DUBAI: Remittances in Oman have dropped this year, as numbers of expats in the country continue to decline, according to local daily Times of Oman.
Latest data showed a consistent decline in four of the country’s biggest expat communities – Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, and Tanzanians.
The National Center for Statistics and Information reported a 2.8 per cent drop in the number of Indian expats, 4.4 per cent in Bangladeshi expats, 6.9 per cent in Pakistani workers, and 8.4 per cent in Tanzanian workers. Most of the expats who left Oman held white collar jobs, according to NCSI.
The decline is seen as an effect of the country’s current Omanisation policies that prioritize more Omanis in job placements.
One official from an exchange house in Oman said the potential incomes from the white-collar workers who left the country would have contributed to the country’s remittances output.
“There is a year-on-year fall in expat numbers, and any decrease in the expat numbers will definitely lead to a reduction in remittances. Obviously, this affects our business as well, because all of these things are directly linked,” Mustafa Sultan Exchange’s PK Subudhi said.
Subudhi said he is not expecting a huge “jump in remittances in 2019,” but remains optimistic for a gradual increase from current figures.
The Omanization drive is part of a government’s push to recruit more of its citizens, a similar push is underway across the GCC where countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have also been trying to increase the number of locals in employment.
