DUBAI: Money sent home by Egyptian expatriate workers rose by 19 percent to $8 billion in the July to September quarter, from $6.7 billion of the same period last year. Remittances meanwhile increased to $2.7 billion from $2.3 billion in September alone, Ahram Online reported, quoting latest data from the Central Bank of Egypt. Remittances made up about 8.83 percent of Egypt’s gross domestic product in 2019, from as high as 14.58 in 1992 and a low of 2.86 percent a decade ago. The global average in 2019 was at 4.65 percent, based on 163 countries. The Egyptian central bank also said net international reserves (NIRs) stood at $39.2 billion at the end of November, the same level it reached in October. In September 2019, Egypt’s NIRs – which are external assets that are readily available to and controlled by a country’s monetary authorities – recorded an all-time high of $45.117 billion before going downhill as the coronavirus pandemic caused an unprecedented blow to global financial markets. COVID-19 caused the sharpest portfolio flow reversal on record from emerging markets, including the Egyptian market, the monetary agency said in a statement.