The remittance inflow was in down trend throughout the year due to falling manpower export and political unrest
The country received a total of $13.83bn in remittance in 2013, down by $338m or 2% from $14.17bn in the previous year.
However, it contributed a lot to build the highest foreign exchange reserve of over $18bn.
The remittance inflow was in down trend throughout the year due to falling manpower export and political unrest, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Bank.
The year passed with sluggish business environment due to political unrest and, as a result, expatriates were reluctant to send money home for investment, he said.
In December, the remittance inflow registered $1.2bn compared to $1bn in the previous month, according to the central bank figures released yesterday.
This year’s highest remittance of $1.32bn was bagged in January through formal banking channel. Then the trend remained in down trend. Even ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Azha the amount could not cross the first month’s receipts.
In the last month of the year, the country received $405.58m through state-owned commercial banks (SCBs), $15.03m through specialised banks, $780.47m through private commercial banks and $15.41m through foreign commercial banks.
The manpower export decreased by over two lakh as compared to last year, according to the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU).
Source: Dhaka Tribune
