CBE: Egyptians Abroad Remittances Increase by 18%

By: Taarek Refaat

CAIRO, Nov. 24 (SEE)- The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said in a statement on Saturday that the total remittances of Egyptians working overseas increased by 18 percent during the month of September.

CBE added that the remittances amounted to $ 1.8 billion last September compared to $ 1.5 billion the corresponding month last year, pointing out that this increase contributed to 1.5 percent of the total transfers during the first quarter of The current fiscal year.

Remittances increased during Q1 by 0.15 percent amounting to $ 5.9 billion compared to $ 5.8 billion in the same period last year.

Egyptian transfers are considered the largest source of foreign reserves in the country, higher than exports, tourism, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), or Suez Canal revenues.

Last  year, remittances amounted to 26.4 billion dollars versus $ 25.8 billion of exports, $ 9.8 billion from tourism, $ 7.7 billion from FDI and $ 5.7 billion from the Canal.