Remittances fall 1.82pc to $7.478bln in July-October

KARACHI: Remittances from Pakistani workers abroad edged down 1.82 percent to $7.478 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year, figures from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Tuesday.

Workers’ remittances stood at $7.617 billion in the same period of last year. The decline in the remittances was driven by a slowdown in the major source countries.

Remittances from the United Arab Emirates fell 6.60 percent to $1.538 billion in July-October. Remittances from the United Kingdom stood at $1.143 billion in the first four months of this fiscal year, compared with $1.132 billion in the same period last year.

The SBP in its annual report for FY2018-19 said, “Under the Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI), domestic banks, microfinance banks and exchange companies are encouraged to

undertake marketing campaigns for attracting workers’ remittances.

Moreover, the government facilitated the recipients by exempting from withholding tax any cash withdrawals from rupee accounts that are solely fed by foreign remittances.” To make the process of the remittances transfer more secure and efficient, the government was accommodative to the use of innovative technological platforms.

The SBP, in its annual report for 2018/19, expects workers’ remittances to remain robust in FY20 on the back of measures taken and incentives given to overseas Pakistanis remitting under the Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI).

The report stated that Pakistan ranked 8th in terms of absolute remittance inflows during 2018, and in terms of growth, Pakistan’s position improved to 8th from 18th last year.