Remittances grow by 11.3pc to $15.8bn in H1FY22

ISLAMABAD: Workers remittances grew by 11.3 per cent to $15.8 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year (H1FY22) as compared to the corresponding period of last year, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported Friday.

According to figures released by SBP, with $2.5 billion of inflows during December 2021,  remittances continued their strong impetus of remaining above $2 billion since June 2020.

In terms of growth, remittances increased by 2.5% on month-on-month basis and 3.4 % on year-on-year basis in December 2021.

Inflows during December 2021 were mainly sourced from Saudi Arabia totalling $626.6 million, United Arab Emirates $453.2 million, United Kingdom $340.8 million, and United States of America $248.5 million.

The proactive policy measures by the government and SBP to incentivise the use of formal channels and altruistic transfers to Pakistan amid the pandemic have positively contributed towards the sustained inflows of remittances since last year, a statement by the SBP said.

The Jul-Nov FY22 data of workers remittances has been revised upward to reflect inflows into Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA) that are related to local consumption like payment of utility bills, transfer to local PKR account, etc.