The flow of inward remittance bounced back in March after a falling trend in the previous month, as the exchange rate of the local currency maintained stability against the US dollar, officials said.
The remittance inflow was estimated at $1.30 billion in March 2018, up by $151.46 million from that of the previous month. In February 2018, the amount stood at $1.15 billion. It was $1.08 billion in March 2017.
"The remittance inflow may rise further in the coming month ahead of the holy Ramadan," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Monday.
He also said the central bank has already strengthened its monitoring to keep the exchange rate of Bangladesh Taka (BDT) against the greenback stable.
The overall remittance inflow jumped by more than 17 per cent or $1.57 billion to $10.76 billion during the July-March period of the current fiscal year (FY), 2017-18, from $9.19 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, the BB data showed.
Currently, 29 exchange houses are operating across the globe along with 1,196 drawing arrangements abroad to boost the remittance inflow, according to another BB official.
Senior bankers, however, said the remittance inflow increased significantly in the first nine months of this fiscal following strengthened monitoring by the central bank to curb illegal fund transfers.
The upward trend of inward remittance may continue in future also, if the exchange rate of BDT against the US dollar is re-fixed considering the market scenario, they added.
Currently, most banks are trying to increase remittance flow from the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy and the United States.
"We're continuously trying to increase the flow of inward remittance through official channels to meet our internal demand for foreign exchange," a senior executive of a leading private commercial bank (PCB) told the FE.
All the PCBs received $959.51 million as remittance in March last, while the state-owned commercial banks (SoCBs) received $315.79 million, the foreign commercial banks (FCBs) $13.82 million, and the specialised banks $11.34 million.
The central bank earlier took a series of measures to encourage the expatriate Bangladeshis to send their hard-earned money through formal banking channel, instead of illegal "hundi" system, to help boost the country's foreign exchange reserve.
