Financial Year 2013-14
Remittance inflow from 11 countries dips in 8 months
Remittance inflow from 11 countries significantly decreased in the first eight months of fiscal year 2013-14 compared with that of the corresponding period in FY13.
Downward trend in manpower export was the prime cause of declining inward remittance from those countries in recent months, BB officials told New Age on Thursday.
Besides, dull business situation in the European countries and an increasing trend in money supply through illegal channels also put adverse impact on the inflow of remittances, they said.
The expatriate Bangladeshis in 18 countries usually send the highest amount of remittance.
The 11 of the 18 countries, which posted a lower inward remittance in the first eight months of the FY14 than the same period of the previous fiscal year, are Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Iran, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, Australia, South Korea and Hong Kong.
The BB data showed that remittance inflow from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had decreased to US$ 2,039.07 million in the first eight months of the FY14 from US$ 2,703.45 million in the same period of the FY12, that of United Arab Emirate US$ 1,739.08 million from US$ 1,943.30 million, that of Qatar US$ 166.32 million from US$ 202.26 million, that of Kuwait US$ 727.83 million from US$ 795.39 million, that of UK US$ 601.18 million from US$ 708.51 million, that of Japan US$ 11.41 million from US$ 15.79 million, that of Singapore US$ 277.71 million from US$ 326.65 million, that of Australia us$ 33.11 million from US$ 44.08 million, that of South Korea US$ 36.24 million from US$ 45.17 million and that of Hong Kong US$ 11.78 million from US$ 13.21 million.
The other seven countries, however, posted an increased amount of remittance in the first eight months of the FY14 than the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
The seven countries are Oman, Bahrain, Libya, United States, Germany, Malaysia and Italy.
The downward trend in manpower export was a major cause of declining inward remittance in recent months, a BB official said.
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, he 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.
Recruitment of Bangladeshi workers declined significantly in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates over the years, he said.
The overall 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, the BB data showed.
The remittance inflow from United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore and Australia decreased in the first seven months of FY14 due to dull business situation in those countries, the BB official said.
Another BB official said that 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.
-With New Age input
