By: El Sayed Gamal

Riyadh – Mubasher: Remittances by expatriates in Saudi Arabia declined by 8% year-on-year to SAR 125.53 billion ($33.47 billion) in 2019.

In December 2019, remittances grew by 2.2% YoY to SAR 11.56 billion ($3.08 billion), according to data from the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (SAMA).  

Fourth Quarter

Remittances by expats in the kingdom went down by 1.3% YoY to SAR 32.51 billion ($8.67 billion) during the fourth quarter of 2019.

Quarter-on-quarter, remittances rose by 2.7% to SAR 31.66 billion ($8.44 billion) in Q4-19.

Saudi transfers

Moreover, remittances paid by Saudi citizens shrank 3.6% YoY to SAR 58.09 billion ($15.49 billion) in 2019.

Remittances surged 12.8% to SAR 16.09 billion ($4.29 billion) in Q4-19, from SAR 14.27 billion ($3.81 billion) a year earlier.

In December 2019, Saudis’ transfers levelled up by 9.5% to SAR 4.96 billion ($1.32 billion), compared to SAR 4.53 billion ($1.21 billion) in the year-ago period.