DOHA: Exchange houses across Qatar yesterday witnessed a large number of Asians rushing to send money to family back home.
The announcement of Eid Al Fitr triggered the rush.
“The announcement of Eid (on Monday) came yesterday, but in Asian countries Eid will be celebrated on Tuesday.
“Exchange houses will be open on Monday in Asian countries and recipients will be able to collect money.
“So today was the last day (before Eid holidays) for Asians to send money home,” said Zuber Abdul Rahman, Operations Manager, Al Zamam Exchange.
Expats from other countries also queued up at exchange houses. Remittances usually surge during Ramadan and Eid. According to officials, remittances increased by 30 percent during this holy month.
“Asians were eagerly waiting for the announcement of Eid. Once they came to know about it, they rushed to exchange houses. The rush was more at night,” said a senior official of an exchange house. “Mostly, people were from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” he said.
However, officials clarified that the rush yesterday was not due to any sharp volatility in Asian currencies.
“There was no significant fall or rise in the value of Asian currencies. They have remained stable in the past one week,” said Zuber.
Indian rupee closed at 16.50 per Qatari riyal yesterday, Bangladeshi taka at 21.32 and Pakistani rupee at 27.11.
THE PENINSULA
