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A rapidly falling rupee has sent hundreds of Indian expatriates in the Kingdom to the nearest remittance centers to make the most of the fabulous conversion rates. One Saudi riyal is now fetching more than 14 Indian rupees This means SR10,000 can fetch me more than 143,000 rupees Wow, I am delighted beyond words, said Basit Abdul Faheem, a middle-ranking executive at a construction firm in Jubail. Abdul Faheem is least bothered about the implications of a falling currency on the Indian economy. I am not an economist, and I dont pretend to be one. My life revolves around the exchange rate. I have been holding my money for a long time in the hope of getting a good rate. Now is my time. I see it as a kind of an unexpected increment and bonus, he told Arab News. According to news agencies, the Indian rupee sank to a record low yesterday, breaking the key level of 55 to the dollar. It fell to 55.05 in late afternoon trade, below its previous low of 54.91 on Friday. It later clawed back marginally to 54.97. Money-watchers say the rupee is expected to fall further. If you ask me, it will fall further, and, therefore, I would advice my fellow Indians to hold onto their riyals, said Gyan Prakash Agarwal, group chief business development officer at Al-Suwaidi Holding Co. Obviously, a falling rupee is good news for expatriates but certainly not for the economy back home; it will fuel inflation to record levels, he said. He explained that for those who are importing goods or raw materials into India, a weak rupee is certainly not good news. Because they are being forced to pay more, he said. And for those who are exporting their goods to the outside world, a weak rupee is like a bonanza, because they are getting more money. According to Agarwal, importers are the ones who will face the heat of a weakening rupee and exporters are ones who will reap a rich harvest. While Europes debt crisis has weighed on the Indian rupee, it has also been hit by a plethora of domestic problems including the countrys widening trade and current account deficits and slowing foreign fund inflows. There has also been pressure from oil importers, who exchange rupees for dollars when they buy crude for energy-scarce India, which imports four-fifths of its crude oil needs. My children are studying in India and we have to remit a huge sum toward their lodging, boarding and tuition fees every month. A good conversion rate means we pay less here and get more in India; Therefore, I am very happy, said Zeba Haider, a mother of four college- and university-going children. Abdullah F. Sharif, an operations manager at a Riyadh-based firm, feel that a good and robust conversion rate at the remittance centers will encourage middle-income Indian expatriates to take the legal route. Many Indian expatriates send money through the illegal and informal route, which is popularly known in sub-continental parlance as hundi. There, the rate remains fixed. A good and attractive conversion rate at the banks will propel them to send their money via the legal route, he said. So, yes, all this is great news for most Indian expatriates, said Abdullah. Provided you have the riyals to convert them. Danish Abdul Ghafoor, managing director of a Jeddah-based advertising agency, said a weak rupee will, as always, induce a false sense of increment among the Indian expatriates. They will be able to send more ... So, yes, this is good news (for the expatriates) in the short-term but it certainly is not good for India ... a 100-rupee bill is in essence equal to 10 rupees in value now, he added. The rupee was Asias worst performing currency in 2011, losing more than 20 percent of its value against the dollar compared to the previous year.

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Falling rupee a blessing in disguise for Indian expats