Investment opportunity for Pakistani expats at home

Muscat: A new investment opportunity, in the form of certificates for overseas Pakistanis living in Oman and across the world, has recently been announced by the country’s Prime Minster, Imran Khan.
The new initiative by PM Khan, Pakistan Banao Certificate, aims to not only uplift the country’s economy but to also generate profits for overseas Pakistanis.
Minimum investment
The certificates, with a minimum investment of US$5,000 will offer a 6.25 per cent to 6.75 per cent rate of return per annum to Pakistan nationals living abroad, and multiplies for a period of three and five years, respectively.
Speaking exclusively to the Times of Oman, Mian Mohammed Munir, Chairman of Pakistan Social Club Oman, said that the new scheme will be a game changer for the country.
“The Pakistan Banao Certificate is the first initiative of its kind for overseas Pakistanis like us and I believe it is going to be a game changer for the country. It aims to provide opportunities to safely invest our savings with higher profit rates of 6.25 per cent in three years and 6.75 per cent in five years in US dollars. I will definitely be getting some certificates for myself,” Munir added.
Pakistanis living across Oman and having a Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) or Pakistan Origin Card can invest in the certificates digitally through a dedicated secure website: www.pakistanbanaocertificates.gov.pk.
The website also has complete details about the certificates, and every investor would be issued a unique identity number and profits in US dollars would be remitted semi-annually to the investor’s specified account maintained abroad.
Moreover, further incentives for certificate holders include exemptions from withholding tax and the compulsory deduction of Zakat. Investors will also have the option to encash the certificates prematurely in the Pakistani rupee without any deduction.
Another Pakistani citizen based in Muscat said it’s a positive sign that something has been offered to overseas Pakistanis to help contribute towards the development of the country.
“No lucrative projects were offered to overseas Pakistanis for over a decade. So, I see this as a positive sign for Pakistani citizens like me living abroad and wanting to be a part of the ongoing development in the country,” said Nazia Hassan Zaeem, a PhD scholar at Sultan Qaboos University.
“I feel overseas Pakistanis are contributing equally towards the development of the country since the formation of the new government in the form of remittances, the dams fund, and it is about time we were offered something more concrete that benefits both people and the country as a whole,” Zaeem added.
She continued saying that new initiatives need to be introduced to bring back potential citizens to Pakistan who left in search of better opportunities.