[Pakistan] Foreign exchange inflows reach over $2bn in 11 months

[Pakistan] Foreign exchange inflows reach over $2bn in 11 months
10 Sep 2021

Foreign exchange inflows through Roshan Digital Account (RDA) reached $2.114 billion in 11 months, helping strengthen Pakistan’s external sector. RDA has connected 220,806 expatriate Pakistanis with the country’s banking system since its September 2020 launch, The News reports.

Inflows in August amounted to $245 million, compared with $307 million in the previous month, according to figures from a brokerage house on September 7. Nearly 2,114 fresh accounts were opened in the month of August.

RDA is a landmark initiative of the State Bank, it seamlessly connects the Pakistani diaspora to the Pakistani financial system and economy. It allows overseas Pakistanis to open a bank account in Pakistan digitally, for the first time, without the need to visit a bank branch or embassy.

It also frees overseas Pakistanis from the need to file a tax return in Pakistan on income derived from investments through the account. Crucially, the account is fully repatriable, giving overseas Pakistanis the option to remit the money in their accounts back to where they live without any difficulty.

Data by Arif Habib Limited showed that, from September 2020 to August 2021, the total investments made through RDA stood at $1.5 billion of which $869 million were invested in Conventional Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs), $606 million in Islamic NPCs and the remaining $21million in stocks.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved a budgeted subsidy of Rs13.103 billion for this current fiscal year towards a reward scheme to sustain foreign remittances at last fiscal year’s record of $29.4 billion and made RDAs part of the subsidy scheme. The RDA transfers remain in bank accounts rather than being invested in government debt at up to seven per cent interest rate and will earn reward subsidies.

The government also introduced Roshan Apna Ghar, a financing facility to help overseas Pakistanis buy a house for themselves and/or their families in Pakistan. This was previously quite difficult for many due to a host of manual procedures, mandatory physical visits to Pakistan with long stays to complete the process and the inconvenience of trips to multiple offices.

The government expects both NPCs and the Roshan Apna Ghar to help achieve the wider goal of attracting investments by overseas Pakistanis, which are more sustainable and reliable. The government, with the help of State Bank, plans to introduce new avenues of investments for this group.


Source: The News

Foreign exchange inflows through Roshan Digital Account (RDA) reached $2.114 billion in 11 months, helping strengthen Pakistan’s external sector. RDA has connected 220,806 expatriate Pakistanis with the country’s banking system since its September 2020 launch, The News reports.

Inflows in August amounted to $245 million, compared with $307 million in the previous month, according to figures from a brokerage house on September 7. Nearly 2,114 fresh accounts were opened in the month of August.

RDA is a landmark initiative of the State Bank, it seamlessly connects the Pakistani diaspora to the Pakistani financial system and economy. It allows overseas Pakistanis to open a bank account in Pakistan digitally, for the first time, without the need to visit a bank branch or embassy.

It also frees overseas Pakistanis from the need to file a tax return in Pakistan on income derived from investments through the account. Crucially, the account is fully repatriable, giving overseas Pakistanis the option to remit the money in their accounts back to where they live without any difficulty.

Data by Arif Habib Limited showed that, from September 2020 to August 2021, the total investments made through RDA stood at $1.5 billion of which $869 million were invested in Conventional Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs), $606 million in Islamic NPCs and the remaining $21million in stocks.

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved a budgeted subsidy of Rs13.103 billion for this current fiscal year towards a reward scheme to sustain foreign remittances at last fiscal year’s record of $29.4 billion and made RDAs part of the subsidy scheme. The RDA transfers remain in bank accounts rather than being invested in government debt at up to seven per cent interest rate and will earn reward subsidies.

The government also introduced Roshan Apna Ghar, a financing facility to help overseas Pakistanis buy a house for themselves and/or their families in Pakistan. This was previously quite difficult for many due to a host of manual procedures, mandatory physical visits to Pakistan with long stays to complete the process and the inconvenience of trips to multiple offices.

The government expects both NPCs and the Roshan Apna Ghar to help achieve the wider goal of attracting investments by overseas Pakistanis, which are more sustainable and reliable. The government, with the help of State Bank, plans to introduce new avenues of investments for this group.


Source: The News

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