The inflow of remittance decreased to US$ 10.47 billion in nine months of the current financial year 2013-14 against US$ 11.12 billion in the same period of FY 2012-13 although the remittance posted the highest growth in March in the last 14 months. According to the Bangladesh Bank data released on Monday, remittance inflow dropped by 5.77 per cent in July-March of the FY14 compared with that of a rise of 16.67 per cent in the same period of the FY13. The expatriate Bangladeshis sent US$ 9.53 billion in remittance in the first nine months of FY12.
BB officials told New Age that the lower remittance inflow would also put an adverse impact on the gross domestic product as the volume of private consumption in the country was equivalent to 75 per cent of the annual GDP.
The downward trend in manpower export was a pivotal cause of declining inward remittance in recent months, they said.
According to data from Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training, 6,07,798 workers were employed overseas in 2012 but only 4,41,301 workers went abroad in 2013.
Lack of comprehensive policies and skilled workers, and political instability coupled with shrinking manpower export caused the drop in the remittance inflow to Bangladesh in the recent months, a BB official said.
Recruitment of Bangladeshi workers declined significantly in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia over the years, he said.
Under the circumstances, the downward trend in manpower export hit the inward remittance in recent months, he said.
Seventy-five per cent of the country’s GDP is private consumption. So, the lower inward remittance has also squeezed the private consumption and it (drop in private consumption) will hit the GDP growth, he said.
The BB data, however, showed that the inflow of inward remittances had posted the highest growth in March in last 14 months since February, 2012.
The inward remittance registered a 3.57 per cent growth in March compared with of the same month a year ago following restoration of political stability in Bangladesh, the BB official said.
The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at US$ 1.27 billion in March 2014, up by US$ 43.96 million from the same month of 2013.
The upward trend of inward remittance may continue in the coming months if the country’s political situation improves gradually, the BB official said.
He said the central bank was working continuously to increase the flow of inward remittance from different parts of the world.
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 illegal ‘hundi’ system to help boost the country’s foreign exchange reserve.
The private commercial banks received US$ 840.69 million in inward remittance in March while the state-run commercial banks received US$ 398.05 million, foreign commercial banks US$ 19.06 million, and specialised banks got US$ 15.52 million, the BB data showed.
In March, Islami Bank Bangladesh received the highest amount of remittance — US$ 339.91 million — among the private commercial banks, while Agrani Bank got the highest amount of remittance — US$ 138.88 million — among the state-run banks.
The new nine banks which have recently obtained licences to operate banking business failed to earn any inward remittance in the period.
-With New Age input
