Expat remittances to Egypt nosedive

Remittances of Egyptian expats working in the Kingdom have plummeted this year owing to the political turmoil in Egypt and the ongoing labor inspection campaign, which has triggered the exodus of almost 300,000 Egyptians back to their homeland since the start of the amnesty period in July this year.
Taha Kosbah, an Egyptian economist, told Arab News: “The political crisis and the fragile Egyptian economy have played a big role in slashing Egyptian expats’ remittances.” Expat remittances stood at an estimated SR1 billion in 2013, which is a steep decline from the SR6 billion in 2010.
“The high cost of living in Egypt has also contributed to the reduction in remittances, as many Egyptians in the Kingdom are now unable to transfer large amounts of money to help their friends and relatives back home,” he added.
Moreover, the total number of Egyptians living in the Kingdom is now less than one million, which is another factor accounting for decreased remittances.
“Foreign remittances of Egyptians living abroad represent one of the most important sources of revenue for the country.”
Tosbah maintained that despite the crisis, foreign currency reserves in the Egyptian central bank now ranges between 16 billion and 18 billion Egyptian pounds.
The World Bank Migration and Development Brief released a report in October which said that Egyptian remittances had tripled since 2009, reaching $20 billion this year. According to the report, Egypt ranked first among the Arab countries and sixth in the list of the top recipients of remittances transferred to developing countries.
That said, foreign reserves have fallen by almost 60 percent since the revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. In June of the same year, the central bank registered only $14.9 billion in foreign reserves — the equivalent of just three months of imports.