Expat remittances globally hit $466bln

KUWAIT CITY: According to a recent report issued by World Bank, the remittances of expatriates around the world increased in 2017 reaching $466 billion with the expectation of reaching $485 billion in 2018, reports Al-Rai daily.

The report showed that India topped in this regard in 2017 with remittances worth $69 billion, followed by China with $64 billion and the Philippines with $33 billion. Egypt occupied the seventh place with remittances worth $20 billion.

The report stated that Kuwait is the second highest destination for expatriates when compared to its population as the expatriates in Kuwait constitute 80 percent of the total inhabitants in the country.

As per the report, the intention of the government of Kuwait to impose taxes on the expatriates’ remittances will negatively affect the fl ow of remittances via legal channels and will in turn create a parallel market. The remittances of Filipino expatriates from around the world increased by 5.3 percent to record $32.6 billion in 2017.