JEDDAH: Talat Hafez, secretary-general of the Information and Banking Awareness Committee for Saudi Banks, said that believing or thinking that the volume of foreign remittances could negatively affect the Saudi economy and cause some kind of deficit, with respect to the country’s general budget, is an exaggerated misconception.
The volume of remittances seems huge, estimated at SR140 billion. However, the proportion is not worrisome, as the budget surplus is linked to the country’s general revenues and the corresponding level of annual spending.
He added that the volume of foreign remittances is estimated at almost 6 percent of the gross domestic product. So if the Kingdom is able to minimize and reduce the flow of these funds out of the country, this will undoubtedly reflect well on the national economy and monetary system.
Commenting on the report issued by the World Bank last week, Hafez said that the classification of the Kingdom as the second largest country worldwide in the volume of foreign remittances from expatriate workers, with $37 billion last year, after the United States, is not strange. The Saudi economy is in a phase of development and prosperity in all areas, and thus it needs to recruit a large number of foreign workers to benefit from their expertise alongside Saudi labor in the building and construction of many projects.
He noted that such remittances are what foreign workers get in the Kingdom as part of salaries and other financial benefits in return for their work. The report showed that total remittances of more than 18 million foreigners working in the Gulf countries reached $90 billion, representing 15 percent of the total global remittances estimated at about $583 billion.
The United Arab Emirates came after Saudi Arabia in expatriate remittances with about $19 billion; Kuwait with $18 billion; and Qatar $11 billion.
The World Bank report confirmed that these remittances have become a major stress for Gulf states that suffer from deficits in their budgets.
The volume of remittances seems huge, estimated at SR140 billion. However, the proportion is not worrisome, as the budget surplus is linked to the country’s general revenues and the corresponding level of annual spending.
He added that the volume of foreign remittances is estimated at almost 6 percent of the gross domestic product. So if the Kingdom is able to minimize and reduce the flow of these funds out of the country, this will undoubtedly reflect well on the national economy and monetary system.
Commenting on the report issued by the World Bank last week, Hafez said that the classification of the Kingdom as the second largest country worldwide in the volume of foreign remittances from expatriate workers, with $37 billion last year, after the United States, is not strange. The Saudi economy is in a phase of development and prosperity in all areas, and thus it needs to recruit a large number of foreign workers to benefit from their expertise alongside Saudi labor in the building and construction of many projects.
He noted that such remittances are what foreign workers get in the Kingdom as part of salaries and other financial benefits in return for their work. The report showed that total remittances of more than 18 million foreigners working in the Gulf countries reached $90 billion, representing 15 percent of the total global remittances estimated at about $583 billion.
The United Arab Emirates came after Saudi Arabia in expatriate remittances with about $19 billion; Kuwait with $18 billion; and Qatar $11 billion.
The World Bank report confirmed that these remittances have become a major stress for Gulf states that suffer from deficits in their budgets.
