KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan has allowed direct investment through the rupee based Roshan Digital Accounts (RDA), into the shares of companies in Pakistan and units of funds established and operated by private fund management company licensed by Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), a statement said.
This move aimed at providing further investment and financing opportunities to non-resident Pakistanis (NRPs). Moreover, to facilitate investment in real estate in Pakistan, a financing facility has been allowed to RDA holders through their rupee account using digital channels. In addition, the inflow of funds into rupee-denominated RDA has been allowed through Money Transfer Operators (MTOs).
Earlier investment through rupee-denominated RDA was allowed in registered government securities, listed securities on the stock exchange, mutual funds, real estate with self-financing, and term deposits of the banks.
The above changes will not only provide more investment opportunities to non-resident Pakistani but also facilitate them to purchase property in Pakistan through bank financing. Likewise, earlier the flow of funds into RDA was allowed only through banking channels. However, based on the feedback received from NRPs, inflows from abroad into RDA have been allowed through MTOs. “This would provide another convenient and economical avenue for sending remittances, particularly to the NRPs who might not have a bank account abroad,” the SBP said.
The remittances received through RDA have already crossed $2 billion. The SBP greatly values the contribution and trust of overseas Pakistanis in this initiative and assures them that it would continue to enhance the feature-set of the RDAs, so that the accounts can seamlessly cater to their complete banking needs.
