Bangladesh sees foreign remittance inflow grow 28% after slump

After a relative slump earlier this year, foreign remittance inflow has started to rise again, and in November alone Bangladeshi workers and expats abroad have sent Tk 1.21 billion through the official channels.

The amount is 28 percent higher than the corresponding period last year and 4 percent higher than last month, October 2017.

Remittances in the first five months of 2017-18 fiscal totalled Tk 5.76 billion, which is 10.7 percent higher than the same period last year, according to Bangladesh Bank data released on Wednesday.  

Finance Minister AMA Muhith, expressing satisfaction at the rising trend, said, "Last year, there was a downward trend of remittance in all the countries in the world including Bangladesh. That stagnation is now over." 

He said the government has taken measures to increase manpower export and ensure that the money is sent through proper banking channels.

"Those measures have paid off," he added.

According to the central bank, September 2017 was the worst month when Bangladesh received only Tk 853.7 million in remittance. It was the lowest in a month in last five and a half years. In February 2012, it was Tk 928.8 million.

In 2016-17 financial year, the remittance inflow hit 14.48 percent lower than the previous fiscal.