In a notable boost to Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, overseas Pakistanis deposited and invested $1.90 billion through the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. This brings the total gross inflows through the RDA to $8.25 billion since its launch in September 2020.
The central bank’s latest report reveals that net RDA inflows, after accounting for withdrawals and domestic utilization, increased by $311 million, reaching $1.43 billion for FY2023-24. This improvement has been instrumental in stabilizing Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves, which climbed to $9.10 billion by June 2024, a significant rise from approximately $4 billion in June 2023.
In June alone, non-resident Pakistanis contributed a gross $200 million to the RDA, further enhancing the cumulative gross inflows over the past 45 months.
Key factors driving this investment surge include attractive returns on Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs) and overall economic stability in the country. The central bank’s data highlights that of the total $8.25 billion in gross RDA inflows, $5.21 billion was utilized domestically and $1.61 billion was withdrawn. Consequently, net deposits and investments through the RDA stood at $1.43 billion as of June 2024.
Breaking down the $1.43 billion in net inflows:
- $348 million was invested in Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs)
- $592 million was invested in Shariah-compliant NPCs
- $38 million was invested in shares on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)
- $422 million was maintained as net deposits
- $31 million was allocated to other liabilities
Financial experts attribute the increased investment to rising returns on NPCs and growing confidence in Pakistan’s economic stability and currency parity. Expatriates can freely manage their investments and withdrawals in NPCs, denominated in Pakistani rupee, US dollar, UK pound, and euro, through their online RDA accounts, with returns notably surpassing those offered by similar instruments in developed countries.
These RDA inflows complement the monthly workers’ remittances, which saw an 11% increase to $30.25 billion in FY2023-24, aiding significantly in financing the trade deficit for the year.
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