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Remittance clocks 28pc growth in four months

MONJUR MAHMUD
Remittance inflow continued to maintain a strong growth as it rose by 28 percent during July-October period of the current financial year.
Non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) sent US$1,446.24 million in the first four months of the 2005-06 financial year, which was $1,130.75 million during the corresponding period of last fiscal year, according to Bangladesh Bank statistics.
Remittance inflow was $366.69 million in October, $351.51 million in September, $378.27 million in August, and $349.77 million in July.
However, the continuous rise in import could not let the foreign exchange reserves grow healthier,
which was $2,507 million yesterday. The central bank made a payment against Asian Clearance Union (ACU) import bill this week, which pulled down the foreign exchange reserves substantially.
According to sources, remittance inflow has so far been able to see a strong growth as the Bangladesh Bank continues its efforts to increase remittance through formal channels.
On the other hand, private commercial banks (PCBs) are now more aggressive in providing quick and reliable service and attracting the NRBs to send their money through banks.
“Some of the private banks are taking services of the globally renowned money transfer companies
that have network around the world and have extended their service at the village level,” said a top executive of a PCB.
Strong network at home and abroad helped some PCBs see a huge growth in remittance business and it has become a major source of their income, he explained.
According to sources, NRBs send roughly US$ 7 billion every year. A significant amount of the total amount is still coming through hundi, an illegal way of money transfer, and there are further scopes to increase remittance through banking channels.
According to the central bank statistics, remittance inflow was $3,851.49 million in the last financial
year.
The government is under pressure to meet increased expenditure for petroleum products, which pushed the payment of import bill significantly up.
Fresh opening of Letter of Credits (LCs) for import in July-August in the current fiscal year stood at $ 2954 million, up by 17 percent compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year.
LCs opened for petroleum products during the same period soared to $326 million, up by 79 percent from the previous corresponding period. Last fiscal year also saw a rise of 21 percent in import, which was 13 percent in the previous year.