KARACHI: Remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis reached $19.62 billion in FY18, up 1.4 per cent, from $19.35bn the previous year.

The State Bank of Pakistan, however, reported that the inflows in June fell to $1.59bn, down 13.36pc, from $1.84bn in the same period of 2016-17.

Despite a continued decline, Saudi Arabia remained the largest source of remittances with inflows from the kingdom clocking in at $4.86bn, witnessing a drop of 11.17pc.

The figures for FY17 and FY16 were $5.47bn and $5.97bn.

This change has come after Saudi authorities introduced strict taxation laws for overseas citizens, prompting many Pakistanis to return back home.

United Arab Emirates came out to be a runner-up with remittances from the country amounting to $4.333bn, increasing by a meagre 0.12pc from the year before when inflows stood at $4.328bn.

Remittances from other Gulf Cooperation Council countries were recorded at $2.158bn in FY18, falling by 7.19pc, from $2.325bn in FY17. There was a massive growth of 35.92pc from the European Union with inflows reaching $656.08 million in FY18 from $482.69m the previous fiscal year.

The single-largest yearly increase in remittances among all countries came from Spain, posting a mammoth growth 132.06pc while Oman accounted for the steepest fall at 13.61pc.

The United Kingdom contributed $2.762bn, increasing by a substantial 17.98pc over $2.341bn recorded in 2016-17. Remittances from the United States stood at $2.713bn, recording a growth of 10.63pc from $2.452bn.

Inflows from Malaysia, Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, Japan and other countries amounted to $196.69m.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2018