The Jeddah section of “Focus,” a non-profit youth organization, recently conducted a financial awareness program for the expatriate community. The keynote speaker, K.V. Shamsudheen, urged expatriates to save their hard-earned money to ensure a better future.
“Most low and middle-income expatriates in Gulf countries face hardships due to their lack of savings, the insecure job market, failure to transform their earnings into productive investment and a lack of interest in acquiring new skills,” said Shamsudheen, chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust.
“The remittances of expatriates are mainly used for dead investments such as building luxurious homes and buying ornaments. When an expatriate goes back to his home country, he finds it difficult to make ends meet. The reason is simple. Unwise investment, unplanned retirement and a lack of proper guidance in making his money grow,” he explained.
Shamsudheen, who is also vice chairman of the Indian Business Professional Council, provided guidelines for developing saving habits and making suitable investments.
Albin Joseph of Express Money and Basheer Machingal from EFS Logistics also spoke on the importance of saving. There was a session to create awareness against the dowry system in Kerala and other parts of India.
Abdul Gafoor Valappan, president of the Indian Islahi Center in Jeddah, launched the event.
Separately, Focus International has introduced its TIPS-Medical-Engineering Model Entrance Examination, a first time attempt of its kind for Indian expatriate students living in Saudi Arabia.
The fourth model entrance examination of TIPS has been scheduled on Friday, March 22, at selected examination centers all over GCC countries. TIPS examination in Kerala will be conducted simultaneously.
Online registration can be completed through www.focusjeddah.com/tips. For more details please contact: 0507163883 (Jeddah), 0501764391 (Riyadh) and 0501435249 (Dammam).
Expatriates told to save for a better future
