Foreign investment in Pakistan's T-bills reaches $81.2 million in October

Foreign investors put a net $81.2 million into Pakistani T-bills in the first 23 days of October, the strongest monthly inflow since January, Profit by Pakistan Today reported, citing State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data. Investors from the UAE supplied $49.7 million, while the UK contributed $17.8 million and Bahrain $13 million. October's inflow was attributed by market analysts to fresh investment rather than the reinvestment of maturing securities.

Across FY27, net T-bill investment stood at $63.9 million after net withdrawals of $17.3 million between July and September. Foreigners also added $210.3 million to Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs), taking total net inflows into government debt securities to about $274 million, or 1.3% of the SBP's $21.5 billion foreign exchange reserves. The inflows came after the SBP lifted its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 12%; October inflation was 9.6%, putting the real policy rate at about 2.4%. Analysts said the stronger interest in PIBs pointed to demand for longer-term yields, while the UAE and Bahrain together provided about 77% of October's T-bill inflows.