"Out of the total foreign investment, foreign direct investment fell 14.5 percent in July and December to $828.5 million." — File Photo

KARACHI: Net foreign investment in Pakistan fell 15.4 percent to $1.05 billion in the first six months of the fiscal year 2010/11, compared with $1.24 billion in the same period last year, the central bank said on Friday.

Out of the total foreign investment, foreign direct investment fell 14.5 percent in July and December to $828.5 million, from $968.9 million in the same period last year, the State Bank of Pakistan said.

Foreign portfolio investment fell 18.6 percent to $221.5 million in the first half ending Dec. 31, compared with $272.1 million in the same period last year.

A shaky security situation, with a Taliban insurgency in the country's northwest, coupled with chronic power shortages, has put off investors, analysts say.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) emergency loan package agreed in November 2008 helped Pakistan avert a balance of payments crisis and shore up reserves.

It received the fifth tranche of $1.13 billion of the IMF loan of $11 billion in May and Pakistan and IMF authorities are scheduled to meet before June 30 to discuss the release of the sixth tranche.