Jul-Apr remittances post nominal growth YoY

Business Recorder

KARACHI: Home remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis posted a growth of 5.5 percent during the first 10 months of this fiscal year (FY20).

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Monday revealed that overseas Pakistani workers have remitted $18.782 billion in July to April of FY20 against the inflows of $17.801 billion arrived during the same period in the preceding year (FY19), recording an increase of $ 980.6 million.

During the period under review, home remittances from Saudi Arabia and US were increased by some 5 percent and 21.27 percent respectively. Pakistan received inflows amounted to $4.377 billion from Saudi Arabia and some $3.382 billion from US during the first ten months of this fiscal year. While, inflows of home remittances from UK were surged by one percent to $2.781 billion.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has not largely affected the inflows of the home remittances as month on month basis it declined slightly. Month on Month basis, during April 2020, the inflows of workers’ remittances were amounted to $1.79 billion as against $1.894 billion inflows of March 2020, depicting a slight decline of 5.5 percent or $104 million.

However, the remittances during April 2020 increased by $ 19.8 million or 1.1 percent over remittance received during corresponding month of FY 19, in which workers’ remittances amounted to $ 1.77 billion were arrived.

The country wise details for the month of April 2020 show that inflows from Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA, UK, GCC countries (including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman) and EU countries were amounted to $451.37 million, $353.79 million, $401.91 million, $226.61 million, $153.35 million and $40.48 million respectively compared with the inflow of $428 million, $372.45 million, $260.22 million, $280.02 million, $175.46 million and $48.19 million respectively in April 2019.

Remittances received from Malaysia, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan and other countries during April 2020 were amounted to $206 million together as against $162.54 million received in April 2019.