Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The inflow of remittances crossed US$3.0 billion in the first two months of the current fiscal year (FY), 2019-20 following celebration of the Eid-ul-Azha.
The flow of inward remittances rose by nearly 13 per cent to $3.08 billion during the July-August period of FY ‘20 from $2.73 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.
The money sent home by Bangladeshis working abroad amounted to $1.48 billion in August 2019, down by $ 114.85 million from the previous month’s level, according to the central bank’s latest statistics, released on Monday.
In July last, the remittances stood at nearly $ 1.60 billion. It was $1.41 billion in August 2018.
Talking to the BBN, a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) said impact on celebration of the Eid along with lower interest rate because of possible meltdown on the global economy has helped push up the inflow of remittance during the period under review.
He also expects that the upward trend of inward remittance will continue in the coming months as the government has announced 2.0 per cent incentive for remittance receipts.
The government had already allocated BDT 30.60 billion as incentive in the budget for the FY ’20 to encourage the expatriate workers to send their money through legal channels.
Currently, 29 exchange houses are operating across the globe, setting up more than 1200 drawing arrangements abroad, to expedite the remittance inflow, according to another BB official.
“Celebration of the Eid, announcement of the incentive by the government and strengthening BB’s surveillance to check illegal hundi have helped increasing the flow of inward remittance in the recent months,” Muhammed Shahidul Islam, managing director of Shahjalal Islami Bank Limited, explained.
All private commercial banks (PCBs) received $1.09 billion as remittances in August last while the state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) received $359.53 million, foreign commercial banks (FCBs) $11.86 million, and specialised banks $23.89 million.
The central bank of Bangladesh 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.
BBN/SSR/AD