Aug remittance flow rises 7.0pc

The flow of remittances grew by more than 7.0 per cent in August as expatriates sent increased amount of money on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.

The money sent home by Bangladeshis working abroad amounted to $ 1.41 billion in August 2018, up by $ 92.87 million from the previous month's level, according to the central bank statistics released on Tuesday.

In July last, the remittances stood at $ 1.32 billion. It was $ 1.42 billion in August 2017.

"The inflow of remittances increased in the month of August because of the Eid festival," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.

He said the depreciating local currency against the US dollar has also helped increase the flow of inward remittances in recent months.

Meanwhile, the flow of remittances increased by 7.70 per cent to $ 2.73 billion during the July-August period of fiscal year (FY) 2018-19 from $ 2.53 billion in the same period of the FY' 18.

Currently, 29 exchange houses are operating across the globe, setting up 1,213 drawing arrangements abroad, to expedite the remittance inflow, according to the central banker.

But the BB official hinted that the inflow of remittances might fall in September.

The central bank earlier took a series of measures to encourage the expatriate Bangladeshis to send their hard-earned money through the formal banking channel instead of the illegal "hundi" system, which can help boost the country's foreign exchange reserves.

Besides, the central bank is asking the banks to increase the flow of remittance from different parts of the world to meet their internal demand for the foreign currency, another BB official said.

"We're trying continuously to increase the flow of inward remittances by establishing drawing arrangements with overseas companies," a senior official of a leading private commercial bank (PCB) told the FE.

All PCBs received $ 1.03 billion as remittances in August last while the state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) received $ 357.23 million, foreign commercial banks (FCBs) $ 10.74 million, and specialised banks $ 15.38 million.

Source: financialexpress