BB honours top remitters

Bangladesh Bank yesterday honoured 24 non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) for sending the highest amount of remittances last year, in a bid to encourage the expatriates to send money home through legal channels.   
Of them, 20 are individual remitters, while the rest invested in bonds.
The NRBs, who send money through illegal channels such as hundi, are damaging the economy, BB Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury told an event at Purbani Hotel in Dhaka to give away Bangladesh Bank Remittance Award 2013, the first of its kind.
Remittances coming through illegal means are identified as “black money”, which could be used in smuggling, human trafficking and terror financing, Chowdhury said.
“We have honoured the remitters to recognise their contribution to the economy,” he said, adding that the country's foreign exchange reserves and investment are growing riding on the remittances. The foreign currency reserves stood at a record $22.36 billion early this month.
The BB has taken up different schemes such as wage earner development bond, US dollar premium bond and US dollar investment bond to create investment opportunities for the NRBs, Chowdhury said.
“We have also launched non-resident taka account to provide investment opportunities in the stockmarket.”
Bangladesh has already emerged as the eight largest remittance earner globally due to migration of workers in flocks, mainly to the Middle East countries.

Increased remittances will help Bangladesh become a middle-income country by 2020, the central bank official said.
In the first four months of this fiscal year, the country received remittances worth $5.02 billion. The earnings were $14.46 billion last fiscal year.  “We want a separate export processing zone to invest in,” said Mohammed Mahtabur Rahman, an NRB who lives in the United Arab Emirates. “We want an investment-friendly environment.”
Commercial banks have started providing remittance services through mobile banking to ensure faster delivery of money, said Nazneen Sultana, another deputy governor.
Remittances are contributing to the economy and reducing poverty, she said, stressing the need for sending skilled workers abroad.