Staff Reporter :
The country’s remittance inflows witnessed rapid growth ahead of the Eid festival, standing at US$ 1.41 billion in the first 22 days of March.
This was revealed by Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Sunday.
The data revealed that remittances rose as expatriates sent additional money to their families and relatives ahead of the Eid-ul Fitr festival.
Earlier in February, remittance inflows also soared 39 percent to $2.16 billion, the highest in eight months, as expatriate Bangladeshis took advantage of the higher dollar rate offered by some banks.
The central bank data showed the remittance inflow in the first eight months of the current fiscal year of FY24 was $15.06 billion, up 7.5 percent year-on-year.
From March 1 to 22, the highest $401.7 million remittance came to the country through Islami Bank Bangladesh.
State-owned Janata Bank came in second as it channelled $97.92 million, while private commercial lender BRAC Bank brought home the third-highest amount of $93.93 million.
Economists and bankers said remittances returned to a positive trend in October after declining for two consecutive months due to various measures taken by the central bank. They also attributed the hike in remittance inflow to a favourable exchange rate.
Banks can offer the highest Tk 114.5 per dollar, including the Tk 2.5 government incentive, but some are offering up to Tk 121 per dollar, according to industry insiders. The official exchange rate is Tk 110.
Apart from this, a record number of Bangladeshi migrants went abroad in the last two or three years, and they have started to send money to their relatives, said Sohail RK Hussain, president and managing director of Bank Asia.
In 2023, a record 13.05 lakh workers went abroad for jobs, up 15 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training.
