(MENAFN- Arab Times) The growing value of the expatriates' remittances has significant and negative impacts on national economy, two Kuwaiti economists concurred Saturday.
The expats' remittances have effects on the national economy especially on the balance of payments and foreign currency reserves, Professor of Economics at the University of Kuwait Nayef Al-Mutairi told KUNA.
He, however, noted that the remittances have a totally different impact on receiving countries where they help boost national economies and reduce poverty and disparities in income distribution. As Kuwait exerts strenuous efforts to attract foreign investments, the remittances allow the outflow of money and investments to other countries, he lamented.
Al-Mutairi urged the Kuwaiti government to adopt policies to encourage expats to save their money at the banking system or to invest them in the country.
The remittances of expats in Kuwait have remarkably jumped in 2014 to KD 5.4 billion (about USD 17.82 billion) compared with KD 4.48 billion (about USD 15.5 billion) a year earlier, according to statistics of the Central Bank of Kuwait. For his part, Professor of Economics at the College of Administrative Sciences at Kuwait University Dr Mohammed Al Sakka echoed a similar view.
The impact of the expats' remittances is negative on the local economy which bars investment of such huge amount of money in enhancing the national economy and diverts it abroad, Al- Sakka told KUNA. He underlined that the government has to motivate expats to keep their savings in Kuwait as long as possible and to ease restrictions on expats' possession of assets to encourage them to launch business in Kuwait.
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