UAE top remittance corridor for Pakistanis: report

The United Arab Emirates has been credited as the favoured destination for Pakistanis looking at better economic opportunities abroad, says a report.

According to Khaleej Times, the World Bank estimates that more than 1.5 million Pakistanis live in the emirates which is almost the one-fifth of the total Pakistanis living outside their home country and are estimated to have sent $5 billion to Pakistan, almost a fourth of the total remittances received by the south Asian nation.

Remittances from the UAE increased 9.24 per cent to $2.48 billion on a year-on-year basis. Inflows from the UAE had registered the largest increase of 26.1 per cent from any major remittance-sending country in 2014-15, data from the State Bank of Pakistan shows.

In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, remittances from Dubai surged 39.71 per cent year-on-year. But the figure for overall inflows from the UAE so far has remained subdued because of a 25.6 per cent annual decline in remittances from Abu Dhabi over the same period. Pakistan Remittance Initiative (PRI), a joint initiative by the State Bank of Pakistan, ministry of finance and ministry of overseas Pakistanis, deserves approbation for channelising remittances to the country. The Pakistan government has encouraged the use of formal channels by incentivising companies and exchange houses and making transactions above $200 fee of charge.

Company such as XM, IME, and PMT, or exchange houses like Al Fardan Exchange Qatar, Al Fardan Exchange UAE, Federal Exchange, UAE Exchange, Al Ansari Exchange that are registered with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) as PRI-operated companies are given a rebate of 20 Saudi Riyals (Dh19.5) by the central bank. So they do not charge for remittances above $200. For transactions lower than $200 (Dh735), the standard charge is Dh15 for remittances from the UAE. The Pakistanis based in foreign countries have sent home $18.4 billion in 2014-15 which is a marked increase of 16.5 per cent annually.