Overseas residents from country will soon be able to buy a car on discounted rates under Roshan Digital Account.

Overseas Pakistan will soon be able to buy a car on discounted rates under Roshan Digital Account, Khaleej Times has learnt.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will address non-resident Pakistanis on Thursday at 11am Pakistan standard time to announce a special package to them.

Senator Faisal Javed Khan has tweeted that the central bank will launch two new initiatives for non-resident Pakistanis to mark the celebration of $1 billion remittances through Roshan Digital Accounts.

"Great News for our Overseas as @StateBank_Pak is launching 2 new initiatives under #RoshanDigitalAccount scheme: 1. Roshan Apni Car & 2.Roshan Samaaji Khidmat as we celebrate RDA reaching USD 1 Billion mark. PM Imran Khan ll be addressing overseas Pakistanis on Thurs at 11am PST," Faisal Javed Khan tweeted.

Javed Afridi, owner of Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League, also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan allow the tax-free purchase of new cars or EVs to overseas Pakistanis.

"It will help not only local automotive industry but also save non-resident Pakistanis to pay huge duties and taxes on imported vehicles,” Afridi told Khaleej Times during an exclusive interview last week.

RDA a game changer

Imran Khan inaugurated the RDA programme on September 10, 2020. It is a joint effort of the State Bank of Pakistan and the federal government in collaboration with eight commercial banks operating in Pakistan. Later, more banks joined the initiative to facilitate the overseas Pakistani community.

"Since the launch of #RoshanDigitalAccount Scheme by PM Imran Khan on the 10th Sep, 2020, more than 120,000 accounts have been opened and more than USD 1 billion have been brought in these accounts," Faisal Javed tweeted.

The major objective of the RDA is to attract millions of Pakistanis living abroad by offering much higher returns on deposits than those in developed economies. The initiative helped overseas citizens to remotely open bank accounts in Pakistan through online digital portals without physically visiting branches.

Banking experts and analysts are optimistic about the outlook of Roshan Digital Account and said it would continue to attract funds from overseas Pakistanis, especially those based in the Gulf region.

"Pakistan is expected to receive up to $2 billion remittances through Roshan Digital Account programme by the end of this year," they said.

Banking experts said the RDA is going to be third major source of foreign currency inflows into the country after rising remittances and steady exports.

Since the launch of #RoshanDigitalAccount Scheme by PM Imran Khan on the 10th Sep, 2020, more than 120,000 accounts have been opened and more than USD 1 billion worth of foreign remittances have been brought in these accounts. #PakistanMovingForward

— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) April 27, 2021