Worker remittances in 2019 were lowest in six years

Muscat: The amount of money remitted home by expatriate workers in Oman was the lowest it has been in the last six years, according to data from the Central Bank of Oman (CBO).

Foreign workers remitted home OMR 3,512 million in 2019, compared to OMR 3,829 in 2018, OMR 3,774 in 2017, OMR 3,965 in 2016, OMR 4,226 million in 2015, and OMR 3,961 million in 2014.

Providing an explanation for the drop in remittances, the CBO in its annual report for 2019 said: “The current transfers (workers’ remittances) fell significantly, reflecting a decline in expatriate workers following an Omanisation policy and the slowdown in some economic activities.”

The report went on to add: “The leakage of savings in the form of current transfers (mainly workers’ remittances abroad), however, declined by 8.2 percent in 2019, as compared to a marginal increase of 0.8 percent in 2018, mainly on account of strict Omanisation policies and the decrease in the number of expatriates in the labour force.”