The country received $701.62 million in remittance during the first 20 days of January against $958.73 million in December last, reports UNB. Bangladesh Bank statistics show that five, out of six state-owned commercial banks, received $198.80 million from expatriate Bangladeshis while one received no remittance. Two state-owned specialised banks got $7.23 million during the first 20 days of January. The maximum remittance came through private commercial banks as they received $488.49 million while the nine foreign banks got $7.10 million. Of the state-owned banks, Agrani Bank received $78.60 million, Sonali Bank $56.60 million, Janata Bank $52.80 million, Rupali Bank $10.76 million and BASIC Bank received only 0.06 million while BDBL received no remittance. Among the private commercial banks, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) led the remittance earning as it received $158.53 million, followed by Dutch-Bangla Bank Limited with $27.58 million. Among other private banks in leading positions in earning remittances are National Bank ($26.70mn), Pubali Bank ($25.65mn), Southeast Bank ($23.89mn), Uttara Bank ($23.54 mn), Bank Asia ($18.64mn), Prime Bank ($17.13mn), Brac Bank ($16.58mn), Al Arafa Islami Bank ($13.53mn), AB Bank ($13.35), Mutual Trust Bank ($13.05mn), Social Islami Bank ($11.64mn), NCC Bank ($11.54mn) and Trust Bank ($10.91mn). Of the three NRB banks, NRB Bank received $0.08 million while NRB Commercial Bank $0.08 million and NRB Global Bank $1.01 million in remittance from non-resident Bangladeshis during the period. There are some other private banks which also performed poorly in remittance earning during the period as they received below $3 million, such as Exim Bank ($2.17mn), SBAC Bank ($1.10mn), One Bank ($0.43mn), Farmers Bank ($0.14mn), Modhumati Bank ($0.07mn), Midland Bank ($0.10mn), Meghna Bank ($1.03mn), and Shahjalal Islami Bank ($0.92mn) while ICB Islami Bank received no remittance during the period. Earlier reports said, although the country’s manpower export witnessed a robust growth of 36.31 percent in 2016, the remittance inflow declined by 10.87 percent. The Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry blamed the fall in the remittance inflow on various reasons, including illegal hundi business and a drop in the oil prices in the Middle East. According to the ministry, some 757,731 Bangladeshi workers went to different countries with jobs in the last calendar year, up by 201,850 than the previous year’s total figure of 555,881. However, the country earned $ 13.61 billion in 2016 while the amount was $ 15.27 billion in 2015. Contacted, Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Nurul Islam said many expatriate workers send money through hundi, an illegal way to transfer money, to get better rates. “This is one of the prime reasons behind the fall in remittance inflow,” he said. The government is trying to stop the hundi business, Nurul said, adding that once the illegal business is stopped, the remittance flow will automatically rise. He also said Bangladesh received the highest $2,989 million remittance from Saudi Arabia in the last year while the second highest $2,535 came from the UAE. M Ruhul Amin, secretary general of Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (Baira), said the remittance inflow from the Middle East countries saw a slump due to the economic recession triggered by the fall in oil prices. Besides, the government’s imposition of various restrictions on purchasing bonds discouraged Bangladeshi expatriates to invest in the sector, he said, calling for lifting the ban to boost the remittance inflow. Founding chair of Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) Prof Tasneem Siddiqui said many Bangladeshi expatriates in the Middle East lost their job due to the economic recession. Besides, the Saudi Arabian and Malaysian governments increased the yearly levies and residence fees, which led to the reduction in remittance inflow, she said. Noting that many expatriates cannot manage lucrative jobs abroad, Tasneem said, most of them earn little and they send what they can save after meeting their living expenses. She urged the government and the Bangladesh Bank to take steps like arranging road shows in Bangladesh and other countries to encourage expatriates to send remittance in a legal and formal channel. The government can also introduce awards for the highest remittance senders to inspire the expatriates to send more remittance, Tasneem said. According to the sources at the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry, there are some 1.05 crore Bangladeshi people living in different countries across the world. In 2016, the highest 188,247 Bangladeshi workers went to Oman while Saudi Arabia holds the 2nd place with 143,913. Of the country’s 64 districts, maximum 86,352 workers went abroad from Comilla in 2016 while the second highest 45,780 from Chittagong. The flow of remittance, on which Bangladesh’s economic stability has continued amidst a global recession, has been declining.
