Remittance inflow increases by 16.59pc in first 3 months

Expatriate Bangladeshis sent US$ 4,510.86 million remittances during the first three months of the current fiscal 2019-20, which is apparently 16.59 percent higher than the same period of the preceding year, according to a Bangladesh Bank (BB) data.

The country received $3,868.89 million remittances during July to September in the 2018-19 financial year, the data added.

According to the BB data, the country received $1,468.42 million in September, $1,444.75 million in August and $1,597.69 million in July of fiscal 2019-20.

But in 2018-19, the country got $1,139.66 million in September, $1,411.05 million in August and $1,318.18 million in July.

In September this fiscal, six state-owned commercial banks – Agrani, Janata, Rupali, Sonali, Basic and BDBL – received $339.94 million while one state-owned specialized bank- Bangladesh Krishi Bank- received $26.50 million.

Of the state-owned banks, Agrani Bank received $146.19 million, Janata Bank $80.40 million, Rupali Bank $19.76 million, Sonali Bank $93.51 million and Basic Bank received $0.08 million.

Besides, the expatriates have sent $1,092.89 million through private commercial banks. Among the private commercial banks, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) received the highest amount of $306.07 million whereas Dutch- Bangla Bank (DBBL) received $132.71 million.

On the other hand, the expatriates have sent $9.09 million through foreign commercial banks.

For removing the burden of increased expenses in sending remittances and encouraging bringing in remittance through legal channels, the government has already started giving 2 percent cash incentive on money remitted by expatriate Bangladeshis

“In the national budget for fiscal 2019-20, the government announced a 2 percent cash incentive on remittance. But, the implementation of the initiative took time due to developing a system,” said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday after a meeting at Cabinet Division in the city.

He hoped that the inflow of remittance will be increased by $18 billion to $20 billion in this fiscal.