From November 2016 to November 2017, the total sum of remittances sent to Egypt from expats working abroad reached $24.2 billion, which an official source from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) described on Wednesday to be the highest level since the flotation of the Egyptian pound in November 2016.
Remittances increased by 43 percent compared to the period of November 2015 to November 2016, which saw $17 billion in remittances sent to Egypt.
The source told the Egyptian state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) that the flotation of the pound, which, they claim, led to the elimination of the black market, succeeded also in restoring the transfer of remittances to occur through the official banking system, rather than the unregulated black market – as was the case in the past.
A large number of expatriates had been making financial transfers through the black market, and not the official banking system, which negatively affected the CBE’s hard currency revenues, the source added.
Remittances increased by 20 percent, compared to the same period from November 2016 to November 2017, equal to $20.2 billion, and increased by 43 percent compared to the same period from November 2015 to November 2016, equal to $17 billion.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
