Remittances may cross $10b in current fiscal
Siddique Islam | Sunday, 13 July 2008
The central bank expects the remittances from abroad to cross US$ 10 billion in the current fiscal as various moves have been taken to help boost the inward flow from different parts of the world where expatriates and workers are mostly concentrated.
"We are expecting that the remittances may cross $10 billion mark by the end of the current fiscal," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Saturday, adding that the remittances will reach the level this fiscal if the existing upward trend continues.
The central bank has already taken a special measure to provide permissions to the local commercial banks for setting up drawing arrangements with the overseas exchange houses to increase the inflow of remittances from Malaysia, officials said.
"We have granted at least 15 permissions to the local commercial banks for setting up drawing arrangements with Malaysian overseas exchange houses during the last one month," another BB official said.
The country received a total of $ 75.70 million as remittances from Malaysia during July-May period of fiscal 2007-08, according to the central bank statistics.
A total of $11.84 million was remitted by the Bangladeshi expatriates from Malaysia in fiscal 2006-07, the BB's data showed.
The BB earlier introduced a number of anti-money laundering rules and set new guidelines on inward remittance, which led to a record number of agreements between local banks and foreign exchange houses.
"Both the government and central bank are now trying to bolster the inflow of remittances from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Greece, Spain and South Korea," he noted.
Besides, the inflow of remittances will come as a continuation to last fiscal's trend and record inflow of $7.939 billion. The growth in 2007-08 was 32.80 per cent over the previous fiscal, they added.
The central bank has, meantime, asked the commercial banks to expedite delivery of remittances to the beneficiaries at the quickest possible time to encourage expatriates to use the banking channel for overseas fund transfers.
It is also allowing the commercial banks to make partnership with the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) having branches all over the country for disbursement of the remittances, particularly in the rural areas.
Most of the private commercial banks (PCBs) and state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) are desperately trying to woo remittances from the Middle East, the United Kingdom , Malaysia and Singapore to meet their foreign exchange demands.
"We are expecting that the remittances may cross $10 billion mark by the end of the current fiscal," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Saturday, adding that the remittances will reach the level this fiscal if the existing upward trend continues.
The central bank has already taken a special measure to provide permissions to the local commercial banks for setting up drawing arrangements with the overseas exchange houses to increase the inflow of remittances from Malaysia, officials said.
"We have granted at least 15 permissions to the local commercial banks for setting up drawing arrangements with Malaysian overseas exchange houses during the last one month," another BB official said.
The country received a total of $ 75.70 million as remittances from Malaysia during July-May period of fiscal 2007-08, according to the central bank statistics.
A total of $11.84 million was remitted by the Bangladeshi expatriates from Malaysia in fiscal 2006-07, the BB's data showed.
The BB earlier introduced a number of anti-money laundering rules and set new guidelines on inward remittance, which led to a record number of agreements between local banks and foreign exchange houses.
"Both the government and central bank are now trying to bolster the inflow of remittances from Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Greece, Spain and South Korea," he noted.
Besides, the inflow of remittances will come as a continuation to last fiscal's trend and record inflow of $7.939 billion. The growth in 2007-08 was 32.80 per cent over the previous fiscal, they added.
The central bank has, meantime, asked the commercial banks to expedite delivery of remittances to the beneficiaries at the quickest possible time to encourage expatriates to use the banking channel for overseas fund transfers.
It is also allowing the commercial banks to make partnership with the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) having branches all over the country for disbursement of the remittances, particularly in the rural areas.
Most of the private commercial banks (PCBs) and state-owned commercial banks (SCBs) are desperately trying to woo remittances from the Middle East, the United Kingdom , Malaysia and Singapore to meet their foreign exchange demands.