Remittance touches 11-month high in May as Eid accelerates flow

Inward remittance rose 5 percent year-on-year in May, helped by an increased transfer of funds by migrant workers from overseas ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest Muslim festival.

Migrant workers sent home $1.27 billion in May, which is highest in the first 11 months of fiscal 2016-17, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.

The monthly remittance receipts dropped below $1 billion three times in the current fiscal year.

In April, the amount of remittance stood at $1.09 billion. It was $940 million in February, which was a five-year low for a single month.

After the release of the latest data, central bank spokesperson Subhankar Saha expects the remittance to rise more in June, the last month of the fiscal year.

"We are getting the positive results of the central bank's steps to encourage the expatriates to use proper banking channels for remitting money," Saha told bdnews24.com on Sunday.

"They are sending more remittance now ahead of the Eid. So the growth in remittance will continue in June.”

 

The flow of remittance rose slightly in April, but the money sent by the workers in the first 10 months of the fiscal year dropped 16 percent.

Worried over the falling trend of remittance, Finance Minister AMA Muhith announced a plan to take no fees from the expatriates for sending money.

"Remittance dropped in all the countries. We are not alone. All our indices other than the remittance are doing good. Raising remittance is our major challenge now," he told bdnews24.com recently.

Saha thinks the remittance will grow more once Muhith's announcement comes into effect.

Migrant workers remitted $11.55 billion from July to May in fiscal 2016-17, which is 14.18 percent less than in the same period last fiscal year, according to central bank data.