USD 14 Million Recorded As Remittance in the Second Quarter

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has stated that USD 14.1 million was sent as remittance from the Maldives in the second quarter of 2021.

The quarterly report published by the central bank MMA shows a 21% decrease in remittance sent abroad during the second quarter of 2021 when compared with the first quarter of this year. While two companies in the Maldives send money out of the country in the second quarter of the year (April, May, June, and July) USD 14.1 million (MVR 217 million) has been sent as remittance out of the country.

Around 68% of the remittance from the Maldives was sent by expatriate workers. while Bangladesh topped the list followed by India and Egypt.

MMA statistics also show that MVR 12.8 million entered the country in the second quarter as inward remittance. This is a decrease of 19% when compared with the first three months of the year.

According to MMA annual figures, a total of USD 31.9 million was sent abroad through the various remittance companies in the last 6 months. However, USD 47.9 million remittances were sent abroad compared with the same period of last year. And in total USD 92.9 million remittances were sent abroad the whole of last year mainly by Bangladesh citizens.

MMA said that there were currently two companies in the Maldives providing remittance services. However, due to the introduction of remittance tax, many Bangladeshis send money abroad through deceit. Speaking to “the Maldives Journal” a former bank official said that in a year an amount of USD 500 million is sent out of Maldives as dollar remittance.