$544 million transferred by armenians abroad in 2003 to relatives

From ArmenPress:

The amount of cash sent home by Armenians working abroad, the main source of income for thousands of families, reached last year some $544 million, as much as Armenia's budget was, showing an $85 million growth over the previous year. According to Armenia's Central Bank, Russia accounts for most of the remittances increasingly handled by local commercial banks. Some $395 million were remitted from Russia, followed by the USA- almost $60 million, Germany-$13.1 million and Switzerland-$10.2 million. The amount of money transfers to USA from Armenia last year was $63.5 million, to Russia-$56.7 million, $40 million were remitted to the United Arab Emirates, $26 million to Turkey and $23 million to Iran. Commissions charged for such services have considerably dropped as a result of growing competition among the local banks specializing in the business.

Posted by Matt on March 25, 2004 | TrackBack | Email to a friend