Inflows from overseas Pakistanis surged 10.2% in the month of October to reach $2.5 billion on a year-on-year (YOY) basis thanks to proactive policy measures by the Government and the central bank to encourage overseas Pakistanis to send money home through legally approved channels.
The remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis had stood at $2.3 billion in October 2020, according to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Sunday.
“At $2.5bn in Oct21, remittances continue their strong streak, rising by 10pc from Oct20 and only moderating marginally compared to Sep21,” the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a tweet on Sunday.
Cumulative remittances during the first four months (July-October) of the current fiscal year hit a record $10.6 billion, up 12% over the same period last year, despite remittances in October declining by 7.4% as compared to a month earlier. Remittances in September stood at $2.7 billion, the central bank added.
Proactive Policy measures helped increase remittances
Claiming the credit for higher remittances, the central bank said “proactive policy measures by the government and the bank to incentivize the use of formal channels and altruistic transfers to Pakistan amid the coronavirus pandemic have positively contributed towards a sustained improvement in remittance inflows since last year.”
Country-wise figures
The central bank reported that remittance inflows during the first four months of fiscal 2021-2022 have been mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia, followed by the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
According to the data shared by SBP:
- Pakistanis in the Saudi Arabia sent the largest number of remittances, amounting $2.7 billion
- Expatriates residing in the UAE sent home $2.0 billion
- Inflows from the United Kingdom amounted $1.5 billion
- Remittances sent home by Pakistanis residing in the United States stood at $1.1 billion
The overseas Pakistanis sent home record remittances of $29.4bn in FY21 which helped the country curb the current account deficit.