Expats remit $1.36b in first 19 days of 2024

Expatriates reemitted USD 1.36 billion or approximately Tk 150 billion through legal channels in the first 19 days of this year, according to the latest data of Bangladesh Bank.

Data shows remittances rose by about 3 per cent to USD 21.90 billion in 2023 from USD 21.30 billion in 2022. The inflow of remittance was USD 22.07 billion in 2021, USD 21.73 billion in 2020 and USD 18.33 billion in 2019.

Expatriates sent USD 110 million home through state-owned banking channels, USD 28.8 million via specialised Bangladesh Krishi Bank, USD 1.22 billion via private commercial banks and USD 4.1 million through foreign banking channels.

Experts said remittance growth is not fluffing the expectation because annual remittance does not grow similar to the export of manpower.

According to the central bank data, inflow of remittance hit a six-month high in December with expats sending USD 1.99 billion in that month. Before that, remittance earning reached USD 2.19 billion in June last year.