Bangladesh remittance inflow rises with 37% year-on-year growth in January

After two years of downtrend, Bangladesh has posted growth in remittance inflow for four months consecutively.

Analysts and officials say the rise in the value of the US dollar against taka following an increase in import is one of the reasons behind the remittance growth.

The other reasons include a growing trend among the expatriates to send money home through banks following drives against hundi or illegal means if transfer and an increase in the export of manpower.

In January, Bangladesh received $1.38 billion in remittance, which is around 37 percent more than the same period last year and 18.55 percent more than December, 2017, according to Bangladesh Bank data released on Thursday.

In the first seven months of the current fiscal year or in July-January period, remittance inflow was over $8.31 billion with a year-on-year growth of around 16 percent.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir is hopeful the uptrend of remittance will continue and cross $14 billion in the current fiscal year.

He has also promised to press on with the anti-hundi drives.

The central bank’s Deputy Governor Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan told bdnews24.com: “We’ve blocked 3,000 illegal mobile phone accounts (used in channeling remittance) and here is the result.”  

Another official, requesting anonymity, said the expatriates were remitting more money due to the rise in demand of US dollar in Bangladesh following a surge in import.

Former Bangladesh Bank governor Mohammed Farashuddin also sees the rise in the value of US dollar against taka as a positive for Bangladesh.

“India, Vietnam and many other countries devalued their currencies against dollar and got the result,” he said.

The money sent by expatriate Bangladeshis had been hovering over $14 billion annually since 2012-13 fiscal year. It crossed the $15 billion mark in fiscal 2014-15.

The amount dropped 2.5 percent to a little below the $15 billion mark in 2015-16 and to a six-year low of $12.77 billion in the last fiscal year.

Bangladesh receives the bulk of its remittances from six Middle-East countries -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Money sent by the expatriates contributes to 12 percent of Bangladesh's GDP.