Kathmandu, January 22

In a move to address the depleting foreign exchange reserves of the country, Nepal Rastra Bank has reduced the foreign exchange limit for outbound Nepali migrant workers.

Issuing a circular today, the central bank has reduced the foreign exchange limit for Nepalis travelling abroad for employment purposes to $200 per person from the previous limit of $500.

NRB’s recent macroeconomic report of the first five months of fiscal year 2018-19 shows that the foreign exchange reserves have gone down to $9.3 billion. The foreign exchange reserves are under immense pressure owing to the rising imports in recent months.

As per NRB’s statistics, the country’s merchandise imports have increased by 34.2 per cent to Rs 607 billion in the first five months of this fiscal compared to an increase of 18.2 per cent during the same period in the last fiscal year.

“The decision to bring down the exchange limit for Nepali outbound workers intends to control the outflow of foreign currency amid deteriorating foreign exchange reserves of the country,” informed Bhisma Raj Dhungana, executive director of NRB, adding that as workers earn in foreign currencies abroad, they might not need high currency exchange facility here.