Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) – Bangladeshis working abroad have remitted over US$ 1.0 billion in October last thanks largely to the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha festival, officials said on Wednesday.
“The inflow of remittances increased significantly in the month of October due mainly to the ensuing Eid-ul-Azha festival,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka, adding that the flow of inward remittances may fall slightly this month.
The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at $1.04 billion in October 2011, up by $186.39 million from the level of the previous month. In September last the remittances stood at $855.44 million.
Bangladesh received $4.01 billion as remittances during July-October period of the current fiscal year, registering a 12.05 per cent growth over the corresponding period in the previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.
The central bank earlier took a series of measures to encourage expatriate Bangladeshis to send their hard earned money through formal banking channel instead of the illegal “hundi” system to boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserve stood at $10.30 billion Wednesday, thanks to the robust growth of remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad, another BB official said.
He also said the foreign exchange reserve may fall slightly by the end of this week after making regular payment to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) against imports during September-October period this calendar year.
BBN/SSR/AD-02Nov11-8:40 pm (BST)
