Foreigners withdraw 87pc money from T-bills

Pakistan witnessed 87 per cent foreign investment withdrawal from treasury bills (T-bills) due to a sharp reduction in profit rates in almost seven months. The returns on T-bills halved during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. These large outflows occurred despite a stable exchange rate for over a year. Financial market experts said many other factors could contribute to the outflow of foreign investments from T-bills. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data, T-bills attracted an inflow of $984 million from the start of July last year to Jan 17. In contrast, the outflow reached $852m during the period. The returns on T-bills plunged more than 50pc from its peak of 24pc, mainly due to a steep fall in the interest rate since June 2024. The State Bank has slashed its policy rate by 1,000 basis points (bps) to 12pc.