Overseas Pakistanis' remittances exceed $2bn for third month in row

KARACHI: Remittances from overseas Pakistanis rose by 24.4 per cent to $2.095 billion during August as compared to last year’s corresponding period, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Monday.

According to figures released by the central bank, remittances reached an unprecedented level of $7.3 billion over the last three months, which are 37.2 per cent higher than the same period last year.

The SBP said: “Efforts under the Pakistan Remittances Initiative (PRI) and the gradual re-opening of businesses in major host countries such as Middle East, Europe and United States contributed to this increase.”

The top three originating countries for remittances in August were: Saudi Arabia ($0.593 billion), United Arab Emirates ($0.410 billion), and the United Kingdom ($0.302 billion).

On a month-on-month basis, remittances were 24.3 per cent lower than the record level of remittances of $ 2.768 billion posted in July, mainly reflecting the usual seasonal decline in the post Eid-al-Azha period.