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Company News of Friday, April 12, 2019
Source: ghananewsagency.org
2019-04-12
Global remittances that include flows to high-income countries reached US $ 689 billion in 2018
Remittances from Ghanaians living abroad in Ghana increased by 7.3 percent to $ 3.8 billion in 2018.
Remittances to sub-Saharan African countries in 2018 contributed significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP) of these countries.
Transfers increased by almost 10 percent to US $ 46 billion, according to the World Bank's latest migration and development report.
Ghana was among the top 10 beneficiaries in Africa, including Comoros' 14 million USD, accounting for 19.1% of GDP; Gambia ($ 245 million, 15.3%); Lesotho ($ 438 million or 13.7%); Cape Verde ($ 243 million, 12.3%); Liberia ($ 387 million or 12%); Zimbabwe ($ 1.8 billion, or 9.6%); Senegal (US $ 2.2 billion, 9.1%); Togo (452 million USD, 8.5%); and Nigeria ($ 24.3 billion, or 6.1 per cent).
The Bank estimates that officially registered annual remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached $ 529 billion last year, an increase of 9.6 percent from the previous record of $ 483 billion in 2017 .
Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, reached USD 689 billion in 2018 compared to USD 633 billion in 2017.
However, the cost of sending remittances to Africa remained high at 10%, while the overall average cost of sending $ 200 was about 7% in the first quarter of 2019, according to the Remittance database. Prices Worldwide from the World Bank.
Reducing the remittance costs to 3% by 2030 globally is one of the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Banks were the most expensive to send money abroad, charging an average fee of 11% in the first quarter of 2019, according to the Brief.
The closing of the bank accounts of certain remittance service providers by the bank risk reduction policy, whereby the perceived financial benefit from the operation of an account outweighs that of the benefits, has resulted in an increase in the cost of transfers, the Brief said.
Post offices ranked second, with more than 7%, because shipping costs included a premium when national post offices maintained an exclusive partnership with a wire transfer operator.
This premium averaged 1.5% worldwide and reached 4% in some countries in the last quarter of 2018.
"Remittances are becoming the largest source of external funding in developing countries," said Dilip Ratha, lead author of the Brief.
"The high costs of money transfers reduce the benefits of migration.
"The renegotiation of exclusive partnerships and the opportunity for new players to operate through national post offices, banks and telecommunications companies will increase competition and lower remittance prices.
The note also examined the SDGs goal of reducing recruitment costs paid by migrant workers, which are high, particularly for low-skilled migrants.
"Millions of low-skilled migrant workers are exposed to poor recruitment practices, including exorbitant recruitment costs," said Michal Rutkowski, Senior Director of Social Protection and Jobs at the World Bank.
"We must redouble efforts to create jobs in developing countries and monitor and reduce the recruitment costs paid by these workers."
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