Sept remittance hits 84-month low

The inflow of remittance in September this year registered US$853.73 million, which was lowest in seven years.
It was around $838 million in September 2010, according to the central bank figures.
The remittance fell by $564.85 million or more than 39 per cent from the receipts of $1.42 billion in August this year. It was $1.06 billion in September last year.
The sharp fall registered in September as the month followed a high remittance inflow season ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, officials said.
Talking to the FE, an executive director of Bangladesh Bank (BB) said the flow of inward remittance usually fall after the  Eid-ul-Azha. "It's a normal phenomenon."
He expected the inflow of remittance would increase in the coming months.
However, the flow of inward remittances increased by 4.38 per cent to $3.39 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of the current fiscal year (FY 2017-18) from $3.24 billion in the same period of FY2016-17.
Currently, 29 exchange houses are operating across the globe, setting up 1,184 drawing arrangements abroad, to help boost the remittance inflow, according to the BB officials.
They said the central bank has already taken measures to expedite the flow of inward remittances in the current fiscal year.
As part of the move, the BB had asked the banks for taking measures to attract non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) through improving the quality of remittance services.
The banks have also been instructed to open 'help desk' at each branch concerned for ensuring better remittance services.
The central bank's latest move came against the backdrop of falling trend in inward remittance in the last few months, following the slower development activities in the Middle-Eastern countries due to lower price of fuel oil in the global market.
Besides, the flow of inward remittances from Malaysia and Singapore dropped significantly in the month of August, another BB official said.
"It should be looked into seriously," the central banker said, without elaborating.
A rising trend in sending hard-earned money by the expatriate Bangladeshis through informal channels had also pushed down the flow of inward remittances, according to the banking sector insiders.
The inflow of remittance dropped by 14.48 per cent to $12.77 billion in the FY2016-17 from $14.93 billion a year before, BB data showed.
The central bank had earlier taken a series of measures, including creation of mass awareness, so the NRBs send their money home through the banking channel instead of the illegal "hundi" system.
"We expect that the inflow of remittances may improve slightly in the month of October," Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Dhaka Bank Limited, told the FE.

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