File photo of customers waiting inside a money exchange in Doha.
DOHA: Total remittances by expatriates from Qatar were around $10.4bn in 2015 with South Asian countries being the main recipients of this outflow. Remittances flow are likely to be steady in future as Qatar continues with implementation of mega infrastructure and rising inflow of workers in the country, said a senior official of UAE Exchange.
“Qatar accounted for more than $10.4bn in remittances in 2015, with South Asian countries receiving 70% as per the World Bank. Volatility in the global currency markets coupled with socio-political conditions influenced the currency value,” said Promoth Manghat, Chief Executive Officer, UAE Exchange Group yesterday in a press conference at City Center Rotana Hotel. Strengthening of US dollar against major currencies helped in boosting the remittances.
“Stronger US dollar further weakened the other currencies, impacting remittance positively. Oil price slump did not affect the remittance flow from the GCC countries much and the GCC area was the largest remitting region last year. This was possible due to the diversification of the economy, which the Governments did to reduce the dependency on oil,” said Manghat.
“Initiatives like Football World Cup in Qatar, Expo2020 in the UAE, various major infrastructure projects across the region are further attracting migrant talent, especially from the South Asian and Arab countries. These can help the remittance flow to be steady,” he added.
He said the cost of remitting money from Qatar and GCC region to some countries is one of the lowest in the world. Qatar-UAE Exchange, a subsidiary of UAE Exchange, recently opened 10th branch in Asian Town. The company is looking to further strengthening its presence in Qatar by offering new services to its customers.
Qatar-UAE Exchange digital portal has 25,000 members
“Qatar-UAE Exchange has always progressed along with the country. Our new outlet will help us extend convenience and provide customised financial solutions across traditional and digital platforms to the residents of Asian town,” said Mathai Vaidian, Country Head, Qatar-UAE Exchange. “Also, with the country gearing up ahead for the FIFA 2022 World Cup, we are expecting the region to remain a destination of choice for international talent, propelling a robust remittance growth from Qatar,” he added.
The company, that began operation in Qatar in 2007, launched ‘online remittance channel’ in December last year that saw a good response from customers. The digital portal witnessed a remittance volume of close to $20m as on June 30 and at present has around 25,000 active digital customers. “With digital being the future, we are treading aggressively towards digitising our product offerings for our customers in Qatar,” said Vaidian. “Qatar is gearing up ahead for the FIFA 2022 World Cup and we are expecting the region to remain a destination of choice for international talent, propelling a robust remittance growth from this country,” he added.
