The country’s inward remittances have dropped by more than 11 per cent from January to August last year compared to the same period in the previous year. According to the figures from the Royal Monetary Authority, over Nu 4bn was remitted between January and August.
The latest figures from the Royal Monetary Authority or RMA show that the trend has slowed down last year. In 2021, from January to August, RMA recorded more than Nu 5bn. This indicates a drop of more than 11 per cent last year.
According to Finance Minister Namgay Tshering, the possible reason could be because of global economic uncertainty due to which Bhutanese living abroad might have kept the hard cash instead of remitting.
However, compared to 2019, the remittance has been on the rise until 2021.
Last year, as of August, the majority of inward remittances in convertible currencies were from the United States and Australia. The US dollars stood at Nu 2.3bn and Australian dollars at Nu 1.8bn respectively.
It was followed by Singaporean dollars and Canadian dollars.
As per the figures from RMA, the lowest inward remittance was in February with more than Nu 290 M last year.
Remittance helps improve foreign exchange reserves and stabilises the country’s balance of payment.
Kinzang Lhadon
Edited by Tshering Zam
