Finance Expat remittances from Saudi rise 12% to $3.4bn By Pramod Kumar July 10, 2024, 7:25 AM Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany Expat remittance from Saudi Arabia rose 11 percent month on month in May 2024 Expat remittance from Saudi Arabia jumped by 12 percent year on year to SAR12.6 billion ($3.4 billion) in May, according to the Saudi Central Bank (Sama). Remittances rose 11 percent month on month, or SAR1.3 billion, in May, the central bank said. Globally, remittances to low- and middle-income countries grew by an estimated 3.8 percent in 2023, reaching $669 billion, the World Bank said in its December 2023 report. It is forecasting a global increase of 2 percent for 2024. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week India is the world’s largest recipient of money transfers, followed by Mexico, China, the Philippines and Egypt. India was the origin of the largest number of international migrants in the world, with large diasporas living in countries such as the UAE, the US and Saudi Arabia, the International Organisation for Migration said in its World Migration Report 2024. Saudi Arabia will pay costs of normalising migrants’ status Saudi remittances fall as expats invest domestically Wealthy migrants to UAE boost luxuries but stir inflation India is forecast to receive $125 billion this year, a rise of 12.4 percent. Its remittances outlook for 2024 will hinge on developments in the Gulf, as almost 29 percent of the flows originate from migrants employed in the region, the World Bank said.
