Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The flow of inward remittances dropped by more than 31 per cent in July, the first month of the current fiscal year (FY) 2016-17 after celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr festival, officials said.
The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at over $1.0 billion in July 2016, down by $460.44 million from the level of the previous month. In June last the remittances stood at $1.46 billion, according to the central bank statistics.
It was $1.39 billion in July 2015.
Talking to BBN, a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, said the inflow of remittance decreased in July last after celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of the Muslims.
He also said the flow of inward remittances is expected to pick up this month ahead of Eid-ul-Azha festival.
Currently, 33 exchange houses are operating across the globe, setting up 1143 drawing arrangements abroad, to expedite the remittance inflow, according to the central banker.
The central bank of Bangladesh earlier took a series of measures, including creation of mass awareness so the expatriate Bangladeshis send their hard-earned money home through the banking channel instead of the illegal "hundi" system, which help in boosting the country's foreign-exchange reserves.
Four state-run commercial banks and dozens of private commercial banks have stepped up their efforts to increase remittance flow from the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy and the United States.
“Most of the banks are trying continuously to increase the flow of inward remittance from different part of the world through establishing drawing arrangements with overseas companies,” a senior official of a leading private commercial bank told BBN in Dhaka.
BBN/SSR/AD