. The first half of the previous fiscal year was highly disappointing for foreign investors since the outflow of profits was extremely poor, but the second half witnessed much improvement. At the end of FY24, the total outflows were $2.12 billion against $331m in FY23. The outflow in August was $135.6m compared to $139.1m in July, while it was $415m in June due to the clearance of many payments at the end of the fiscal year.