Remittance up 33.5pc
Remittance increased 33.51 % year-on-year to $16.68 billion in the first eight months of the fiscal year. The inflow since June last year was characterised by strong growth on a monthly basis in context to that a year ago.
However in a sequential regular comparability the inflow has been gradually declining since October. However, it continues to be not that a lot of a subject of concern as February's expansion is much greater than that of the same period twelve months before.
Expatriate Bangladeshis sent $1.79 million in February, up 22.61 % year-on-year, showed Bangladesh Bank data.
Migrant workers may have sent more money to support members of the family through the coronavirus pandemic, said a Bangladesh Bank official.
Many migrant personnel lost their jobs when the host countries imposed lockdowns to support the deadly trojan, which can have compelled the migrants to send almost all their assets back.
The hundi system, an against the law cross-border money transfer system, has come to a halt due to restriction on movement which may have taken remittance to a fresh high.
The trend would continue until at least when a finish is announced of the pandemic, given the global economical scenario and the initiatives taken by the government.
Remittance may decrease somewhat when the pandemic is declared to obtain ended as the global hundi cartel will witness a revival, said another central standard bank official.
He, however, said the pandemic would help a large number of migrant workers become accustomed to the formal channel for the copy of their hard-earned money.
This will play an optimistic role in increasing remittance in the times to come, he said.
"But the government must lay great focus on exporting manpower abroad to keep remittance inflow secure," he said.
Constraints on cross-boundary travel in addition has pushed remittance up, he said.
The two 2 % cash incentive introduced by the government in 2019 has also encouraged the expatriate Bangladeshis to send more money through the formal route, he said.
Riding on the strong remittance inflow, the country's forex reserve stood at $44.12 billion by March 1.
