Remittance hits four-month high

Remittance hit a four-month high in January after the government increased cash subsidy to remitters.

Expatriate Bangladeshis sent $1.70 billion in January, up 4.52 per cent from the month before, according to data from the Bangladesh Bank.

The inflow logged the highest figure last month since October 2021 when remitters sent $1.64 billion.

Remittances stood at $1.72 billion in September.

The January's figure, however, is 13.12 per cent lower than the same period previous year when remittances stood at $1.96 billion.

A BB official said that the increased cash incentive declared by the government chiefly put a positive impact on the remittances.

On January 1, the government went up the cash incentive for sending remittance through the official channel to 2.5 per cent from 2 per cent as the inflow saw an incessant downward trend, hitting the foreign exchange reserves adversely.

The reserves crossed the $48-billion mark in August last year, after which the amount commenced to decline and stood at $45.13 billion on January 26.