Remittance flow to go up if NRBs offered more benefits
Sunday, 22 July 2007
FHM Humayan Kabir
The country can attract more remittances from the expatriate Bangladeshis if their hard-earned money is utilised for their benefit as well as that of the national economy, experts say.
Although the earnings from the Bangladesh immigrants account for nearly 7.0 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the economic return they get is minimal, they said.
Research Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Mustafizur Rahman, told the FE that the government should offer more economic benefits to the country's one of major foreign exchange suppliers - the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs).
"The annual remittance flow can be more than $6.0 billion, if the government offers some more facilities like those offered to the local exporters," he opined.
According to sources, about 4.0 million Bangladeshi expatriates working in different countries remitted about $6.0 billion in last fiscal 2006-07 while total export earnings from different sectors was $10.9 billion during June-May period of the last fiscal.
The major portion of the export earnings came from the ready-made garment (RMG) sector. In the first 11 months of the last fiscal FY2007, the RMG exporters earned $8.249 billion.
A high official in the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment told the FE that the government had offered some plots for the non-resident Bangladeshis and launched a welfare fund for them.
Rahman also suggested that the government should provide adequate training facilities for the foreign-bound workers, introduce some system to save them from the dishonest recruiting agencies and to find out new manpower export markets and related programmes for manpower development.
He said: "The government should move, in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) under the Mode-4, the issue on opening up of the market for the non-skilled and semi-skilled manpower in the developed countries."
Mohammad Farashuddin, a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank, said that the Bangladeshi expatriates have not even voting rights in the country.
He suggested the government to offer equity to the expatriates for investment in the country's infrastructure development.
Economist Quazi Kholiquazzaman Ahmad said that the expatriates, who send a large amount of money every year, were not getting even minimum facilities.
"Are they not eligible for taking facilities from the government even after sending more than $6.0 billion remittance to the country?" he posed a question adding, the local RMG exporters, who earned $8.0 billion from apparel exports, are enjoying several incentives.
The country can attract more remittances from the expatriate Bangladeshis if their hard-earned money is utilised for their benefit as well as that of the national economy, experts say.
Although the earnings from the Bangladesh immigrants account for nearly 7.0 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the economic return they get is minimal, they said.
Research Director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Mustafizur Rahman, told the FE that the government should offer more economic benefits to the country's one of major foreign exchange suppliers - the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs).
"The annual remittance flow can be more than $6.0 billion, if the government offers some more facilities like those offered to the local exporters," he opined.
According to sources, about 4.0 million Bangladeshi expatriates working in different countries remitted about $6.0 billion in last fiscal 2006-07 while total export earnings from different sectors was $10.9 billion during June-May period of the last fiscal.
The major portion of the export earnings came from the ready-made garment (RMG) sector. In the first 11 months of the last fiscal FY2007, the RMG exporters earned $8.249 billion.
A high official in the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment told the FE that the government had offered some plots for the non-resident Bangladeshis and launched a welfare fund for them.
Rahman also suggested that the government should provide adequate training facilities for the foreign-bound workers, introduce some system to save them from the dishonest recruiting agencies and to find out new manpower export markets and related programmes for manpower development.
He said: "The government should move, in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) under the Mode-4, the issue on opening up of the market for the non-skilled and semi-skilled manpower in the developed countries."
Mohammad Farashuddin, a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank, said that the Bangladeshi expatriates have not even voting rights in the country.
He suggested the government to offer equity to the expatriates for investment in the country's infrastructure development.
Economist Quazi Kholiquazzaman Ahmad said that the expatriates, who send a large amount of money every year, were not getting even minimum facilities.
"Are they not eligible for taking facilities from the government even after sending more than $6.0 billion remittance to the country?" he posed a question adding, the local RMG exporters, who earned $8.0 billion from apparel exports, are enjoying several incentives.