Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The flow of inward remittances grew by 21.85 per cent during the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal year (FY) against the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, officials said.
“The inflow of remittances increased significantly during the period under review as the expatriate Bangladeshis sent significant amount of money to their relatives for celebrating the two Eid festivals,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
Bangladesh received $3.98 billion during the July-September period of the FY 15 against $3.27 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at $1.32 billion in September 2014, up by $144.97 million from the level of the previous month. In August last, the remittances stood at $1.17 billion, the BB data showed.
The central banker also said the BB is working hard to expedite the flow of inward remittances from different parts of the world.
Currently, 29 exchange houses are operating across the globe and have set up 1020 drawing arrangements abroad to expedite the remittance inflow.
The BB earlier took a series of measures to encourage the expatriate Bangladeshis to send their hard-earned money through the formal banking channel, instead of the illegal “hundi” system to help boost the country’s foreign exchange reserve.
Country’s foreign exchange reserve stood at $21.96 billion on Thursday due mainly to the robust growth in inflow of remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad, another BB official said.
BBN/SSR/AD-04Oct14-11:29 am (BST)
