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Remittances from Egyptian expats equate to three times Suez Canal revenues
| Published: | 8 Jan at 10 AM |
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The amount of money expatriate Egyptians send home is equal to three times the revenue earned by the Suez Canal, according to the World Bank’s director of migration and remittances Dilip Ratha.
Egyptians send home around US$20bn annually, with Ratha revealing that the figure had doubled more than once in the past four or five years. He pointed out that the money sent home was now three times greater than revenues earned from the Suez Canal.
However, he noted that a number of countries, including Egypt, were currently thinking about imposing taxes on funds sent home, which he described as “irrational” as these “personal funds” were “economically beneficial” and regularly invested in economic initiatives.
Ratha explained that expat Egyptians already face a number of problems when sending money home, particularly with exchange companies increasing their interest rates.
He revealed that expat workers from all over the world in London, Paris and Dubai would pay between six and 12 per cent in interest charges, which he referred to as “not normal”, noting that if these rates were lowered by just one per cent, it would contribute a further $30bn annually to the global economy.
The World Bank says that expats from Arab countries transfer US$51bn to their home countries annually. Out of these nations, Egyptians send the most home, followed by Lebanese, Moroccans, Jordanians and Palestinians respectively.
Egyptians send home around US$20bn annually, with Ratha revealing that the figure had doubled more than once in the past four or five years. He pointed out that the money sent home was now three times greater than revenues earned from the Suez Canal.
However, he noted that a number of countries, including Egypt, were currently thinking about imposing taxes on funds sent home, which he described as “irrational” as these “personal funds” were “economically beneficial” and regularly invested in economic initiatives.
Ratha explained that expat Egyptians already face a number of problems when sending money home, particularly with exchange companies increasing their interest rates.
He revealed that expat workers from all over the world in London, Paris and Dubai would pay between six and 12 per cent in interest charges, which he referred to as “not normal”, noting that if these rates were lowered by just one per cent, it would contribute a further $30bn annually to the global economy.
The World Bank says that expats from Arab countries transfer US$51bn to their home countries annually. Out of these nations, Egyptians send the most home, followed by Lebanese, Moroccans, Jordanians and Palestinians respectively.
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