ISLAMABAD: Given the dynamic economic growth of Asia and the Pacific region over the past decade, a new pattern is emerging – about one out of every three migrants is finding working opportunities within the region, and Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore are becoming major sources of migrant employment, reveals a new report by the World Bank (WB) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Malaysia and Thailand are now “net importers” of labour, while India and Pakistan are also starting to attract millions of foreign workers, and this trend is expected to grow in the coming decade, findings of a series of studies commissioned by IFAD and the World Bank say.

The report released ahead of the ‘International Day of Family Remittances’, being observed for the first time on June 16, says for the near term most Asian remittance senders will continue to seek work in the traditional destination countries of Australia, the Gulf region, North America, the Russian Federation and Western Europe.

The remittances day sponsored by IFAD, is to recognise the significant financial contribution migrant workers to their families back home.

It will also encourage them to do more to maximise the impact of these funds in the developing world.

There are currently about 28 million migrant workers from South Asia living abroad, making this sub-region the largest source of migrants of the continent, according to findings.

Over the past decade, countries such as Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have all experienced substantial increases in the number of migrants leaving their country (outflow), whereas, other countries, led by Bangladesh and Nepal, have actually experienced substantial reductions, as many of their citizens have returned home.

Meanwhile, over the same period, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan have all became destination countries for millions of additional migrant workers (inflow) mostly from neighbouring Asian countries.

The majority of remittances to South Asia flow to India — with Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also receiving significant amounts. Nepal and Pakistan are particularly interesting cases in that these countries are now approaching equilibrium, with about the same number of migrants leaving the country as foreign workers entering.

Official data indicates that workers’ remittances in Pakistan rose to Rs15 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year against Rs13bn during the corresponding period of 2013-14, showing a growth of 16 per cent.

Pakistan expects good opportunities of manpower export during the events of Expo-2020 in Dubai and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar and fiscal expansion in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Moreover, massive new construction plans in Saudi Arabia will also provide opportunities for Pakistani manpower.

Remittances to South Asia grew despite concerns that lower oil prices might dampen remittance flows from GCC countries.

This may reflect the concentration of migrant workers in the construction and services sectors, which are relatively less affected by falling oil prices. Remittances growth in South Asian region is projected to remain flat at 3.7pc in 2015, supported by large scale construction activities.

The Asian continent is the source of nearly 60m migrant workers who sent almost S$260bn to their families in 2012. This represented 63pc of global flows to developing countries. An estimated 70m Asian house-holds benefit from these flows — one out of every ten.

Seven out of the top ten remittance-receiving countries are in Asia: India, China, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and Indonesia. More than half of the population in these countries is rural.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play