Business Desk 
Aug 29, 2025
A logo of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is pictured on a reception desk at the head office in Karachi, Pakistan July 16, 2019. — Reuters
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has introduced the Performance Evaluation System for Investment Abroad (PESIA), a new online reporting system for Authorised Dealers (ADs) in an attempt to create more efficiency and transparency in the monitoring of equity investments abroad.
According to a circular released on Friday, PESIA is a consolidated online reporting system on the Date Acquisition Portal where ADs will report all transactions of equity investments abroad (EIA).
It uses SBP’s Data Acquisition Portal (DAP) as the reporting and will allow for more efficient data collection to enhance oversight and compliance in a timely manner.
PESIA is built around ten data files (DFS) that relate to all aspects of EIA activity, such as approvals, remittances, investee company information, performance reporting, etc.
The types of report files will include approvals of equity investment (A1, A2, B, C), employee stock options, portfolio investment, inward remittances, outward remittances, and financial reporting of overseas companies.
To help banks and financial institutions, SBP also issued a detailed user manual to guide users through navigation and processes for entering data and obtaining the mandatory "Investee Company Codes" for reporting.
According to the instructions by SBP for Reporting by ADs, the transactions relating to the data files DFS 1-9 are required to be reported by the fifth working day of every month.
The central bank has also directed dealers to upload legacy data in two stages:
- Phase I: Transactions from February 10, 2021, to July 31, 2025, must be submitted by November 28, 2025.
- Phase II: Transactions prior to February 9, 2021, must be uploaded by February 28, 2026.
Compliance reports signed by the Group Head of Compliance must reach SBP by March 5, 2026. The bank has warned that any errors, delays, or non-compliance will invite strict action under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.
