Remittance inflow hits record $16.4b in FY19

[Homo Sapiens]

http://www.newagebd.net/article/77180/remittance-inflow-hits-record-164b-in-fy19

Remittance inflow hits record $16.4b in FY19

Staff Correspondent | Published: 00:40, Jul 02,2019



Remittance inflow hit record $16.4 billion in the immediate past fiscal year 2018-2019 as appreciation of dollar and devaluation of Taka in the country stimulated expatriates to remit money through legal channels.

Apart from receiving record amount of remittance in FY19, Bangladesh received highest $15.32 billion remittance from expatriates in the fiscal 2014-2015.

The inflow of remittance in FY19 was 9.48 per cent or $1.42 billion higher than the amount received in FY18, $14.98 billion.

The country received $12.76 billion remittance in FY17 and $14.93 billion in FY16.

Bangladesh banks officials said that the record $1.75 billion remittance by the expatriates in May, the immediate preceding month of Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims, also helped attaining the record volume of remittance in FY19.

Besides the Eid-factor, appreciation of the dollar in the country’s local market against the taka was a major stimulus to sending more remittance through legal channels.

The interbank exchange rate of a US dollar increased to Tk 84.5 on Monday from Tk 83.9 at the beginning of January this year.

In the last 30 months, the taka was devalued by 7.37 per cent or Tk 5.8 and the interbank rate of a dollar was Tk 78.7 in January, 2017.

Apart from these, the economic situation of Middle Eastern countries from where Bangladesh receives the majority of its remittance has improved in recent months because of rising prices of fuel oils, BB officials said.

They said that the central bank’s move to curb illegal hundi also encouraged people to send money through the formal banking channel that boosted the remittance.

Meanwhile, the government has allocated Tk 3,060 crore in the budget for the fiscal year of 2019-20 to provide two per cent incentive for remittance receipts and to encourage the expatriate workers to send money through legal channels.

 

[Abu Shaleh Rumi]

Respect...

 

[Bengal71]

More blood, sweat and tears have been shed by our hapless people. The dogs at helm get to burp with a full belly.

 

[bluesky]

No amount of thanks is enough to express our gratitude to those who are working hard under adverse situation and are sending money to their families in BD. The country is enriched by dollars earned by their back-aching labor.

 

[TopCat]

No amount of thanks is enough to express our gratitude to those who are working hard under adverse situation and are sending money to their families in BD. The country is enriched by dollars earned by their back-aching labor.

Everybody has to work, overseas or inside the country to make their living. No big deal.
They and their family have a better living.

 

[mb444]

Hundi probably still account for a significant amount of remitence. GOB needs to capture these and bring the hard currencies into BD.

With proper measures they could probably lift current inflow by huge percentages.

 

[bluesky]

Hundi probably still account for a significant amount of remitence. GOB needs to capture these and bring the hard currencies into BD.

With proper measures they could probably lift current inflow by huge percentages.

Whatever people say of Hundi transactions or about banking channels, it seems like a zero-sum matter. No Hundiwala steals anybody's money. It is the same with banks. There are many places without a bank branch nearby in BD. What a man can do in that case. Hundiwalas do not probably charge fees but Banks do.

 

[mb444]

Whatever people say of Hundi transactions or about banking channels, it seems like a zero-sum matter. No Hundiwala steals anybody's money. It is the same with banks. There are many places without a bank branch nearby in BD. What a man can do in that case. Hundiwalas do not probably charge fees but Banks do.

That was not my point.

My understanding of hundi was you want to send £100 from uk, you give that to the guy, he ensures equivalent taka is paid out to the recipient in BD.

The £100 remains in the UK banking system.

However if money was sent through official channels, giro money orders, banks, western union, etc. The hard currency will be deposited into bank of Bangladesh.

Thats the point. Hundi does not benefit BD. Encouraging money sent through official channel is good.

Developing the banking sector to serve all is an important point. It does not need to be physical banks ... we needs to simply ensure the service is accessible.

 

[TopCat]

That was not my point.

My understanding of hundi was you want to send £100 from uk, you give that to the guy, he ensures equivalent taka is paid out to the recipient in BD.

The £100 remains in the UK banking system.

However if money was sent through official channels, giro money orders, banks, western union, etc. The hard currency will be deposited into bank of Bangladesh.

Thats the point. Hundi does not benefit BD. Encouraging money sent through official channel is good.

Developing the banking sector to serve all is an important point. It does not need to be physical banks ... we needs to simply ensure the service is accessible.

There is another side of the story..when you need to buy something from UK.. you can just ask your Hundi guy to pay it in UK and you pay them in TK in BD. So at the end hundi itself sustain.

 

[Norwegian]

There is another side of the story..when you need to buy something from UK.. you can just ask your Hundi guy to pay it in UK and you pay them in TK in BD. So at the end hundi itself sustain.

Still bad for national economy

 

[bluesky]

That was not my point.

My understanding of hundi was you want to send £100 from uk, you give that to the guy, he ensures equivalent taka is paid out to the recipient in BD.

The £100 remains in the UK banking system.

The money does not stay long with the UK System. Rich people in BD who need it buy it from the Hundiwala at a little higher price. I am not sure but much of this Hundi money is used by the importers of goods the invoice value of which is lower than the real. He does so to pay a lower tax. Much is also permanently transferred abroad where the rich or corrupt people's scissions live in. For example, in New York. Many of our boys, girls and their spouses live there without virtually doing any job.

Hundi is certainly bad on average. It is too bad if the money is transferred to terrorist organizations to finance their destructive activities. But, it is quite difficult to stop Hundi although it has been declared illegal by the international authorities.

 

[mb444]

The money does not stay long with the UK System. Rich people in BD who need it buy it from the Hundiwala at a little higher price. I am not sure but much of this Hundi money is used by the importers of goods the invoice value of which is lower than the real. He does so to pay a lower tax. Much is also permanently transferred abroad where the rich or corrupt people's scissions live in. For example, in New York. Many of our boys, girls and their spouses live there without virtually doing any job.

Hundi is certainly bad on average. It is too bad if the money is transferred to terrorist organizations to finance their destructive activities. But, it is quite difficult to stop Hundi although it has been declared illegal by the international authorities.

That probably is the case. My point was from BD perspective BD wants hard currency and Hundi prevents it coming in.

TK to sterling outflow BD probably do not care too much about.

 

[Kuru]

Impressive. Bangladesh is the most prosperous economy since 2009 if the following is true:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1146289597426622464

 

[bluesky]

More blood, sweat and tears have been shed by our hapless people. The dogs at helm get to burp with a full belly.

Nation-building is a painful process. More blood, more sweat, and more tears are needed for at least the next few hundred years to develop the country that cannot be achieved without people's painful participation in or out of the country. It is not Australia where you dig you find gold or coal, where the soil is enriched with timbers, fields are full of maize, grass, and wheat good for animal feed.

Australia is bestowed with people with European culture and mindset. This is why they kept the population at the minimum. Look at Golden Bangladesh. Its only asset is the population if you can make the best use of it. Japan and Korea did it and China is doing it now. All these three countries have been going through the painful process. In the case of Japan, it was after the 1860s that its people worked here like slaves. It is still so. No pain, no gain.