New saving certificates for Pakistani expats to be launched on Thursday

Dubai - Certificates will be issued to those who hold a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) or Pakistan origin cardholders.

The government of Pakistan looks set to announce dollar-denominated bonds on Thursday, primarily to attract overseas Pakistanis in the Gulf region, Khaleej Times has learnt.
The bond, called the Pakistan Banao Certificate, will be offering 6.25 per cent return on three-year maturity and 6.75 per cent maturity on five-year maturity, Pakistan's finance minister Asad Umar said.
"The bond is targeted at tapping the savings of overseas Pakistanis and will be launched jointly by the Pakistani government and its central bank. Four banks have been selected for the transactions," Umar added.
The minister told Dawn that the bond would be open-ended and its size would be decided following the demand from the Pakistani diaspora living in the UAE and other countries abroad.
The returns of Pakistan Banao Certificates will be paid to investors on a semi-annual basis in the foreign currency of their choice through their foreign accounts. The certificates will be issued to those who hold a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis or Pakistan origin cardholders.
The marketing campaign will be launched for the bond on different media platforms from tomorrow. In addition, roadshows will be held across different countries, according to the Dawn report.
The bond will increase foreign exchange reserves and overcome balance of payment crisis. After Saudi Arabia, Islamabad last week signed an agreement for $3 billion with the UAE to improve its forex reserves. The first tranche of around $1 billion was deposited by the UAE last week.
There are currently over nine million Pakistanis living abroad, remitting close to $20 billion annually. Remittance from the UAE jumped 6 per cent in the first half of 2018-19 to $2.3 billion.
Irfan Afsar Awan, president of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf for Dubai, noted that the Pakistani Banao Certificates will see a very good response from the diaspora in the UAE and the region. "These types of instruments are saleable only when you have a credible government. Since trust on this government is high, I'm sure this diaspora bond will be very popular and famous among overseas Pakistanis."
Awan expects strong demand from the Middle Eastern countries - especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia - where the largest diaspora of Pakistanis currently live and work. He emphasised that roadshows will be very successful and expects that it will be held in UAE as well. "It is our duty that these roadshows become successful and right people attend these roadshows," he added.
Mina Munir Hans, president of the Pakistan People's Party, said overseas Pakistanis have always been at the forefront whenever the country confronted any economic or other challenges. But the new government of Imran Khan has failed to deliver its promise.
"No incentives have been given to overseas Pakistanis; the governments always demanded 'do more' from Pakistani diaspora. I believe policies should be different for Pakistanis living in the Middle East and Western countries," he said, adding that "people don't trust PTI government because they have taken a number of U-turns on their promises".
He criticised the government's recent policy to also charge duties on those carrying more than one mobile phone.
- waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

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