UAE overtakes Saudi Arabia in remittance for ‘certain reasons’

Bangladesh received the highest amount of remittance in the 2023-24 fiscal, coming from what had been the third place in the previous fiscal, according to the latest data from Bangladesh Bank.

As per the Bangladesh Bank data, the inflow of remittance from the UAE (United Arab Emirates) grew by 53 per cent or USD 1.61 billion to USD 4.54 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal from USD 3.03 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal. UAE is followed by the US with USD 2.96 billion and the UK with USD 2.79 billion.

Bangladesh received the largest volume of remittance from Saudi Arabia in the 2022-23 fiscal, but this Middle East country descended to the fourth place as inflow remittance fell by 27 per cent or USD 1.03 billion to USD 2.74 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal from USD 3.77 billion in the previous fiscal amid a drastic fall in sending remittance through legal channels.

People from the banking sector found the surge in remittance from the UAE surprising as Bangladesh’s export of manpower to the Gulf country did not increase significantly recently. Workers’ wages did not rise in the country either. So, bankers think there might be ‘other reason’ for the rise in the inflow of remittance from the UAE.

According to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET), manpower exports to the UAE dropped gradually. Bangladesh sent a little over 100,000 workers in 2022, 98,000 in 2023 and about 33,500 in January-June of 2024.

Bangladesh exported about 2.1 million workers to the UAE and 3.9 million workers to Saudi Arabia between 2004 and June 2024. Though Saudi Arabia took more workers, remittance fell while it was the opposite for the UAE.

Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director of private sector Mutual Trust Bank, told Prothom Alo it seems the remittance received from UAE does not seem to be sent by workers only. The growth in manpower export to the Gulf country was not as much as the growth in remittance, which is why there might be other reasons for the surge in the inflow of remittance from the UAE, he added.

Economists and labour market experts said Dubai in the UAE, has become a new destination for laundering money from Bangladesh, and for that, a portion of the laundered money might be repatriated to enjoy the incentives, then the money is being siphoned out of the country again.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), told Prothom Alo the growth in remittance from UAE does not match with the data on manpower exported to the Gulf country over the past couple of years.

It is known that money is laundered aboard in various ways, and, for this, Bangladesh Bank can scrutinize whether the laundered money is being repatriated as remittance to enjoy the incentives, he added

Khondaker Golam Moazzem further said banks also provide incentives on remittance along with the incentive from the government, and Bangladesh Bank maintains a bit of flexibility to increase the inflow of remittance. So, there is adequate reason to believe that laundered money is being repatriated in order to enjoy incentives before being siphoned off from the country again.

According to Bangladesh Bank, the inflow of remittance dropped from four out top ten countries, compared to the previous year. These four countries are Saudi Arabia, the United States of America and Kuwait, while remittance saw an uptrend from the six remaining courtiers. The inflow of remittance from Oman saw the second-highest growth while remittance from Malaysia and the UK grew by 35 and 34 per cent respectively. The increase in sending manpower to these countries over the past couple of years contributed to a rise in remittance.

Data from BMET showed Bangladesh exported over 300,000 workers to Oman in 2022 and 2023 – the highest since 2016. More than 350,000 workers went to Malaysia in 2023. Besides, over 10,000 workers went to the UK in 2023 -- the highest in the past 20 years.

People from the sector opined it is rational that the inflow of remittance grew from the countries to which more manpower was exported. They, however, cast doubt on the surge in inflow of remittance from the UAE as export of manpower from Bangladesh to the Gulf country has dropped over the last two years.

*This report appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Hasanul Banna