PM Imran Khan hails record rise in remittances

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said remittances from overseas Pakistanis reached 2,768.1 million dollars in July this year, which was the highest amount in one month in the history of Pakistan.
Sharing a good news about Pakistan’s economy in a tweet on Monday, he said “This is 12.2 percent increase over June this year and 36.5 percent increase over July last year.”
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has confirmed the news. “In July, sizeable amounts of workers’ remittances were received from Saudi Arabia (US $ 821.6 million), the United Arab Emirates (US $ 538.2 million), the United Kingdom (US $ 393.9 million) and United States of America (US $ 250.6 million).
Also Read: Worker remittances record 6.4% growth despite COVID-19
“The growth rate in remittances compared to the same month in the previous year is around twice as high as the Eid-ul-Adha related seasonality typically experienced over the last decade,” said the SBP in a press release.
The central bank said that several factors had likely supported the growth in remittances to date, including orderly exchange rate conditions and policy steps taken by the state bank and the federal government under the Pakistan Remittance Initiative. “These steps include reducing the threshold for eligible transactions from USD 200 to USD 100 under the Reimbursement of Telegraphic Transfer (TT) Charges Scheme, an increased push towards adoption of digital channels, and targeted marketing campaigns to promote formal channels for sending remittances,” it said.