Surge in remittance inflow

Bangladesh has managed to garner a sum of USD 716.2 million through remittance during the first nine days of August right before Eid-ul-Azha—which is the second highest source of foreign currency earnings for Bangladesh, second only to the readymade garments industry. Money sent by non-resident Bangladeshis makes up about 12 percent of Bangladesh’s GDP. We have millions of expatriate workers who can greatly benefit the economy if they remit their hard-earned money through formal channels.

The highest remittance inflow in a single month was recorded before Eid-ul-Fitr at USD 1.75 billion. Supervision and monitoring by the central bank to check illegal “hundi” transaction, reduction in interest on the dollar in the local market, and a two percent incentive for remittance inflow contributed to the surge.

The Bangladesh government should monitor the causes of this remittance inflow and should take pragmatic steps in order to enable high remittance inflows in the coming days.

Md Zillur Rahman, by email