Nepal FY 2018-19: Remittance Inflow Rises by 29 Percent, External Sector Takes Dip!

Nepal registered a total of NPR 515.55 billion in remittances during the first seven months of the current fiscal 2018-19!

As per Nepal Rastra Bank’s (NRB) report titled Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation of Nepal, the remittances inflow increased by 28.5 percent in the review period compared to an increase of 1.7 percent in the same period during 2017-18.

Surprisingly, despite a significant decline in the number of workers applying for work permits in recent months, the total amount of money transfers made by Nepali communities abroad has gone up noticeably.

The number of Nepali migrants travelling abroad decreased by 39.2 percent in the review period, while it went down only by 4.9 percent in the same period, last year.

Experts opine that the following factors have led to the rise in Nepal’s remittance inflow:

• The rising use of formal channels for remittances in countries such as South Korea and Japan
• The elimination of informal channels for money transfer

Nepal External Sector Performance

Meanwhile, the NRB report also states that the country’s external sector continues to disintegrate. The total trade deficit increased by 27.1 percent to NPR 780.19 billion in the first seven months of 2018-19.

Likewise, the export-import ratio also declined to 6.4 percent in 2018-19 from 7.2 percent in the same period during the previous fiscal. The current account registered a deficit of NPR 166.24 billion in the review period. In comparison, the previous year displayed a deficit of NPR 142.09 billion.

The overall balance of payments (BoP) showed a deficit of NPR 49.32 billion in the review period compared to NPR 18.28 million in the review period during 2017-18.

Nepal’s foreign direct investment (FDI) slid to NPR 5.15 billion in the first seven months of FY 2018-19, compared to the previous year’s FDI of  NPR 14.34 billion.

The gross foreign exchange reserves (forex) also reduced to NPR 1,078.36 billion until mid-February 2019 from NPR 1,102. 59 billion until mid-July during the last fiscal.

Let’s wait and watch how the country is able to tackle its rising trade deficit and other external aspects in the remaining five months of the current fiscal.

For more important Nepali business news updates, visit our website.