Foreign remittances increased by 50pc: OPF

Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) Managing Director Iftikhar Hussain Babar Friday said that foreign remittances were increased by 50 percent during the first month of the new Fiscal Year 2013-14.
Talking to APP, he said the remittances increased due to the incentives offered by the OPF to expatriates. The Overseas Pakistanis are offered with various incentive cards categorised on the basis of amount of foreign exchange they bring home.
He said remarkable remittances from overseas Pakistani workers reached $13.92 billion by the fall of last fiscal year 2012-13, the highest ever.
He further said that towards this end, a special package of Foreign Exchange Remittance Card (FERC) had been implemented by the government to facilitate the overseas Pakistan community. The OPF had been assigned the task to issue FER cards, he added.
The overseas Pakistanis remitting foreign currency equivalent to US$ 2500 to US$ 50,000 per annum were entitled to five categories of remittance cards (silver card) on $ US 2,500 or more, with a credit duty concession of Rs 10,000.
Similarly, he said that golden card was issued for bringing home $US 5,000 or more, with a credit duty concession of Rs 20,000, golden plus card was issued for $US 25,000 or more, with a credit duty concession of Rs 50,000 and platinum card was issued for $US 50,000 or more with a credit duty concession of Rs 100,000.
He further said that remarkable remittances from the overseas Pakistani workers reached $13.92 billion by the fall of last fiscal year 2012-13, the highest ever, due to the incentives offered by the OPF.
He said that the OPF schools and colleges across the country had shown outstanding results. “We have appointed talented and highly qualified teachers at the OPF educational institutions to provide standard and quality education at all levels. The OPF is created for every Pakistani national. Anybody having an employment visa automatically becomes a member of the OPF. Others can become the OPF members by submitting a copy of their passport at the OPF centre,” Babar added.