Nepali migrant workers sent home about Rs. 1,200 billion, a record high remittance amount, during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year 2023/24.

According to a current macroeconomic and financial situation report made public by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Monday, remittance inflows increased by 19.2 per cent to Rs. 1,198.6 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.

Despite increased inflow of remittance, the growth rate of remittance has decreased during the review period as compared to same period last year.

There was an increase of remittance inflows of 23.4 per cent in the same period of the previous year 2022/23.

Considering remittance inflows of the first 10 months, Nepal is likely to receive the highest amount of remittance this fiscal year.

Earlier, in the last fiscal year 2022/23, the country received remittance at Rs. 1,220.56 billion.

In the fiscal year 2013/14, Nepal received remittance of Rs. 543.29 billion, while in the fiscal year 2022/23, it reached Rs. 1,220.55 billion.

The country received remittance of Rs. 961.05 billion in the fiscal year 2020/21 and Rs. 1,007.3 billion in the fiscal year 2021/22 billion.

Over the past 10 years, the average annual growth of remittance inflows has been 11.13 per cent.

According to the report, in the US dollar terms, remittance inflows increased by 17.1 per cent to 9.02 billion in the review period compared to an increase of 13.4 per cent in the same period of the previous year.

The report showed that remittance of Rs. 116 billion have been received in a single month from mid-April to mid-May 2024 of the current fiscal year.

However, Nepal received a record high remittance of around Rs. 137 billion in a single month from September 18 to October 17, 2023 of the current fiscal year.

In the review period, the number of Nepali workers, both institutional and individual, taking first-time approval for foreign employment stood at 374,887 and taking approval for renew entry stood at 237,893.

In the previous year, such numbers were 421,279 and 238,976 respectively.

Net transfer increased by 17.2 per cent to Rs. 1301.72 billion in the review period. Such a transfer had increased by 22.5 per cent in the same period of the previous year.

Foreign currency reserves to up

With the continuous improvement in remittance inflows, the external sector of the country has seen a further improvement.

According to NRB, gross foreign exchange reserves increased by 26.2 per cent to Rs. 1,942.4 billion in mid-May 2024 from Rs. 1,539.36 billion in mid-July 2023.

In the US dollar terms, the gross foreign exchange reserves increased by 24.2 per cent to 14.54 billion in mid-May 2024 from 11.71 billion in mid-July 2023.

Of the total foreign exchange reserves, reserves held by NRB increased by 28 per cent to Rs. 1,722.02 billion in mid-May 2024 from Rs. 1345.78 billion in mid-July 2023.

Reserves held by banks and financial institutions (except NRB) increased by 13.8 per cent to Rs. 220.38 billion in mid-May 2024 from Rs.193.59 billion in mid-July 2023, said the report.

The share of Indian currency in total reserves stood at 22.1 per cent in mid-May 2024.

Based on the imports of ten months of 2023/24, the foreign exchange reserves of the banking sector is sufficient to cover the prospective merchandise imports of 15.1 months, and merchandise and services imports of 12.6 months.

Similarly, the current account remained at a surplus of Rs. 193.25 billion in the review period against a deficit of Rs. 63.74 billion in the same period of the previous year.

In the US dollar terms, the current account registered a surplus of 1.45 billion in the review period against a deficit of 493.6 million in the same period last year.

Likewise, Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a surplus of Rs. 392.64 billion in the review period against a surplus of Rs. 209.49 billion in the same period of the previous year.

In the US dollar terms, the BOP remained at a surplus of 2.95 billion in the review period against a surplus of 1.59 billion in the same period of the previous year, said the NRB.