Govt asked to give incentives to expats to boost remittances.

LAHORE -- The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front (PIAF) has asked the government to announce incentives and attractive package for oversees Pakistanis to enhance the volume of foreign inflows, as the country received 1.43 percent lesser remittances amounting to $5.47 billion in first quarter of 2019-20 compared to $5.55 billion in the same period of previous year. PIAF Chairman Mian Nauman Kabir observed that remittances could help in partly financing the deficit in import payments and foreign debt repayments. He suggested that structural reforms could revive Pakistan's economic growth with major focus on incentives for oversees workers.

If government support overseas Pakistanis and provide them incentives, they could play a vital role in boosting Pakistan's economy through their remittances and investments for high economic growth, he said.

He said that the government's efforts raised the question mark taken under Pakistan Remittance Initiative to support the higher remittance flows in the FY20. The government targets workers' remittances to reach the level of $24 billion. He said that the drop in remittances was disappointing despite the fact that the SBP has allowed exchange companies to start work on directly attracting worker remittances from the countries from where the inflows remain nominal. Mian Nauman Kabir noted that migrant cash flow, which was a...