Bangladesh will get over $15 billion by way of workers’ remittance: BB officials forecast

Central bank officials expect remittances by expatriate Bangladeshis in the current financial year may cross $15 billion - an all time high.

The forecast is based on the amount remitted by Bangladeshi wage earners abroad until May 15.

Bangladesh Bank's Forex Reserve and Treasury Management Department General Manager Kazi Saidur Rahman told bdnews24.com that expatriate Bangladeshis remitted $13.24 billion through banks in the ten-and-a-half months of the fiscal year.

It is a 7.2 percent increase over the same period in the previous financial year.

The flow of remittance kept increasing in the month of May, said Rahman

The first 15 days of May recorded a total remittance of $691.5 million, while another $700 million is expected to flow in during the rest of the month.

“We hope the flow of remittance will further increase in June, which falls before Eid.”

The Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated around mid-July.

The annual remittance for the 2014-2015 year is expected at $15.35 billion if $1.4 billon is remitted in June.

“Calculations say the total remittance will be at least $15.30 billion this year.”

The highest Bangladeshis living abroad had remitted was $14.46 billion in the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

In the last fiscal, the amount was $14.28 billion – a decrease of 1.06 percent decrease from the previous year.

Reserves $23.6 billion

The Bangladesh Bank’s foreign exchange reserves were $23.06 billion at the end of Monday’s transaction.

On Apr 29, the reserves had crossed the $24 billion mark for the first time in history.

The figure dropped after the BB cleared import bills for the March-April period to the tune of$1.2 billion to Asian Clearing Union (ACU) on May 7.

Kazi Saidur Rahman hoped the amount would again cross $24 billion by this month.

Besides remittance inflow, the growth in exports is being cited as another contributor to the rise in reserves.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), export earnings in the July-April period of the current FY posted a 2.63 percent growth over the previous corresponding period to reach at $25.30 billion.

BB buys $3.12 billion

Bangladesh Bank continues to buy US Dollar from the market to keep the Taka ‘stable’.

The central bank bought $41 million on Monday.

With this, it has so far bought $3.12 billion since July 2014.

It purchased $5.15 billion in the last fiscal.

The exchange rate of the Taka against the greenback has been stabilised at Tk 77.80 for the last four months in the inter-bank foreign exchange market.