KUWAIT CITY, June 27: The Kuwaiti exchange market is currently experiencing a period of recovery after several months of severe stagnation. This stagnation was largely due to the growth of the black market mafia, which has been very active in recent years. Their activity intensified with the steep rise in the dollar’s price on the Egyptian black market.

This situation particularly affected the local exchange companies sector, which relies heavily on remittances from Egyptian workers. Officials in the Kuwaiti banking sector confirmed to Al-Seyassah that the black market currency trading mafia exploited the significant currency difference when the dollar price in Egypt soared to approximately 70 Egyptian pounds, while the official exchange rate in banks was around 30 pounds.

This discrepancy led to a boom in illicit currency trade in Arab countries with a large Egyptian workforce, including Kuwait. These officials added that many local accredited exchange offices and companies nearly went bankrupt from the second half of 2023 until the first quarter of 2024, with some reducing their workforce. The sources explained that the Egyptian government’s decision to increase the dollar price in banks to about 47 pounds, along with tighter controls over the currency trade mafia, encouraged Egyptian workers abroad, especially in Arab countries, to use legitimate channels for their transactions. In related news, a report by the Central Bank of Egypt on the balance of payments for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023/2024 revealed a 29.9% decline in remittances from Egyptians working abroad, totaling $4.5 billion, compared to $6.4 billion during the same period the previous fiscal year.

Earlier data showed that remittances from Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia and the UAE accounted for approximately 72.7% of the total remittances from Egyptians working in Arab countries during the fiscal year 2022/2023. Kuwait ranked third with $2 billion, accounting for about 14% of these remittances. Data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics indicated that Saudi Arabia topped the list with remittances from Egyptians working in Arab countries at $8.3 billion, more than 58% of the total. The UAE came second with $2.1 billion, about 14.6%. Qatar was fourth with approximately $940.6 million, around 6.5%, and Jordan was fifth with $415.3 million, about 2.9%. The total remittances from Egyptians working in Arab countries were estimated at $14.3 billion by the end of the fiscal year 2022/2023, down from $21.5 billion in the previous year, marking a 33.4% decrease

By Najeh Bilal
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff