Exchange houses in the UAE have experienced a surge in business as Brexit-inspired turmoil continues to wreak havoc on the British pound.
Some houses on Wednesday said they had experienced as much as a 20 per cent increase in volumes of sterling currency requests or wire transfers over the past two days.
The surge in business comes as British prime minister, Theresa May, faces a vote of no confidence on Wednesday, news which sent the pound plummeting to $1.248 (Dh4.58) at one point during the day — one of the lowest rates that’s been seen in months. The motion follows Ms May's decision to cancel a parliamentary vote on her unpopular Brexit deal.
But the uncertainty in the UK has a silver lining for dollar-earning British residents and others in the UAE, who can now can send money back home at very attractive rates.
Exchange house, Al Ansari, said it had seen as much as a 20 per cent increase in the past two days when compared with last year. While Al Ansari did not reveal how much has been transferred, business has been boosted across its foreign exchange and wire transfer channels.
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“There is a quite a good demand for banknotes and transfers,” said Ali Al Najjar, assistant general manager and head of operation at Al Ansari.
“Some customers are planning to travel for Christmas and are now taking advantage of the good rate,” he said. “The rate is dropping, it is now attractive and they will go and transfer.”
The Foreign Exchange and Remittance Group, a UAE network representing foreign exchange business, said it had also seen a rise in remittances from its members over the past two days, but added that some residents thought the pound could sink even lower.
“We have seen an increase in the remittances to the UK in the past two days,” said Rajiv Raipancholia, treasurer at the group. “Due to a 2.5 per cent depreciation in the rate, there is an overall increase in the volumes. I also believe at the same time that expatriates are anticipating a weaker pound in the coming weeks,” he said.
UAE Exchange said it too was seeing a rise in interest from customers about sending money back to the UK.
Promoth Manghat, group chief executive at UAE Exchange, said it has been a tumultuous year for the British Pound.
"While the pound has recovered marginally after its sharp slump to a 20-month-low of 1.124 against the [dollar], it could be susceptible to volatility in the coming weeks.
"At UAE Exchange, we are already seeing a rise in the number of queries from customers regarding exchange rates on remittances to UK. As the Brexit scenario continues to unfold, it is prudent for expatriates to keep an eye on the … exchange rates in order to get more value from their money transfers," Mr Manghat said.
Whatever the result on Wednesday, the intractability of the Brexit process seems destined to cause more instability for the British pound in the coming weeks.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
FIXTURES
Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Biog:
Age: 34
Favourite superhero: Batman
Favourite sport: anything extreme
Favourite person: Muhammad Ali
