Remittances to Pakistan stay above $2 billion for sixth consecutive month!

• UAE emerges 2nd largest source of remittances for Pakistan in first five months of FY2021.
• Remittances to Pakistan stayed above $2 billion for the sixth consecutive month in November, the country’s central bank said.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, workers’ remittances rose to $2.34 billion in November, 2.4 per cent higher than October 2020 and 28.4 per cent better than November 2019.

During the first five months of fiscal year 2021, remittances reached an unprecedented level of $11.77 billion, 26.9 per cent higher than the same period last year. On average, they have been about half-a-billion higher in each month of the fiscal year compared to the same period last year.
Remittance inflows during the first five months were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia ($3.3 billion) followed by the UAE ($2.4 billion), the UK ($1.6 billion) and the US ($1 billion).

The SBP said continued government and central bank’s efforts to formalise remittances under the Pakistan Remittances Initiative, rising use of digital channels amid limited cross-border travel, orderly exchange market conditions, and some improvement in global economic activity are some of the important factors behind the sustained improvement in remittances.

The South Asian country’s liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at $20.4 billion as of December 4.

The SBP launched the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) for overeseas Pakistanis to attract more foreign exchange into the country. Interestingly, remittances from overseas Pakistanis into the account rose to $7.7 million, their highest-ever daily amount. To date, total inward remittances into the RDA have reached $139.4 million, with $81 million invested in Naya Pakistan Certificates.