Remittances grow 12.5%

Overseas Pakistanis send home $7.1b in July-Dec 2012.

KARACHI: Overseas Pakistani workers remitted $7.117 billion in the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year 2012-13, a growth of 12.51% or $791.36 million compared with $6.325 billion received during the same period of previous year, according to an announcement made by the State Bank of Pakistan on Thursday.

Of the total, most of the remittances came through banks amounting to $6.421 billion (90%) and exchange companies had a share of $640 million (9%) and Pakistan Post $56 million (1%).

In the six months, Pakistani workers in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, US, UK, Gulf Cooperation Council countries (including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman) and EU states sent home $1.961 billion, $1.461 billion, $1.155 billion, $1.005 billion, $811.18 million and $188.77 million respectively.

In comparison, the inflows were $1.662 billion, $1.413 billion, $1.150 billion, $726.35 million, $721.19 million and $189.14 million respectively in July-December 2011.

Remittances from Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan and other countries in the first half of the current fiscal year amounted to $534.68 million against $463.61 million in the first half of previous year.



Monthly average of remittances was $1.186 billion compared to $1.054 billion in the previous year.

In December alone, remittances rose 4.54% to $1.137 billion compared to $1.085 billion in the same month of the last fiscal year.

According to the SBP, the continuous growth in remittances is the result of efforts made by the Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI) in collaboration with other stakeholders to facilitate overseas Pakistanis and their families back home.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2013.

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