Expatriate Bangladeshi workers sent home $15.54 billion in 2018 – a nearly 15 percent rise on the previous year and experts have ascribed it to the depreciation of the taka against the US dollar and a rise in manpower exports.
“This is the outcome of the different measures taken over the last few years to increase manpower exports,” Finance Minister AMA Muhith said.
According to latest data released by the Bangladesh Bank, the expatriates remitted $15.54 billion in 2018, a jump of 14.79 percent over 2017.
The depreciation of taka against the greenback and the central bank’s measures to strengthen its surveillance on hundi played a major role to encourage migrants to send home more remittance in the last year, analysts say.
Money sent by the non-resident Bangladeshis makes up about 12 percent of Bangladesh’s GDP.
Bangladesh Bank’s foreign currency reserves was $30.99 billion as of Sunday.
PRI Executive Director Ahsan H Mansur suggested keeping dollar rate constant against taka at 85 to boost remittance inflow and exports.
Many countries like India, China and Vietnam have devalued their currencies against US dollar recently to remain competitive.
In the last six months, the dollar’s value appreciated more than 7 percent against Indian currency and 18 percent against taka, according to Mansur.
SOURCE: BD News
