Remitters honoured with BB award
Do not send money through hundi, BB governor tells expats
Staff Reporter
Bangladesh Bank yesterday honoured 26 remitters, 5 bond invertors, and 4 exchange houses with the Bangladesh Bank Remittance Award for the year 2015.
The Bangladesh Bank Remittance Award was organised by the Financial Inclusion department of Bangladesh Bank at the Bangla Academy in the capital.
Expatriates and their hard-working money are definitely lifting the countrys economic condition. When we formed the government, our remittance was 4 to 5 billion and now its almost 32 billion, said Minister of Finance Abul Maal Abdul Muhith who was present their as the chief guest.
Our government wanted to use this vast amount of reserve to invest or finance mega projects. The government wants to take loans from this remittance with a certain amount of interest or profit to finance mega-projects from this amount, he also informed.
We send 5 lakh labours every year and most of them are unskilled, if we could train them before sending abroad, there income would be increased and the inflow of remittance would be increased as well, he also said.
We bring goods (raw materials) from abroad and our people add value to that and again we export the goods to abroad. All I wanted to say is that we have the tendency to make things good but its high time for the expats to invest directly to our countrys rather than sending remittance, Muhith said.
I hope we will definitely cross 7.3 per cent GDP growth in near future, he added.
Governor of Bangladesh Bank Fazle Kabir urged the remitters not to send money through hundi or some illegal sources because it is dangerous and can also be used for funding militant financing.
The government has already taken some initiatives to make the foreign remittance flow more convenient and accessible to the remote areas in Bangladesh. We have taken initiatives for wage earners bond, and the Financial Integrity and Customer Services Department has set up 16,236 centers for the clients, he informed.
We urge the government to establish a separate EPZ (export processing zone) for the expats to invest in the country rather than sending as a remittance. The government can take the initiative to introduce Takar Bond rather than Wage Earner bond, because it is easier to understand for the workforce, said Mahbubur Rahman who was awarded as Best Bond Investor award at the event.
In 2011, our remittance was 9 billion and in 2011, its 15 billion. So, it shows 65 per cent growth in this sector for within a couple of years, said MD of Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh Abrar Anwar.
