http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/17/ebr5.htm


Remittances up by 20pc in seven months




By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, Feb 16: Overseas Pakistanis geared up efforts to enhance flow of foreign exchange during the first seven months of the current year, as it increased by 20 per cent.

The State Bank on Friday issued latest figures which indicated that the country received $2.959 billion as workers’ remittances during the first seven months (July 2006 – January 2007) of the current fiscal year as against $2,446.52 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year -- an increase of $512.83 million or 20.96 per cent.

The monthly average remittances for the period July-January comes to $422.76 million as compared to $349.50 million during the same period of the last fiscal year registering an increase of 20.96 per cent.

The amount of $2.959 billion includes $1.40 million received through encashment and profit earned on Foreign Exchange Bearer Certificates (FEBCs) and Foreign Currency Bearer Certificates (FCBCs).

The inflow of remittances during the first seven months of the current fiscal year from US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, GCC countries (including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman), UK and EU countries amounted to $768.01 million, $552.53 million, $443.87 million, $407.36 million, $247.86 million and $85.61 million, respectively, as compared to $695.43 million, $384.29 million, $359.85 million, $325.63 million, $236.45 million and $70.71 million during the same period last fiscal year.

Remittances received from Canada, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Japan and other countries during the first seven months amounted to $452.71 million as compared to $363.72 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

During last month (January 2007), Pakistani workers remitted $391.33 million as against $391.32 million in January, 2006.

According to the break-up, Pakistan received workers’ remittances during January 2007 from US ($108.74 million), Saudi Arabia ($69.21 million), GCC countries — including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman ($48.78 million), UAE ($46.84 million), UK ($29.19 million) and EU countries ($10.72 million) as compared to the corresponding receipts from the respective countries during January, 2006 i.e. $109.39 million, $49.05 million, $48.84 million, $58.06 million, $34.77 million and $13.24 million.

Remittances received from Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Norway, Japan and other countries during January 2007, amounted to $77.79 million as compared to $77.52 million during January 2006.

http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/03/01/top3.htm


[size=4]Remittances by Overseas Pakistanis Step-up to over $5 Bln [/size]


By Sarah Kamal 'Pakistan Times' Special Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: Remittances by Overseas Pakistanis will increase to over $ five billion in the current fiscal year against $ 4.62 billion last year.

Speaking to 'Pakistan Times' [Daily E-newspaper] Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Ghulam Sarwar Khan said on Wednesday that last year the remittances were $ 4.62 billion, a quarter of the last year exports of $ 16 billion.

In the year 1999-2000, the remittances were less than $ one billion, he added.

About 7.5 million overseas Pakistanis live in United States, Canada, Europe, Middle East and Far East and in the first six months of this fiscal year they sent $ 2.6 billion as foreign remittances, the Minister informed.

The Investment Conference of Overseas Pakistanis organised by his Ministry will be held on March 5-6.

The conference will provide the overseas Pakistanis an opportunity to interact with local entrepreneurs and look for new investment opportunities in the country, he added.

The President and Prime Minister will address the inaugural and concluding sessions of the conference. The four chief ministers and AJK Prime Minister have also been invited to the conference.

The four provinces have also been asked to announce incentives and bring projects to the conference, which could be of interest to expatriates, he added.

Ghulam Sarwar said the government had asked the expatriates to inform it about their projects of interest, area of expertise and volume of potential investment.

The overseas Pakistanis intended to invest $ 500 million in power sector,$ 472 million in dairy development, $ 196 million in construction and $ 66 million in information technology. The minimum investment for each project will be $ two million, he added.

He said dairy development is an important sector as import substitution can be done in it.

At present, Pakistan imports meat from India despite the fact that it has an agro based economy and seventy percent of its population lives in rural areas, he added.

Through investment in livestock projects, he said, the meat and milk production can be raised.

Pakistan is the fifth largest milk producer in the world, he added.●

You do know that CBR are investigating the remittances. Black money is going out through hawala/hundi system, and coming back white in the shape of remmitance, at-least that's what they are investigating.
I sounds gloomy now, but hopefully the outcome will not be as bleak as it seems currently.

Shehz:

I have personally seen people sending money to Pakistan through hawala agents worth millions of Rs.

As it goes, it also comes in. So its not all too bleak.

Majority of guys overseas doing small jobs send money by hundi, but number have been reduced because of improvements in banking system.

The practice of money laundering was always there and would remain, it is same in every country, CBR also have certain complaints, but it s not on that level, the both transections would be almost equal.

As I said earlier, I hope it's not as it's looks now, and the CBR investigation is just simply quashed, but again let's see what the guys running the show come up with.

It's not as if all is black. Perhaps out of 500 million only 150 million could be, or even less. They are not investigating the 90% who are really contributing, but a few individuals or a group who alone are probably doing 100 million.

Very good news. FDI and Remittances to Pakistan have sky rocketed in past years.