Bangladesh Bank yesterday awarded 24 highest remitters in recognition of their contributions to the country’s foreign reserve and investment.
The award was given away at a ceremony titled “Bangladesh Bank Remittance Award” introduced for the first time by the central bank to encourage expatriates to send more foreign currency home.
Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury and Association of Bankers Bangladesh (ABB) President Ali Reza Iftekhar addressed the function, with Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Nazneen Sultana in the chair.
Of the remitters, 20 were awarded for sending highest remittance and four for investing in bonds.
Some 11 of the remitters were Bangladeshi expatriates living in Middle East. The country received lion’s share of remittances from the middle-eastern countries.
Mohammad Mahtabur Rahman, chairman of Al Harmail Perfume Group of Companies, Dubai, who received the award and shared his experience with the audience, said most remittance comes from Middle East countries as there is no chance of getting citizenship from those countries and so non-resident Bangladeshis try to establish their business home.
On the other hand, European countries provide citizenship and the expatriates invest into those countries after having permanent resident status. As a result, inflow of remittances from the European countries is comparatively low, he said.
He urged the government to provide the non-resident Bangladeshi investors with more facilities than foreign investors. Foreign investors take back their profit plus their investment after a certain period but non-resident Bangladeshi investors reinvest their profit into the country.
Mohammad Mahtabur Rahman demanded that a separate EPZ zone be established and one stop service for NRB introduced.
He requested the bankers to reduce differences between buy and sale of dollar and proposed to take service charge on the buy of dollar instead of existing commission system.
“If the difference is reduced, tendency to send dollar through unfair means will stop and the country’s reserve will increase,” he said.
Mahtabur was awarded with his two other family members, Mohammed Emadur Rahman and Mohammad Oliur Rahman, for their contributions to remittance sending.
Sur Chowdhury called upon the remitters not to send remittance through ‘hundi’ or any other illegal ways.
“The remittances coming through illegal channels are identified as black money and have possibility to be spent on drugs, smuggling, human trafficking and terrorist financing,” he said.
The country’s economic growth was good in the last three years in comparison with global economy and the remitters have direct and indirect contribution to this success, said ABB president Iftekhar.
The remittance growth increased by 11% between the year 2009 and 2013 compared to 7% growth in other Asian countries, he said, referring to World Bank data. The remittance inflow stood at $14.46bn in the fiscal year of 2013, according to the central bank data.
Inward remittance stood at $5.02bn till October in the current fiscal.