JEDDAH: Expatriates in Saudi Arabia have sent to their homelands remittances worth 81.6 billion Saudi Riyals in the first six months of this year compared with SR77.5 billion in the same period last year, local media reported. Expatriate workers in the Kingdom have sent home around SR1.42 trillion in the past 22 years (From 1994 to end-June 2015), according to data and analysis carried out by Al-Eqtesadiah.
Last year (2014) saw the highest-ever value of expatriates’ remittances, which surged by 3.6 percent or SR5.3 billion from SR148 billion in 2013 to SR153.3 billion.
Commenting on the latest figures, London-based James Reeve, deputy chief economist and assistant general manager at Samba Financial Group, said: “The increase is not large enough to have a major effect on the Kingdom’s balance of payments, which is dominated by trade.”
Said Al-Shaikh, group chief economist at the National Commercial Bank, told Arab News: “The pace of economic growth will moderate over the coming few years which will mean the demand for labor will be lessened compared to huge demand from 2004 to 2014. Accordingly, the level of growth in remittances will slow down.”
He said: “The increasing Saudization will also lessen the rate of growth of remittances.”
John Sfakianakis, Middle East director at Ashmore Group, commented: “Expatriate workers have for decades assisted the development of the Saudi economy. The development and construction of the Kingdom wouldn’t have happened had it not been for foreign workers since the early 1970s. Arab workers as well as millions from the subcontinent and Asia have helped the country move forward.”
In June this year, the Al-Eqtesadiah report stated that expatriates in Saudi Arabia transferred an amount of SR13.2 billion to their home countries, down three percent or SR413 million from the SR13.6 billion recorded in the same month last year.
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