The inflow of remittance increased by 15.89 per cent to $12.30 billion in the first 10 months of the current financial year compared with that of the same period in the previous financial year when the expatriate Bangladeshis had remitted $10.61 billion, showed the Bangladesh Bank data released on Sunday.
The remittance in April also increased by 9.08 per cent compared with that of the same month in 2012. The remittance in April stood at $1,182.33 million against $1,083.89 million in April 2012.
A BB official told New Age on Sunday that the inward remittance had increased in the first 10 months due mainly to increasing trend in manpower export by the country.
Remittance fairs organised by the BB in different countries in the last few months also encouraged the expatriates to send foreign currencies more through the banking system instead of illegal channels.
Under the circumstances, the country’s foreign exchange reserve recently crossed the $14-billion mark for the first time. The forex reserve on Sunday stood at $14.86 billion.
The BB data, however, showed that the inflow of remittance in April had decreased by 3.82 per cent compared to that in March. The remittance in March stood at $1,229.36 million.
The BB official said that the inflow of remittance in April had decreased compared to that in March due to continuous depreciation of the dollar against the local currency taka.
The dollar was quoted at Tk 77.93 to Tk 77.94 in the inter-bank forex market on Thursday against Tk 77.93 to Tk 77.97 in the previous day and it was quoted at Tk 79.75 to Tk 79.80 on January 1, 2013.
The BB continued to purchase the greenback from the local banks from the beginning of this financial year in a bid to stabilise the currency market, he said.
‘But, a lower import payment in the last few months played a significant role in depreciation of the dollar against the taka,’ he said.
The inflow of remittance may drop in the coming months if the existing depreciating trend in the dollar continues.
The private commercial banks received $746.74 million in remittance in April, state-owned commercial banks $408.07 million, foreign commercial banks $13.61 million and specialised banks $13.90 million.
Islami Bank Bangladesh received the highest remittance, $312.98 million, among the PCBs, while Agrani Bank received the highest remittance, $147.53 million, among the SCBs, showed the BB data.
-With New Age input
