Expat remittances from the UAE grow 2.2% to $44.7bn in 2017

Expat remittances from the UAE amounted to Dhs164.3bn ($44.7bn) during 2017, up 2.2 per cent from Dhs160.8bn in 2016, official news agency WAM reported.

According to a report by the UAE Central Bank, while Dhs121.66bn was transferred through money exchange companies, the rest went through banks.

During the fourth quarter of the year, money sent by expats to their home countries reached Dhs43.2bn – the same as Q4 2016.

Of that amount, Dhs31.36bn was transferred through exchange firms, with the rest sent through banks.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, remittances grew 1.4 per cent during the last quarter of 2017 compared to Dhs37.9bn in Q3.

India emerged as the top receiving country for remittances in Q4 with a total of Dhs14.8bn, comprising 34.2 per cent of the overall amount in Q4.

Pakistan came next with 9.4 per cent, or Dhs4.1bn, followed by the Philippines in the third place with 7.1 per cent, the US with 5.9 per cent, Egypt with 5.5 per cent, and the UK with 4.2 per cent of the total remittances.

Read: Saudi foreign remittances dip 6.74% in 2017

Read: UAE rules out income tax, mulls taxing remittances