RemittancesGateway.org

Bangladesh: Remittance edges up as Eid nears

Tuesday, 09 November 2010 11:29

Source: The Daily Star

Inward remittance increased slightly in October, but the total amount fetched in the first four months of the current fiscal year marked a fall.

In October, remittance went up to $917 million, from $837 million in September, due to the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha. The amount was $900 million in October last fiscal year.

 However, during the period from July to October, remittance fell by 0.90 percent compared to the same period last year. The July-October period last year saw a growth of 21 percent.

The earning in the four-month period this year was $3.57 billion, down from $3.60 billion during the same period last year.

The World Bank in its 'State of the Bangladesh Economy' report released on Wednesday said holding on to the growth of remittance is a big challenge for Bangladesh.

An official of the central bank said remittance inflow was decreasing due to a fall in manpower export and the slow recovery from the global recession.

Although the recession was over, the recovery was very slow; so the earnings of the expatriate wage earners are not increasing much, he said.

The World Bank report said the challenges to recovery in the advanced countries would come from the build-up of high levels of public debt, rising unemployment and constrained bank lending.

Growth prospects will further be undermined if severe or poorly planned fiscal consolidation constraints domestic demand, the report said.

In the recent times, manpower export has been on a downward curve. In October the fall was about 25 percent. Expatriate wage earners are also returning home after losing jobs.

During the 10-month period to October this year, about 38,000 wage earners returned from abroad.

However, the foreign exchange reserve in Bangladesh increased substantially and crossed $11 billion early this year on the back of lower imports and higher remittances.

But an increase in import and a fall in remittance inflow caused a plunge in the forex reserve to $10.78 billion on Tuesday.