Cambodia: ‘Kingdom among the top remittance receivers in region’

• May 14, 2021

Cambodia was one of the largest recipients of worker remittances among emerging economies in the East Asia and Pacific region in 2020, according to a World Bank report. It ranked eighth in the region behind China ($59.5 billion), the Philippines ($34.9 billion), Vietnam ($17.2 billion), Indonesia ($9.7 billion), Thailand ($8.3 billion), Myanmar ($2.2 billion) and Malaysia ($1.5 billion). In total Cambodian expatriate workers sent back around $1.3 billion last year.

Cambodia is one of the most reliant nations in the region on remittances sent from abroad. It is estimated that around 1.3 million Cambodians live and work outside the country, with around 85% of them serving as migrant labourers in Thailand.

The report further added almost 655,000 migrants from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have applied for legal work status in Thailand as part of the country’s current amnesty programme. A prerequisite for getting the permit is testing negative for COVID-19, which costs approximately $74.

The $1.3 billion sent home by Cambodians in 2020 marked a 53 percent decrease from the $2.8 billion received in 2019.

The World Bank estimated worker remittances in the East Asia and Pacific region dropped by 7.9 percent to $136 billion in 2020 from 2019 totals. The report also cited that globally, remittances to all low- and middle-income countries fell by 1.6 percent in 2020.

Michal Rutkowski at the World Bank said remittances “continue to provide a critical lifeline” to the poor and vulnerable. “Supportive policy responses, together with national social protection systems, should continue to be inclusive of all communities, including migrants,” he added.

Dilip Ratha, lead author of the report, highlighted the “remarkable” resilience of remittance flows. This is no doubt aided by the emerging fintech sector in the region, which allows much easier access to finance than was previously the case. The bank projected modest growth of about 2.1 percent over the 2021-2022 period. This is from an expected boost in the economies of major hosts to migrant workers.

Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50856644/kingdom-among-the-top-remittance-receivers-in-region/