Remittance from major countries goes down by Tk 246 crore in February when the country receives Tk 3,682 crore compared to Tk 3,928 crore in January
In the wake of falling remittance, the central bank is planning some strategic measures to keep the major foreign currency channel flowing at a comfortable level.
‘We have reviewed country-wise remittance inflow from the Bangladeshi expatriates that shows the earning is yet to shrink,’ the chief economist of Bangladesh Bank, Mustafa K Mujeri, told New Age recently.
Without elaborating, he said the BB would recommend the government some strategies to attract more remittance from different countries.
‘We believe that the remittance inflow will not be reduced soon as the countries where Bangladeshi workers work, will not be affected by the downturn in the short run, but they will be affected if the financial crisis lingers,’ he added.
Bangladesh high commissions in the United Kingdom and Canada recently sent letters to the finance ministry and the Bangladesh Bank, asking them to take necessary actions to increase the remittance from the two countries.
In the letter, Bangladesh high commission in the UK has requested the Bangladesh Bank to sit with the UK’s Financial Services Authority for extra financial benefit on the remittance sent by Bangladeshi expatriates in UK.
The Financial Services Authority is an independent, quasi-judicial non-governmental body and a company limited by guarantee that regulates the financial services industry in the United Kingdom.
Bangladeshi high commission in Canada has also requested the government to extend help to the Bangladeshi origin Canadian agencies which send remittance.
These large foreign companies have been engaged in a competition in a manner that smaller agencies are wiped out from the market in the wake of global recession.
The remittance from the European Union, United Kingdom and Germany has gone down during July-December period in 2008. In the last six months it dropped by 16 per cent from European Union, 15.9 per cent from the United Kingdom and 20 per cent from Germany.
Besides, the remittance from the Middle Eastern countries declined by Tk 246 crore during February compared to January 2009.
According to media reports, the global recession is yet to impact on the Saudi economy but its neighbouring countries have already been affected by the downturn. The Bangladeshi expatriates have also returned from two other major labour markets — Malaysia and Singapore.
Regarding the Bangladeshi expatriates’ return from Malaysia, Mustafa K Mujeri said that it would have a temporary affect on the country’s remittance as the problem would hopefully be resolved soon.
Also he said the government would bring more remittance from the unofficial channel to the official channel and would find out new markets and avenues for manpower exports.
In this connection, he recommended that the local non-government organisations and post offices can be used to bring remittance from Bangladeshi expatriates to their families in rural areas.
KAS Murshid, research director of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said the global recession was yet to affect the country’s remittance inflow, but the government needed to offer financial incentive package for the Bangladesh expatriates.
‘In the worst scenario, more people will go below the poverty line. So the government must evolve new strategies to reduce poverty,’ he added.
Latest data of the central bank showed that the remittance from the major countries amounted to $569 million (Tk 3,928 crore) in January, and in February it dropped to $534 million (Tk 3,682 crore). In February the country received $260 million from Saudi Arabia, $150 million from the United Arab Emirate, $24 million from Oman, $10 million from Bahrain, $71 million from Kuwait, $20,000 from Libya and three lakh dollars from Iran.
The New Age
In the wake of falling remittance, the central bank is planning some strategic measures to keep the major foreign currency channel flowing at a comfortable level.
‘We have reviewed country-wise remittance inflow from the Bangladeshi expatriates that shows the earning is yet to shrink,’ the chief economist of Bangladesh Bank, Mustafa K Mujeri, told New Age recently.
Without elaborating, he said the BB would recommend the government some strategies to attract more remittance from different countries.
‘We believe that the remittance inflow will not be reduced soon as the countries where Bangladeshi workers work, will not be affected by the downturn in the short run, but they will be affected if the financial crisis lingers,’ he added.
Bangladesh high commissions in the United Kingdom and Canada recently sent letters to the finance ministry and the Bangladesh Bank, asking them to take necessary actions to increase the remittance from the two countries.
In the letter, Bangladesh high commission in the UK has requested the Bangladesh Bank to sit with the UK’s Financial Services Authority for extra financial benefit on the remittance sent by Bangladeshi expatriates in UK.
The Financial Services Authority is an independent, quasi-judicial non-governmental body and a company limited by guarantee that regulates the financial services industry in the United Kingdom.
Bangladeshi high commission in Canada has also requested the government to extend help to the Bangladeshi origin Canadian agencies which send remittance.
These large foreign companies have been engaged in a competition in a manner that smaller agencies are wiped out from the market in the wake of global recession.
The remittance from the European Union, United Kingdom and Germany has gone down during July-December period in 2008. In the last six months it dropped by 16 per cent from European Union, 15.9 per cent from the United Kingdom and 20 per cent from Germany.
Besides, the remittance from the Middle Eastern countries declined by Tk 246 crore during February compared to January 2009.
According to media reports, the global recession is yet to impact on the Saudi economy but its neighbouring countries have already been affected by the downturn. The Bangladeshi expatriates have also returned from two other major labour markets — Malaysia and Singapore.
Regarding the Bangladeshi expatriates’ return from Malaysia, Mustafa K Mujeri said that it would have a temporary affect on the country’s remittance as the problem would hopefully be resolved soon.
Also he said the government would bring more remittance from the unofficial channel to the official channel and would find out new markets and avenues for manpower exports.
In this connection, he recommended that the local non-government organisations and post offices can be used to bring remittance from Bangladeshi expatriates to their families in rural areas.
KAS Murshid, research director of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said the global recession was yet to affect the country’s remittance inflow, but the government needed to offer financial incentive package for the Bangladesh expatriates.
‘In the worst scenario, more people will go below the poverty line. So the government must evolve new strategies to reduce poverty,’ he added.
Latest data of the central bank showed that the remittance from the major countries amounted to $569 million (Tk 3,928 crore) in January, and in February it dropped to $534 million (Tk 3,682 crore). In February the country received $260 million from Saudi Arabia, $150 million from the United Arab Emirate, $24 million from Oman, $10 million from Bahrain, $71 million from Kuwait, $20,000 from Libya and three lakh dollars from Iran.
The New Age
0 comments:
Post a Comment