Bangladesh remittances up 2.6 percent

Money sent home in December by Bangladeshis working overseas rose nearly 2.6 percent from a year earlier to about $1.31 billion, the central bank said on Monday. In July-December, the first half of the 2015-16 financial year, Bangladesh received $7.48 million in remittances, down 0.06 percent. Remittances from more than 10 million citizens abroad are critical for the South Asian nation and key source of foreign exchange, alongside garment exports. In the financial year ended in June, garments accounted for 82 percent of Bangladesh's $31 billion in export earnings.
In that year, remittances were $15.31 billion, up 7.6 percent. Steady remittances have helped build foreign exchange reserves, which reached a record $27.49 billion at the end of December.