Remittances by overseas Pakistanis surge to $3.6 bln

Remittances by overseas Pakistani workers rose by $301.91 million, or 9.16 per cent, to $3.599 billion in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year as compared to $3.297 billion during the same period last year, according to the central bank on Thursday. Remittances from Arab countries continued to witness higher growth as Pakistan received a total of $961.09 million from Saudi Arabia during July-August 2012 as compared to $854.18 million in the same period last year. Expatriates from the UAE remitted $753.08 million in July-September 2012 as against $746.62 million during the same period last year. According to the latest figures on workers’ remittances released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the inflows of remittances from the United States, the UK, GCC countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, and the EU countries amounted to $623.72 million, $500.15 million, $396.14 million and $97.05 million, respectively as compared to $627.75 million, $369.36 million, $354.61 million and $101.73 million, respectively in July-September 2011. Remittances received from Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan and other countries during the first three months of the current fiscal year amounted to $267.88 million as against $242.95 million received in the first quarter of the last fiscal year. The monthly average remittances for July-September quarter come out to be $1,199.70 million as compared to $1,099.07 million during the corresponding period last year, it said. A sum of $1,135.42 million was remitted by overseas Pakistanis last month as against $890.42 million in the same month last year, depicting a growth of 27.52 per cent. In September, the inflows of remittances from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, United States, the UK, GCC countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, and the EU countries amounted to $303.31 million, $247.28 million, $177.11 million, $166.09 million, $122.05 million and $33.48 million, respectively as compared to $252.56 million, $194.51 million, $169.30 million, $86.91 million, $103.85 million and $26.76 million, respectively in September 2011. From gultoday