UAE Exchange yesterday said its customers sent about US$14 billion in remittances through its exchange houses in the Emirates last year, up more than 6 per cent from the previous year.
The growth level is the same as that forecast by the World Bank in its most recent global outlook for last year.
“Most of the remittances from UAE were to India, followed by Bangladesh, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and Thailand,” said Promoth Manghat, vice president of global operations at UAE Exchange. “The continuing infrastructure development and economic growth in UAE would in turn lead to higher remittance volumes from the UAE in 2014.”
UAE Exchange estimates it has a 6 per cent market share of the global remittance industry, forecast by the World Bank to have reached $414bn last year.
The handling of $25bn “is a robust indicator of significant presence as a global player in the remittance sphere”, said Mr Manghat.
Growth in remittance flows in the UAE last year was supported by a pick-up in activity in the economy, especially the construction and services industries, as well as weakness in Asian currencies.
The Indian rupee last year fell by 11.4 per cent against the dirham, while the Philippine peso fell by 7.4 per cent, according to Bloomberg. The currency weakness stoked demand for remittances as remitters were able to get extra value when sending money to their home countries.
Across the five countries in the GCC where UAE Exchange operates, excluding Saudi Arabia, the Abu Dhabi-based company handled $21.3bn in remittances last year. The GCC has an estimated 15 million migrant workers, more than 5 million of which are in the UAE.
In the coming years, a strong pipeline of infrastructure projects in the region linked to the World Expo 2020 in Dubai and the Fifa World Cup in Qatar in 2022 means demand is likely to grow for expatriate workers, who represent the bulk of those sending money around the world.
The Dubai Government has said it expects 277,000 new jobs to be created in the next few years ahead of the event.
UAE Exchange said it planned to expand its footprint beyond the 132 branches it has in the UAE and 700 branches globally.
tarnold@thenational.ae
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