Rwandans working and living abroad sent in more money home in the year ended December 2011, compared to the previous year as the Central Bank is set to issue out a Diaspora bond this year.

Latest figures from the central bank indicate that the total remittances to the country increased by 69.2 per cent to $166.2 million in 2011 compared to $98.21 million collected in 2010.

The central bank Governor, Claver Gatete, said the increase is an indicator that people have trust in the country’s economy.

The central bank says the money is used in development projects like construction.

The central bank expects the high remittance flows to have a strong influence on the stability of the Rwandan franc vis-a-vis regional currencies.

Last year, the Rwandan Franc appreciated against regional currencies by 2.0 per cent; 5.8 per cent; 3.9 per cent and 2.2 per cent versus KES, TZS, UGS and BDI franc respectively.

The franc also depreciated by 1.6 per cent against the $USD, 1.5 per cent against the Great Britain Pound (GBP) and 0.4 per cent against the EURO.

Market experts predict remittance figures will drop with the continued EURO zone crisis.

The World Bank recently said that remittance flows to developing countries are expected to increase in 2011-13, but at lower and more sustainable rates compared to the period prior to the global financial crisis.

The bank says that this is in line with a recovering but still fragile global economy.