Bangladesh Bank’s executive director and spokesperson, Arif Hossain Khan, confirmed the information on Sunday (July 12).
According to Bangladesh Bank data, US$191 million in remittance came into the country in the three days from July 9 to 11 alone, making the pace of remittance even stronger than in the first eight days of the month.
Economists say this positive remittance trend at the start of the new fiscal year will help further stabilize the country’s foreign-exchange market, and will also play an important role in paying import bills, strengthening foreign-currency reserves and keeping the taka’s exchange rate under control.
Remittance has long been one of the main sources of foreign currency in Bangladesh’s economy. Alongside ready-made garment exports, the money sent by expatriate Bangladeshis makes an important contribution to maintaining the balance of the country’s current account. Particularly in recent years, amid global economic uncertainty, a dollar shortage and pressure from import costs, remittance has been acting as a major supporting force for the economy.
According to analysts, the tendency to send money through legal channels has increased because of various steps by the government and Bangladesh Bank. Fast delivery of money through banks and mobile financial services, incentive facilities, the expansion of digital transactions and increased surveillance against hundi have led a large share of expatriates to now use formal channels.
Bangladeshis working in various countries, including the Middle East, Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, regularly send foreign currency into the economy. The expansion of labor markets and the tendency for new workers to go abroad will also have a positive long-term effect on remittance growth, those concerned believe.
Sector insiders say it is not enough merely for the volume of remittance to rise; ensuring that this money is invested in productive sectors is also essential. If the money sent by expatriates were used more in industry, small and medium enterprises, agriculture and infrastructure development, it could have a manifold positive effect on the country’s overall economic growth.
Bankers say the supply of foreign currency is now better than before, and that if export earnings and remittance flows remain strong together, pressure on banks’ dollar management will ease further, with a positive effect on the settlement of LCs and the import of fuel and industrial raw materials. According to analysts, to maintain double-digit growth at the start of the new fiscal year, incentives to send money through legal channels must be continued, along with creating new markets for employment abroad, sending skilled workers and making banking services for expatriates easier and more technology-based.
Bangladesh Bank officials have consistently said that remittance is extremely important for maintaining stability in the foreign-exchange market, and that the central bank is giving banks the necessary directives to encourage expatriates to send money through legal channels, while also further strengthening fast and safe money-transfer systems for them. Those concerned believe that if the growth of the first 11 days of July holds throughout the month, the remittance flow at month’s end could be significantly higher than in the same period last year, further strengthening the country’s external balance and having a positive effect on reserve management.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report