The UAE News report by Abdul Basit: Finally, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan appreciated the contribution of overseas Pakistanis for sending record remittances for the last couple months and rewarded them with two new digital initiatives.
Under Roshan Digital Accounts, two initiatives ‘Roshan Apni Car and Roshan Samaaji Khidmat’ were launched by the prime minister at a ceremony to mark the milestone of US$1 billion deposits in Roshan Digital Accounts – which offers expats banking and investment facilities in Pakistan.
Under Roshan Apni Car, the Roshan Digital Card Holders can avail financing at very attractive terms to purchase a car for their loved ones in Pakistan. Banks are offering both conventional & Islamic modes of financing at attractive mark-up rates starting from 7% with priority delivery.
Under Roshan Samaaji Khidmat, the Roshan Digital Account holders can give donations and Zakat very conveniently. They will also be able to make donations directly to the government’s landmark Ehsaas program.
According to a press release of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Roshan Apni Car has been specially designed for overseas Pakistanis and has many distinguishing features. For the first time in the history of the banking industry, an RDA holder will be able to apply for car financing for their loved ones in Pakistan completely digitally. The SBP said processing time will be fast. Financing and insurance will be available at very attractive rates, and in both conventional and Shariah compliant forms. Moreover, car manufacturers have committed to significantly slashing the car delivery time for RDA holders.
This is the first time in the country’s history that any government is willing to extend expatriates a gesture of acknowledgment for their precious support towards increasing dollar reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) via remittances, according to an analyst.
For this, the government in collaboration with the SBP has launched ‘Roshan Apni Car’ scheme which will facilitate non-resident Pakistanis (NRPs) to purchase cars on lower price.
Overseas Pakistani may find this scheme attractive as currently banks are charging 12-13pc on car financing. This will reduce cost by 20pc on car financing. It is estimated that the Pakistani car market may attract $200-300 million over the next two years. This is based on an analysis that 10pc of funds which are being parked in deposit accounts in RDAs will be utilised for purchase of local cars.
According to SBP, currently nine million Pakistanis are residing abroad, out of which around 0.12m have opened RDAs in last eight months. So far, NRPs are maintaining average account size of $8,300 out of which 65pc is allocated to Naya Pakistan Certificates (NPCs), 25pc in shares market (PSX) while rest is allocated in deposit accounts. – abdulbasit@theuaenews.com
