Jordanian expat remittances reach $1.168b in first third of 2017

AMMAN — Expatriates’ remittances increased by 2.4 per cent to $1.168 billion during the first third of 2017, compared with $1.140 billion in the same period last year, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) announced on Wednesday.

Remittances of Jordanians abroad are considered among the CBJ’s most important sources of foreign currency, which also include tourism revenues, returns of national exports and foreign loans and grants, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Expatriates’ remittances increased by 3.3 per cent to $856 million during the first three months of 2017, compared with $607 million in the same period last year, Petra reported.

The CBJ earlier announced that tourism revenues in the January-March period rose by 14.1 per cent, standing at $988 million, compared with $866 million in the same period of 2016. 

The total income from tourism and Jordanian expatriates’ remittances reached $1.844 billion by the end of the first quarter this year, Petra added.

The value of tourism revenues and expatriates’ remittances stood at $7.8 billion in 2016, witnessing an increase in the last quarter, according to the CBJ, whose figures showed that the value of remittances stood at $3.7 billion, recording a 2.4-per cent drop compared with 2015.