KARACHI: The repatriation of profits and dividends from foreign investors in Pakistan increased to $1.828 billion in the nine months of the fiscal year 2026 from $1.719 billion a year earlier, the central bank data showed on Tuesday.
In February, Pakistan recorded a profit and dividend repatriation of $102 million.
Saad Hanif, head of research at Ismail Iqbal Securities, said that March traditionally witnesses elevated dividend repatriations aligned with corporate calendar-year closing cycles.
On a YoY basis, however, flows contracted 35 per cent, with the power sector emerging as the primary drag, collapsing to a mere $5.7 million against $83 million in March 2025, likely reflecting IPP dividend deferments or one-time dues payment amid ongoing circular debt dynamics, Hanif said.
The broader trajectory nonetheless remains intact as the nine-month cumulative repatriation reflects that SBP’s FX queue normalisation post-IMF programme has held and foreign investors continue repatriating at a steady cadence with no material signs of capital flight pressure, he added.
The SBP data showed that the power sector reported a total outflow of profits and dividends amounting to $427.5 million in July-March FY26, an increase from $327.9 million during the same period last year. The financial sector repatriated earnings totalling $404.9 million, compared with $214.2 million in the same period the year before.
