Remittances rise by 6.4pc in Jan-19: SBP

ISLAMABAD: Remittances from overseas Pakistanis increased by 6.4 per cent in January as compared to same month in last year, said State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

According to SBP report, Pakistan received remittances worth $12.77 billion during the first seven months of this fiscal year as compared to $11.38 billion in the same period last year.

The tightening of illegal money transactions are producing positive results and restoring the confidence of the overseas Pakistanis, as most of the inflows are now coming through banking channels, sources said.

The State Bank recently took strict measures to curb money laundering and illegal transactions of Hundi and Hawala.

It is pertinent to mention here that SBP, on December 11, had confirmed that the overseas remittances to Pakistan had jumped 12.5 percent in the first five months of current fiscal year.

Overseas Pakistanis sent $9.028 billion to Pakistan in first five months of the year around one billion dollar above from $8.021 bn in same period last year, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had said in a statement.

The figures released by the central bank, on a monthly basis, remittances plunged by 19.6pc to $1.609bn in November, as compared to $2bn earlier in October.

According to the central bank data, highest inflows had come from Saudi Arabia at $2.152bn during five months of this fiscal year, showing a growth of 2.5pc, while United Arab Emirates remittances increasing 10.6pc to $1.95bn. United States came third with inflows during the period surging by 33.2pc to $1.393bn