Roshan Digital Account inflows come to $3.16bn by 12 months finish 2021: SBP

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday said that cumulative inflows under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) reached $3.16 billion by the end of 2021.
As per the SBP data, an inflow of $244 million was recorded in December, as compared to $239 million in November, a month-on-month increase of 2.1 percent.
Out of the $3.16 billion deposited in RDAs, over 68 percent i.e. $2,149 million, have been invested in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs), revealed the data. Out of the total amount invested in NPCs, $1.192 billion have been invested in conventional NPCs, whereas $957 million have been invested in Islamic NPCs. Meanwhile, $32 million were deposited into the stock exchange via the RDA.
The bank data showed 322,463 accounts have been opened from 175 countries during the 16-month period. On a monthly basis, the number of accounts opened increased by 7.6 percent.
Overseas Pakistanis have been a key priority for the incumbent government, which has taken a number of measures in order to attract foreign currency for the cash-strapped economy, which remains dependent on remittance inflows.
The government is also set to launch the ‘National Remittance Loyalty Program’ (NRLP), aimed at offering monetary and other benefits to lure overseas Pakistanis to use official channels. The NRLP will offer incentives/rewards for sending remittances to Pakistan based on the point’s accumulation structure.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly termed overseas Pakistanis as the “biggest asset” of the country and stated that the country would not need the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme in future if it is able to tap their full potential.
Meanwhile, With an objective to improve the timely inflow of foreign exchange from exports proceeds in the market, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has made it mandatory for exporters to bring export proceeds within 120 days of the shipment.
The central bank in a press statement on Wednesday said that it has amended the foreign exchange regulations requiring exporters to bring export proceeds within a maximum period of 120 days from the date of shipment.
Earlier the exporters were required to bring their export proceeds within a maximum period of 180 days. This move also brings Pakistan’s regulations closer to international best practices.
The SBP in the recent past has introduced a number of policy measures in its foreign exchange regulations to facilitate exporters, as it allowed up to 10 percent of exporters’ annual exports for equity investment abroad to establish overseas subsidiaries/branch offices. It also allowed exporters who are eligible to retain part of their export proceeds to make payments abroad from their export retention account for a number of additional purposes including marketing and promotions, purchase of design/patterns, warehousing and consultancy service. – TLTP