Expats remit $15b before end of FY15

The expatriates have remitted $15 billion before end of current fiscal year (2014-2015). Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) have expressed the hopes the remittance sent by the expatriates would reach $15.4 billion when the FY15 ends on June 30, 2015. The central bank said remittance sent by Bangladeshi expatriates is set to cross $15b before the end of June 2015. According to data released by the BB on Tuesday, the expatriates remitted $970 million from June 1 to 19. In the past 11 months (July-May), Bangladesh received $13.88 billion in remittance, which was 7.21 per cent more than the same period of previous fiscal year. Thus, the remittance until June 19 amounted to around $15b ($14.85b). BB’s Forex Reserves and Treasury Management Department General Manager Kazi Sayedur Rahman hoped the remittance would reach $15.4 billion by the end of the outgoing fiscal year. Pushed by the remittance, Tuesday’s reserves of foreign exchange were $24.6b, the highest in Bangladesh’s history. Rahman said the reserves would cross the $25b mark within a few days. In May, Bangladeshi expatriates sent $1.32b. The foreign exchange reserves topped $24b mark on April 29 for the first time. It dropped after clearing Asian Clearing Union’s bills of $1.01b for March and April. The reserves crossed the $24b mark again on June 9. According to the central bank, the non-resident Bangladeshis remitted around $13.88b in the first 11 months (July-May) of the current fiscal. The amount was around $12.94 billion in the same period in 2013-2014. Bangladesh received around $1.3b in remittance in April and around $1.34b in March. In July 2014, the expatriates remitted around $1.5b, the highest for a single month, according to a news agency.