December 23: Remittance inflow to Nepal during the month of Kartik (mid-October to mid-November) remained high despite the impact of coronavirus.

Remittance inflow to Nepal was expected to decline due to the impact of coronavirus but it has remained high instead.

The average monthly inflow of remittance to Nepal is Rs 73 billion. However, during the review period, the inflow of remittance to Nepal was Rs 78.86 billion, which is above monthly average according to the latest report on current economic and financial situation of Nepal made public by Nepal Rastra Bank.

As of mid-November, remittance inflow to Nepal has increased by an average of 11.2 percent. During the first four months of the current fiscal year, altogether Rs 337.72 billion was sent to Nepal as remittance from different parts of the world. Remittance inflow to Nepal during the corresponding period of last fiscal year was Rs 349.97 billion. During the first four months of last fiscal year, remittance inflow had declined by 2.8 percent, according to the central bank.

There were speculations that the inflow of remittance would decline due to coronavirus. However, remittance inflow has been above average since the last seven months except for the month of Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) when it was equal to the average remittance inflow.

The World Bank had projected Nepal’s remittance to decline by 14 percent in 2020 while the Asian Development Bank had estimated remittance inflow to shrink by 28.7 percent.