In a latest report released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), it has been revealed that the Overseas Pakistani workers remitted an amount of $1.539 billion in the previous month of April. Subsequently, the foreign remittances have been cut down by 7% in comparison to $1.656 billion which was remitted in April the previous year.
Also Read: Global Remittances: India at The Top, Pakistan at Fifth Spot – World Bank
Breakdown of the Foreign Remittances
The foreign remittances which Pakistan received during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year (July-April) is $15.59 billion. Surprisingly, there was a drop of 2.79% as the country received $16.04 billion in the same period in the last fiscal year.
As far as the foreign remittances in the month of March 2017 is concerned, Pakistan got $1.69 billion in comparison to $1.539 billion in April. As a result, the remittances were cut short by massive 9%.
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Foreign Remittances from different countries
During the last month, a large chunk of the foreign remittances was received from Saudi Arabia – $439 million to be precise. The reason Pakistan received whopping amount from Saudi Arabia is because of the fact that around 2.2 million Pakistanis reside there. As a matter of concern, Pakistan received $489 million in April 2016. The difference in the amount between two different years is a colossal $50 million. One of the primary reasons of this decline could be that Saudi Arabia has deported as many as 39,000 Pakistanis during the last few months because of weak oil prices and increased security concerns.
There has been a giant decline of 12.5% in terms of receiving funds from several other countries including: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. The amount which was received in April 2017 from the aforementioned countries has been $175 million in contrast to $200 million received in April of 2016.
As far as receiving funds from UAE is concerned, it remained comparatively stable as Pakistan received $344 million in April 2017, in comparison to $346 million in April 2016.
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There has been an upsurge of $2 million when it came to receiving funds from European countries. The inflow of funds from USA also saw a rise from $190 million to $200 million in the April-to-April comparison. However, there was a significant decline of $30 million from the UK.
Pakistan received foreign remittances amounting to $147 million in April 2017 in comparison to $171 million in April 2016.
The declining foreign remittances, however, do not bother SBP much. The State Bank is confident that the drop in remittances shall not affect the country’s economic cycle.
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