Expatriate Bangladeshis sent $915.91 million home in the first 12 days of 2024, according to the central bank, buoying the country's forex reserves and raising hopes for sustained remittance inflows.
Economists and bankers see this early surge as a positive signal for the strained reserves.
The remittance inflow in the first 15 days of December last year was $1.07 billion, while it was $794.4 million in the first 10 days of November last year.
According to the latest central bank data, state-owned commercial banks brought home $81.86 million in remittances in the first 12 days of this year, with specialised banks contributing $10.17 million, private commercial banks $820.54 million and foreign commercial banks $3.34 million, showed Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.
Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC retained its top spot as the largest remittance collector, fetching the highest amount at $335.29 million, according to the BB data.
To attract remittances, the government introduced a 2 per cent incentive in 2019 and later raised it to 2.5 per cent.
Remittances are the cheapest source of US dollars for Bangladesh and a key pillar of the economy.
Dr M Masrur Reaz, chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, said the recent 50-paisa appreciation of the taka against the US dollar could be a factor in reducing speculative behaviour among some remitters.
This, he said, in turn, may have prompted them to send remittances they were previously holding back, anticipating further depreciation.
Dr Reaz expected this positive trend to continue, particularly as the fasting month of Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr approach.
Expatriate Bangladeshis sent home $1.98 billion in December 2023, marking a 2.59-percent increase in remittance inflows compared to the previous month.
The inflow of remittance stood at $1.98 billion in December, which is the highest in a single month in the last six months of this fiscal, 2023-24.
It was $1.93 billion in November, according to the latest Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.
Besides, inward remittances also saw a 17.07 per cent hike in December year on year. The remittance earnings stood at $1.7 billion in December 2022.
In the recently concluded calendar year, Bangladesh received a total of $21.82 billion from January to December 2023 in remittance, reflecting a modest year-on-year rise of 2.54 per cent.
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