RDA investment shoots up to two-year high

Total gross receipts under RDA cross $8 billion mark

KARACHI:

The net investment made by the overseas Pakistanis in their homeland through the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) hit over two-year high at $215 million in May 2024.

With the fresh inflows, the total gross receipts under the RDA reached a historically high level of $8.05 billion over a period of 45 months since the launch of the scheme in September 2020.

In this backdrop, the Pakistani rupee appreciated Rs0.08 and closed at Rs278.51 against the US dollar in the inter-bank market on Friday.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s data, the non-resident Pakistanis invested a total of $224 million in May, but the net inflows stood at $215 million as some of the funds were partially utilised in the country and some of the money was withdrawn.

The jump in inflows in the RDA points to the growing confidence of expatriate Pakistanis in the national economy, especially since general elections in February 2024 that brought some political stability.

The investment spiked with the partial return of political calm, a stable rupee against the US dollar, lucrative returns on Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) and the ongoing negotiations to secure a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme.

The net liability that can be repatriated under the RDA scheme is estimated at $1.39 billion out of the gross inflows of $8.05 billion.

Of the $1.39 billion, the expatriates have injected $338 million into the NPCs, $582 million into the Shariah-compliant NPCs, $37 million into the Pakistan Stock Exchange and kept $470 million in bank accounts.

The steady flow of investment has kept on providing the much-need foreign currency for Pakistan’s economy as well as supported the rupee for quite a long time.