RDA inflows surge to $8.74 billion in September

The cash-strapped country received much-needed relief to overcome its financial difficulties, as the inflows from Roshan Digital Account (RDA) exceeded $8.7 billion in September 2024, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.

Statistics available on the central bank's website showed that the country received a total of $8.749 billion in September, bringing the overall RDA amount to $74.62 billion since its inception.

A monthly summary of the RDA revealed a $168 million or 1.7 percent increase month-on-month from $165 million in August 2024. Year-on-year, the RDA recorded an increase of $1.993 billion from $6.756 billion in September 2023.

Out of the $8.749 billion, $1.663 billion was repatriated from Pakistan, and $5.554 billion was utilised locally. Currently, the net amount held by the SBP in the RDA account is $1.553 billion as net repatriatable liability.

The cumulative liability of $1.533 billion includes investments of $380 million in Naya Pakistan Certificate Conventional, $656 million in Naya Pakistan Certificate Islamic, and $41 million in Roshan Equality Investment.

Following the disbursement of the first tranche from the newly signed review with the International Monetary Fund in September, the country shifted its focus to increasing its foreign reserves to prevent the depreciation of the local currency.

Additionally, control over imports, crackdowns against the black market, and foreign exchange-related policies appeared supportive for the country in achieving its estimated target to collect over $19 billion in foreign exchange by the end of fiscal year 2025.