Photo: Bonik Barta Remittance
inflows to Bangladesh have continued to grow steadily. In just the first 14
days of September, expatriates sent home over $1.16 billion in remittances. At
an exchange rate of BDT 120 per dollar, this amounts to BDT 140.64 billion in
Bangladeshi currency. This means that expatriates are sending more than BDT 10
billion in remittances every day.
Due
to exchange rate instability, there was a significant drop in remittance
inflows in August and September of 2023. As a result of then-Governor Abdur
Rouf Talukder’s rigid decision, only $1.33 billion in remittances came into the
country in September last year. Bangladesh Bank officials expect at least a 50
percent growth in remittance inflows this September compared to the previous
year.
An
analysis of central bank data shows that in the first two months (July-August)
of the current fiscal year 2024-25, the country received over $4.12 billion in
remittances. In the same period of the 2023-24 fiscal year, $3.57 billion was
sent. As a result, there has been a 15.59 percent increase in remittances in
the first two months of the current fiscal year. In contrast, remittance
inflows had dropped by 13.56 percent during the same period last year.
According
to Bangladesh Bank officials, after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government,
expatriates are sending more remittances through banking channels than before.
The demand for hundi, or illegal money transfers, has also decreased. As a
result, the price of dollars in the informal market (curb market) is now lower
than in the banking sector. Expatriates sending remittances through banking
channels are receiving BDT 123 per dollar, including incentives. And in the
curb market, dollars are trading at BDT 121-122 per dollar.
Remittances
from Bangladeshi expatriates play the most effective role in increasing the
country’s reserves. Since October last year, the country’s remittance inflows
have been on a growth trajectory. In fact, since April of this year, monthly
remittance inflows have exceeded $2 billion. However, the flow took a major hit
in July.
