India, which received $27 billion worth of remittances last year, led the list of countries receiving money from citizens abroad.

However, increasing opportunities in India and the rising inflation in the UAE have made a number of Indians reconsider plans to leave home and work in the UAE, a Khaleej Times report quoting an official of a London-based money-transfer networks association said.

Lady Olga Maitland, chief executive of the International Association of Money Transfer Networks (IAMTN), said: "India may lead as a recipient country for remittances, but indicators are showing that there is a flattening off of migrants coming to the UAE."

"In time other countries will fill the gap while Abu Dhabi and Dubai continue to expand."

In a statement, IAMTN said global remittances rose seven per cent to $318 billion worth of recorded transactions last year. It quoted the report -Economic Implications of Remittances and Migration 2008 - as saying that the amount would balloon to Dh2.2 trillion ($600 billion) if remittances sent through informal channels were included.

IAMTN has organised the Money Transfers Conference Dubai 2008, on April 28, to address issues affecting the remittance business. The use of technology in money transfers and the added value to customers who remit through retail banks, among other things, will be discussed during the one-day conference.

With a 20 per cent growth per annum, the remittance business facilitated the transfer of Dh110.2 billion ($30 billion) from the UAE last year. The World Bank has said that 10 million expatriates in the Gulf region sent home Dh264.4 billion ($72 billion) in 2007.