Bangladesh received $1.96 billion in remittances in January amid dollar crisis

The inward remittance flow in January came as good news while Bangladesh Bank (BB) is struggling with LCs liabilities to import essential commodities and industrial raw materials amid volatile foreign exchange supply.

In January, Bangladesh received $1.96 billion in the legal channel, the BB updated data revealed on Wednesday. In December, the remittance was $1.69 billion.

Bangladesh received $12.45 billion inward remittances in seven months (July-January) in the current fiscal year 2022-23.

Bank officials said many import payments are being deferred due to the dollar crisis. For this, expatriate income of dollars are being bought at a higher price than the fixed price.

As a result, expatriate income increased. If the price limit of the dollar is removed, the crisis will go away, they said.

The BB spokesperson Mesbaul Haque told UNB that in order to increase remittance inflow, the central bank has increased the exchange rate of US dollars for remittance.

In addition to a 2.5 percent hassle-free incentive for remittance, several banks also provide additional incentives to attract foreign exchange, he said.

Banks will not cut any charge or fee for sending remittances in the legal channel, he said.

Research by Bangladesh Bank found that more than 40 percent of remittance of expatriate income is sent to the country through hundi.