PM Imran terms 'record increase' in remittances good news for economy

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that remittances from overseas Pakistanis reached $2,768 million in July this year — “the highest ever amount in one month in the history of Pakistan”.

“More good news for Pak economy. Remittances from overseas Pakistanis reached $2,768 mn in July 2020, highest ever amount in one month in the history of Pakistan,” he said in a Tweet.

More good news for Pak economy. Remittances from overseas Pakistanis reached $2,768 mn in July 2020, highest ever amount in one month in the history of Pakistan. This is 12.2% increase over June 2020 and 36.5% increase over July 2019.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 17, 2020

As per SBP, the remittances showed an increase of $740mn (or 36.5pc) over last July and an increase of $302mn (or 12.2pc) over June 2020.

The growth rate in remittances compared to the same month in the previous year is around twice as high as the Eid-ul-Adha related seasonality typically experienced over the last decade, SBP noted.

On August 13, the SBP report showed that the foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) declined by United States Dollar (USD)73 million in the week ending on 07 August.

The reserves declined due to government external debt repayments, said the SBP in a statement detailing the foreign reserves currently held by the country.

Giving a break-up of the reserves, it said that the foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan stood at US$ 12,469.3 million as compared to US$ 7,049.0 million reserves held by the commercial banks.