The country received foreign exchange remittance of US$1.25bn in January, which is highest in last one year when it witnessed a slow growth.
The figure stood second after $1.32bn bagged in January last year.
The remittance inflow hit one-year high in the first month of this year due to efforts to boost manpower exports, upgrading skills of migrants and enhanced incentives to use formal channels to remit and invest funds, said a senior central bank executive.
It registered a slow growth throughout the year due to falling manpower export and political unrest, he said.
The central bank has identified the slow growth of remittance as a risk factor for the near future thanks to its projection that the demand for foreign exchange would increase this year with the apparently stable political situation.
In its latest monetary policy for the second half of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh Bank pointed out that the imports particularly of industrial machinery and raw materials would create increased demand for the greenback, putting pressure on the balance of payment (BoP).
The Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) also proposed the government to take measures in increasing manpower export to offset the possible setback in the country’s foreign exchange balance.
Of the remittance received in January, $387.64m received through state-owned commercial banks, $16m through specialised banks, $832m through private commercial banks and $14.27m through foreign commercial banks, according to Bangladesh Bank data released yesterday.
After many years of bullish inflow, the country experienced a slowdown in remittance receipt last year as overseas employment dropped compared to previous years, according to a report by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) released recently.
Only four lakh workers migrated to different countries in 2013 compared to over six lakh in 2012.
It said the country received $13.47bn until December 24 in 2013 as against $14.17bn in the year before. Since 1976, the remittance growth had been sustainable.
To boost remittance inflow, Bangladesh Bank has created separate savings instruments for non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs).
The instruments include, among others, non-resident foreign currency deposits, US dollar premium bonds and wage-earners’ development bonds, according to Bangladesh Bank.
Smart cards or mobile phone banking services were also introduced to facilitate sending home the remittance.
Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserves have exceeded $18bn last year though slow remittance inflow.
