Kathmandu, Oct 15: The country has received more than Rs 263 billion in remittance in the second month of the current fiscal year. The country had received Rs 228.37 billion remittance in the same period last year.
“Remittance inflows increased 15.2 percent to Rs 263.14 billion in the review period compared to an increase of 18.7 percent in the same period of the previous year,” the Nepal Rastra Bank stated today in the Current Macroeconomic and Financial Situation of Nepal.
In the US Dollar terms, remittance inflows reached 1.96 billion in the month of Bhadra which was 1.73 billion in the same period of the previous year, according to the central bank.
The number of Nepali workers, both institutional and individual, taking first-time approval for foreign employment remained 76,485 while those taking approval for renew entry was 40,583.
Current Account and Balance of Payments
The current account remained at a surplus of Rs.49.69 billion in the review period compared to a surplus of Rs.23.97 billion in the same period of the previous year. In the US Dollar terms, the current account registered a surplus of 370.1 million in the review period against a surplus of 181.3 million in the same period last year.
In the review period, net capital transfer amounted to Rs.1.20 billion and foreign direct investment inflow (Equity only) remained at Rs.2.71 billion. In the same period of the previous year, net capital transfer amounted to Rs.850.8 million and foreign direct investment inflows (Equity only) amounted to Rs.3.0 billion.
Balance of Payments (BOP) remained at a surplus of Rs. 101.77 billion in the review period compared to a surplus of Rs. 55.1 billion in the same period of the previous year. In the US Dollar terms, the BOP remained at a surplus of 757.9 million in the review period compared to a surplus of 417 million in the same period of the previous year.
Foreign Exchange Reserves
Gross foreign exchange reserves increased 5.5 percent to Rs.2152.53 billion in mid-September 2024 from Rs.2041.10 billion in mid-July 2024. In the US dollar terms, the gross foreign exchange reserves increased 5.0 percent to 16.04 billion in mid-September 2024 from 15.27 billion in mid-July 2024.
Of the total foreign exchange reserves, reserves held by NRB increased 4.4 percent to Rs.1928.99 billion in mid- September 2024 from Rs.1848.55 billion in mid-July 2024.
Reserves held by banks and financial institutions (except NRB) increased 16.1 percent to Rs.223.53 billion in mid-September 2024 from Rs.192.55 billion in mid-July 2024. The share of Indian currency in total reserves stood at 22.1 percent in mid-September 2024.
Foreign Exchange Adequacy Indicators
Based on the imports of two months of 2024/25, the foreign exchange reserves of the banking sector is sufficient to cover the prospective merchandise imports of 16.8 months, and merchandise and services imports of 13.7 months.
The ratio of reserves-to-GDP, reserves-to-imports and reserves-to-M2 stood at 37.7 percent, 114.4 percent and 30.8 percent respectively in mid- September 2024. Such ratios were 35.8 percent, 108.6 percent and 29.3 percent respectively in mid-July 2024. #NRB #economic
Full Text of the Report
