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Indian Expats Make Hay as the Dollar Shines

DUBAI— What started off as an Eid treat is going to end up as a Diwali bonanza. It’s not any promotional gimmick.

Indian expatriates in the UAE are now rushing to the exchange houses to send money home, thanks to the record lowering of the Indian rupee against the dollar. Expats on Thursday got Rs13.43 against the dirham.

“With the current exchange rate, every Indian in the UAE is gaining up to 15 per cent of the salary, compared to the rate three months back,” Sudheer Shetty, general manager of UAE Exchange told Khaleej Times.

“There has been a rush in our exchange houses since the end of Ramadan. But for the past few days, the number of remittances have increased. In the coming days, the rupee is expected fall more and it will be ideal for the Indian expatriates,” Shetty said.

“The Mumbai stock market is in need of dollars as foreign investors withdrew money from the market due to the financial crisis. This caused an extra demand for the dollar in the Indian market and resulted in the rupee dipping,” Shetty explained.

T.S. Mohanan, general manager of City Exchange said; “The number of remittances to India has increased since the value of the rupee started to fall by the end of Ramadan. The number of remittances shot up again as more people started to take advantage of the current situation.”

“We had a tough time three months back when the rupee was stronger. The exchange rate then was Rs10.50 to the dollar. Everybody was worried. But now everybody is happy,” said Mizlaj Ahmed, an Indian national working as a marketing executive in Dubai.

Leo S. George, another marketing executive said: “It’s a great opportunity for me to send money home. I was planning to take a loan to build my new house three months back but I was waited for better exchange rates. I will now take the loan and send the money home.”