KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday said that cumulative inflows under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) reached $3.16 billion by the end of 2021.
According to data released by the SBP, an inflow of $244 million was recorded in December, as compared to $239 million in November, recording a month-on-month (MoM) increase of 2.1 per cent.
Out of the $3.16 billion deposited in RDAs, over 68pc i.e. $2,149 million, have been invested in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs). Of this amount, $1.192 billion have been invested in conventional NPCs, $957 million have been invested in Islamic NPCs while $32 million were deposited into the stock exchange via the RDA.
The data shows that 322,463 accounts were opened from 175 countries during the 16-month period. On a monthly basis, the number of accounts opened increased by 7.6pc.
Overseas Pakistanis have been a key priority for the incumbent government, which has taken a number of measures in order to attract foreign currency for the cash-strapped economy, which remains dependent on remittance inflows.
The government is also set to launch the National Remittance Loyalty Programme (NRLP), aimed at offering monetary and other benefits to lure overseas Pakistanis to use official channels.
The NRLP will offer incentives and rewards for sending remittances to Pakistan based on the point’s accumulation structure.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly termed overseas Pakistanis as the “biggest asset” of the country and stated that the country will not need the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme in future if it is able to tap their full potential.
