Bangladesh receives $2.09b from migrants in July

Bangladesh received $2.09 billion from the migrants overseas in July which was $1.83 billion in June.

Migrant workers sent home $1.87 billion in July last year.

The flow of remittance is a development that would bring some relief for the country that is struggling to keep its foreign currency reserves in a healthy shape, said an official concerned.

This upward movement, albeit largely buoyed by the Eid festival, would come as a relief for Bangladesh after remittances slipped back into negative in 2021-22 for the first time in the last six fiscal years as many remitters opted for the informal channels to send their money as economies reopened in keeping with the easing of travel restrictions.

Remittance earnings are expected to go up in the coming months since 8.77 lakh people went abroad for work in the first 11 months of the last fiscal year in contrast to 2.31 lakh in the entire FY21.

In July, $330 million in remittance was channeled to Bangladesh through state-run commercial banks, $32.42 million through state-run specialised banks, $1.78 billion through private banks, and $6.64 million through foreign banks, data from the BB showed.