Pakistan received remittances amounting to $ 11.39 billion from July to December 2019, which is 3.31

In December 2019, Pakistan received $2 billion in remittances from overseas Pakistanis, which is around 20% higher than $1.7 billion that the country received in the same month the previous year, according to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on Saturday.

The development is positive for the families of overseas Pakistanis and the country as well.

According to the country wise breakdown, Pakistan received $2.6 billion in remittances from Saudi Arabia during July-Dec 2019, which is 2% higher than $ 2.5 billion it received in the same period in 2018.

Similarly, an increase of 9% and 6.4% was witnessed in remittances coming from the United States and United Kingdom, which were recorded at $1.8 billion and $ 1.7 billion, respectively.

During July-Dec 2019, overseas Pakistanis sent remittances worth $2.3 billion from the United Arab Emirates, including $1.5 billion from Dubai, $752 million from Abu Dhabi and $6.2 million from Sharjah, according to the SBP.

Pakistan received $339.2 million in remittances from European countries, including Germany, France, Nederland, Spain, Italy, Greece and others. The amount is 8.4% higher as compared to the previous year. Remittances from France, Italy and Greece witnessed an increase of 25.5%, 32.5% and 49.8% respectively.

Similarly, remittances from Malaysia in the first six months of current fiscal year have increased by 1.36% to $798 million, and from Japan by 52.2% to $14 million, according to the data.

However, there was a declining trend in remittances from Norway, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada.

According to the monthly cash inflow, $2 billion were received in July 2019, $1.69 billion in August, $1.7 billion in September, $2 billion in October, $1.8 billion in November and $2 billion in December 2019, which is highest so far.

According to the State Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan received record remittances worth $21.83 billion during the last fiscal year 2018-19. The PTI government, due to its popularity among overseas Pakistanis, is expecting even more remittances during the ongoing fiscal year 2019-20.

An incentive-based scheme is also under consideration by the government for overseas Pakistanis to encourage them sending money through legal channels instead of Hundi or Hawala.