Daily Times

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FPCCI) Businessmen Panel (BMP) has said that remittances can help not only in financing the deficit in import payments but also in foreign debt repayments, suggesting the government to focus on structural reforms, which can revive Pakistan’s economic growth with major focus on incentives for overseas Pakistanis workers.

FPCCI former president, PIAF patron-in-chief and Businessmen Panel (BMP) Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar has said that foreign remittances flows are crucial which can support the country’s account balance amidst low volumes of foreign direct investment (FDI) and nominal growth of exports. He said that overseas Pakistanis living in Gulf should further be motivated to maintain an upward momentum in remittances, as they contributed more than 60 percent of the total inflows during last couple of months. The Businessmen Panel chairman said that

Referring to the State Bank of Pakistan data, he revealed that remittances in Pakistan from its overseas citizens skyrocketed to $14.8 billion in the first five months of the financial year 2024-25, a massive 33.6% gain from the previous year, The News reported.

The national economic recuperation patronised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans, a stable local currency, incentives extended by money exchangers and banks as well as boost in the skilled Pakistani workers’ emigration helped in growth of the remittance influx. As per the data, close to one million skilled workers went abroad in the last three years. Overseas Pakistanis remitted around $2.9 billion in November — an increase of 29.1% year-over-year. Nevertheless, these remittances slashed by 5% month-on-month. The monetary inflows have averaged $2.9 billion per month as yet.

The State Bank of Pakistan’s incentives and policies that have decreased illegal foreign exchange trading are the main causes of the increase in official remittance flows. Moreover, as global inflation declines, more money is being sent home by Pakistani migrants. “On a year-on-year basis, remittances continue to record a healthy rise, driven by stable rupee parity, contained hawala and hundi activity, and incentives for banks and money exchangers,” said Awais Ashraf, the director research at AKD Securities Limited.

“Additionally, increased emigration over the past two years has played a significant role in maintaining remittance inflows at around USD 3 billion. Stable inflows from the UAE also reflect strict foreign exchange controls at the country’s exit points.

“In the past eight years, there has been only one instance of remittances increasing sequentially in November. This occurred in November 2020, when remittances rose by 2.4 % month-on-month, driven by a sustained recovery following a sharp decline in inflows during August 2020,” Ashraf noted.