‘Wealthy Yemenis increasing demand for Jordanian dinar’

AMMAN — Wealthy Yemenis who fled unrest in their country have increased demand for the Jordanian dinar, according to the Jordanian Exchange Association.

Alaa Eddine Diraniyeh, president of the association, told The Jordan Times Saturday that demand for the dinar rose over the past few days due to the unprecedented exchange of Yemeni riyals into Jordanian dinars.

He cited money transfers from Yemen for Yemeni merchants, industrialists, contractors and real estate owners who are currently doing business in Jordan, as well as families and patients receiving medical treatment in the Kingdom.

Diraniyeh did not give an exact figure on the value of exchanged riyals.

He expected money transfers to rise due to further political escalations in Yemen, voicing hope that the increased demand on the dinar would “compensate” for money changers’ losses caused by the Syrian situation.

“The last two years of conflict in Syria have greatly decreased exchanges to dinars, but the recent closure of the border has completely stopped the influx of money transfers,” Diraniyeh told The Jordan Times.

He noted that transit stops of vegetable trucks heading to Lebanon, Turkey and other European countries used to stimulate commercial and economic transactions, but not after the border was closed.

One Jordanian dinar is equal to around 303.62 Yemeni riyals and 266.7 Syrian pounds.