The remittances from Egyptian expats increased to about $6.7bn in the first quarter (1Q) of the fiscal year (FY) 2019/20, growing at an annual rate of 13.6%, compared to about $5.9bn in 1Q of FY 2018/19, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced on Tuesday.

Moreover, the remittances of Egyptian expats in September hiked about $2.3bn, recording a month-over-month increase of 33.2%, equivalent to $581.2m, compared to about $1.8bn in August. It also recorded a year-over-year increase of 32.8% compared to September 2018, the CBE added.

Prior to the CBE’s decision to float the exchange rate on 3 November 2016, most of the remittances  went to the informal market, due to the significant difference in the US dollar exchange.