November 15, 2002	Friday	Ramazan 9, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 14: The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet was informed on Thursday that remittances by the overseas Pakistanis are expected to exceed $3 billion mark by the end of 2002-2003.

These remittances for the month of October are tentatively around $380 million, indicating sustainable trend of foreign exchange inflows.

The ECC which was presided over by Minister for Finance Shaukat Aziz was also told that the remittances by the overseas Pakistanis during the first four months of 2002-2003 stood at $1.432bn, an increase of around 251 per cent over the corresponding period of the last year.

The ECC was also informed that Pakistan Postal Services have become a new channel for remittances. This role of the post office would enable overseas Pakistanis to ensure delivery of their remittances at their door steps.

The meeting noted that during the quarter July-October exports increased by 15 per cent as compared to 1.19 per cent in the corresponding period of the last year. The total exports during the first four months of the current financial year stood at $3.48bn which were on the target. The imports increased by 13.3 per cent. Non-oil non-food imports increased by 6.8 per cent indicating industrial activity.

According to the details later released by the ministry of finance, the imports of power generation and construction machinery increased by 51 per cent and 30 per cent respectively over the corresponding period of the last year.

The increased exports were attributed to the exports of textile to the European Union, which registered an increase of 22 per cent during July-October 2002 as compared to the corresponding period of the last year. With this trend, Pakistan is expected to achieve the target of exports to the tune of $10.4bn during the current financial year.