The total amount of funds transferred by individuals through fast money transfer systems from Kyrgyzstan to foreign countries during the first eight months of 2023 amounted to $324.9 million. This is almost half of what was sent during the same period in 2022, Akchabar.kg reports.
In the January to August period of the previous year, Kyrgyzstan sent $608.92 million abroad. The decrease in outflows can be attributed to a 2.2-fold reduction in transfers to Russia, from $572.24 million in the same period of 2022 to $262.5 million in 2023.
However, in the first two months of this year, transfers to Turkey were at an unusually high level for both countries. In January, Kyrgyz nationals sent $29.5 million to Turkey, and in February, $14 million.
Meanwhile, in August 2023, foreign nationals deposited a record sum in Kyrgyzstan's banks, totaling 92.5 billion soms, with 93.9% held in foreign currency. This is evident from the statistics of the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan.
Experts attribute this to the misunderstanding by foreigners of the stability of the Kyrgyz currency, the som.
"By August, the ruble began to depreciate, and non-residents do not understand that the som is a relatively stable currency. For them, all savings are understandable only in dollars, so that's where they leave their money," said expert Denis Berdakov.
The sudden surge in deposits in August is linked by experts to wealthy expatriates, who, fearing a banking crisis in Russia, transfer their money to a more stable place, as they view Kyrgyzstan.
"Wealthy people are transferring their money here en masse, hedging risks, and putting their funds into dollar deposits. Most expatriates don't have such serious money, and they keep it in regular accounts, not deposits. If there's such a movement right now, it means that someone wealthy from Russia is transferring funds here and putting them into storage in case of a banking system collapse in Russia," noted the expert.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
November 8, 2023