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Showing posts with the label Remittances

The Earthquake in Nepal jolts the economy

Nepal – one of the poorest countries in the world – had a rude awakening when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck on 25 April 2015. The impact was tragic. Casualties continue to rise, with immense damage to infrastructure. Will the nation be able to pick up the shattered pieces of its economy? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights in China Daily – Asia Weekly. With the estimated cost of rehabilitation set to hit USD5 billion – a quarter of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD20 billion in 2014 – the economic impact of the earthquake is massive. According to United Nation’s data, 8 million people are directly in the line of fire. Both agriculture – with well over 70% of the population employed in this sector – and tourism have been badly afflicted. Perera opined that the disaster will also impact the nation’s ability to grow and transport fresh food – the agricultural sector alone accounts for 38% of GDP. Moreover,