Bangladesh worries about falling remittances

[Loafer]

IT IS a mystery. Last year Bangladesh’s army of migrant workers abroad increased by a record 750,000, to reach 8m-odd. They travel to earn money for their families. Yet the statistics suggest they are sending less money home. In the fiscal year that ends this month, recorded remittances will have fallen for the second consecutive year, this time by more than 10%, to $12bn (see chart). To explain the puzzle, look to the places they work, to technology and to the growing popularity of a fiddle used by Bangladeshi importers.

The abrupt cancellation last November by the Indian government of most banknotes by value was one factor: monthly inflows crashed, as the millions of Bangladeshis working in India were strapped for cash. In the Gulf, the source of 60% of Bangladesh’s remittances, the economy has been relatively sluggish.

http://www.economist.com/news/finan...e-used-its-importers-bangladesh-worries-about

As expected and forecasted by many in this forum, the Bangladeshi fake stastic bubble is evaporating and will have a hard landing soon.

 

[EastBengalPro]

As expected and forecasted by many in this forum, the Bangladeshi fake stastic bubble is evaporating and will have a hard landing soon.

What do you mean by Fake stastic bubble Loafer? Apparently remittance flow has decreased in all developing countries.

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/pr...countries-decline-for-second-consecutive-year

 

[N.Siddiqui]

Initially Pakistan has witnessed some decline as well, but now remittances are increasing...

https://www.dawn.com/news/1271081

 

[EastBengalPro]

Initially Pakistan has witnessed some decline as well, but now remittances are increasing...

https://www.dawn.com/news/1271081

Nice to know! There is always ups and down in economy but loafer doesnt understand this. He always cheers on everything negatives for Bangladesh...Let him be happy

 

[N.Siddiqui]

Nice to know! There is always ups and down in economy but loafer doesnt understand this. He always cheers on everything negatives for Bangladesh...Let him be happy

Yes...But this is even bigger news and unbelievable...need some explanation.

From Pak to India: $14.36 billion in remittances over 3 years!

World Bank said those living in Pakistan sent USD 4.9 billion to India in 2015. Its Bilateral Remittance Matrix put the money flowing from Pakistan to India in 2014 at USD 4.79 billion and USD 4.67 billion the year before that.

The numbers are astonishingly high considering direct remittances are highly restricted and there may not be many NRIs in Pakistan who would be sending money back home.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

[EastBengalPro]

The subcontinent cant depend on the ME forever for jobs and remittances.
Its about time all this nonsense increase in defense budgets is minimised and productive industries are focussed on.

AGREE!

 

[N.Siddiqui]

...another link to the news....

From-Pakistan-to-India-14-36-billion-in-remittances-over-3-years

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ttances-over-3-years/articleshow/51178634.cms

 

[EastBengalPro]

Yes...But this is even bigger news and unbelievable...need some explanation.

From Pak to India: $14.36 billion in remittances over 3 years!

World Bank said those living in Pakistan sent USD 4.9 billion to India in 2015. Its Bilateral Remittance Matrix put the money flowing from Pakistan to India in 2014 at USD 4.79 billion and USD 4.67 billion the year before that.

The numbers are astonishingly high considering direct remittances are highly restricted and there may not be many NRIs in Pakistan who would be sending money back home.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

This is a surprising fact indeed!

Bangladesh also ranks 4th or 5th in the list for largest remittance source for India but Its evident lots of Indians are working in our country in the Apparel sector.

 

[N.Siddiqui]

This is a surprising fact indeed!

Bangladesh also ranks 4th or 5th in the list for largest remittance source for India but Its evident lots of Indians are working in our country in the Apparel sector.

Yes I read about 5 billion USD is sent by Indians every year from Bangladesh to India...quite a huge amount.

 

[Banglar Bir]

RMG props credit profile as BD remittance slows
SAM Staff, June 13, 2017

Bangladesh’s Ba3 stable sovereign credit profile is supported by the robust growth of an economy that is bolstered by garment export, says Moody’s while predicting risk of receding remittance.

In its latest survey report Moody’s Investors Service said the weakening inflows of remittances from expatriate workers could hurt consumption-considered a driver of economic advances, reports bdnews24.com.

The garment industry makes up about 70 per cent of the country’s total merchandise exports, as measured in local currency terms, and also accounts for significant foreign investment inflows.

While the agricultural sector is still the biggest employer in Bangladesh, the garment industry employs over three million workers and offers continued opportunity for labour productivity gains, Moody’s said.

“Bangladesh will continue to invest in its garment-manufacturing sector to capitalise on its strong comparative advantage of abundant low-cost labour,” said William Foster, a vice-president and senior credit officer at Moody’s.

“It will remain a leading global supplier of basic garments and the industry will continue to drive the nation’s growth, exports and job creation.”

The New York-based credit-rating agency says focus on low-value garment exports helps insulate Bangladesh from the impact of higher trade tariffs that could result from greater protectionism globally.

Nonetheless, while Bangladesh’s garment industry benefits from some of the lowest wage levels in the world, the country falls behind its peers such as Vietnam (B1 positive), Cambodia (B2 stable) and Sri Lanka (B1 negative) in overall economic competitiveness.

When factoring in the quality of its physical infrastructure, skill levels and transparency of the business environment, the country’s low competitiveness hampers the ability of its economy to absorb shocks, Moody’s noted.

In addition to the garment sector, remittances from overseas workers contribute to Bangladesh’s economic growth by supporting household income and consumption.

However, inflows have dropped by 14.6 per cent in the first eight months of this fiscal year, driven by muted economic activity in Middle Eastern nations.

“Moving forward, muted remittances growth could weigh on consumption,” the report says.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/06/13/rmg-props-credit-profile-bd-remittance-slows/

 

[EastBengalPro]

Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves cross $33 billion

Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves have crossed $33 billion for the first time in the history of Bangladesh.

Reserves grew 10.5 percent to $33.02 billion on Thursday from a year ago, Subhankar Saha, a spokesman for Bangladesh Bank, told bdnews24.com, citing data.

The amount is good enough to clear import bills for the next nine months, going by an estimated monthly requirement of $3.5 billion.

In 2001, Bangladesh had to defer its payments to the Asian Clearing Union or ACU for imports to avoid compromising the then $1 billion foreign exchange reserves, as that would have undermined the country’s global image.

And now, 17 years later, Bangladesh Bank’s foreign exchange reserves grown by 33 times in all these years.

Steady growth in forex reserves has been marked in recent years. The reserves crossed $31 billion on Sept 1 last year. On Nov 4, it crossed $32 billion but dropped twice after clearing ACU bills. Then again it rose to $32 billion.

Economist Zaid Bakht has termed the $33 billion-mark a ‘milestone in Bangladesh’s history’.

Increasing remittances from expatriates abroad and rising export incomes have boosted Bangladesh’s reserves in the past few years, said Bakht, research director at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies or BIDS.

However, remittance inflow has dropped in recent times, but export earnings continued a slightly upward trend.

Inward remittances dropped by 14.19 percent in the first 11 months of outgoing fiscal 2016-17. Exports grew 3.67 percent in the same period.

http://bdnews24.com/economy/2017/06/22/bangladeshs-foreign-exchange-reserves-cross-33-billion

 

[Bilal9]

What do you mean by Fake stastic bubble Loafer? Apparently remittance flow has decreased in all developing countries.

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/pr...countries-decline-for-second-consecutive-year

He is offering the 'Dua' of the vulture so the cow will hopefully Die.

Instead of death wishes from across the border, tell him to improve his own sad sack WB state.

They have all of India as customers and still the worst of the bunch.

 

[Nilgiri]

The abrupt cancellation last November by the Indian government of most banknotes by value was one factor: monthly inflows crashed, as the millions of Bangladeshis working in India were strapped for cash.

Good that it was reported in the economist....past the low grade BD media.

India deep state must do whatever is needed to make sure that BD remittances continue to accelerate in the hundi stream (as reported by the Economist) from whatever source rather than banking stream....so their official economy is kept as weak as needed so our leverage on it (i.e what BAL can harness and prop itself up with) is maintained. It is good bang for the buck, only takes a few small payoffs for maximum leverage creation.

From the article:

It is especially worried about mobile apps that facilitate transactions through hundi, an informal money-transfer system in which an expat transfers an amount of money to an agent wherever they are based, and an equivalent payment is made in taka back in Bangladesh. Hundi is cheaper, faster and thought to handle at least as much in remittances as banks, without foreign currency ever crossing the border.

The authorities have identified 15 illegal mobile apps. As hundi goes digital, more and more are using authorised mobile-money operators, such as bKash, which alone has 28m accounts and 170,000 agents. In February the central bank limited daily deposits of mobile money to 15,000 taka ($190) and withdrawals to 10,000 taka (down from 25,000 taka for both). In the budget, on June 1st, the finance minister promised to abolish banks’ fees on remittance transfers and to come up with other ways to keep cash flowing through official channels. The exchange rate, controlled by the government, makes remitting money through banks unattractive. The spread between banks’ and hundi rates is five taka (six cents) per dollar.

Ahsan Mansur of the Dhaka-based Policy Research Institute also links falling remittances to the rising demand among Bangladeshis to hold foreign currency abroad. Government cronies, businesses and the growing middle class are already nervous ahead of an election in late 2018 and want to keep money offshore.

Between 2005 and 2014, uncounted flows from Bangladesh amounted to $61.6bn, according to Global Financial Integrity, an American research and advocacy group. It blames an estimated 90% of these on trade misinvoicing. After an eightfold increase since 2002, about 40% of Bangladesh’s $40bn in annual imports come from China and Hong Kong, where underinvoicing is rife. Typically, a Chinese exporter invoices a Bangladeshi buyer for, say, $1, instead of $10, evading Chinese foreign-exchange controls on most of the income; the importer pays $1 through official channels, saving duties on $9, which is transferred via hundi.

Yes...But this is even bigger news and unbelievable...need some explanation.

Its largely hundi based payments for illegal trading that is often circuited though Karachi-Dubai cartels. Some hundi also between relatives etc.

Yes I read about 5 billion USD is sent by Indians every year from Bangladesh to India...quite a huge amount.

BD media/govt fake news. You can check the better quality information bilateral money flows here:

http://www.pewglobal.org/interactives/remittance-map/

Bangladesh to India is estimated at 114 million USD.

India to BD is estimated at 4.5 billion USD.

Bangladesh to India would probably baloon to higher figure (in the case of Pakistan to India) if say the trade was made much more restrictive so unofficial "remittance" payment channels for it increase (i.e more hundi)....given much bigger demand for Indian goods in BD than vice versa (thus money payment demand is in counter direction - but largely falls in official channel ambit for now regarding trade).

 

[Michael Corleone]

Yes...But this is even bigger news and unbelievable...need some explanation.

From Pak to India: $14.36 billion in remittances over 3 years!

World Bank said those living in Pakistan sent USD 4.9 billion to India in 2015. Its Bilateral Remittance Matrix put the money flowing from Pakistan to India in 2014 at USD 4.79 billion and USD 4.67 billion the year before that.

The numbers are astonishingly high considering direct remittances are highly restricted and there may not be many NRIs in Pakistan who would be sending money back home.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Parasites... apparently has money flowing in from all the neighboring countries yet complains of neighbors taking their money.

 

[Nilgiri]

Parasites... apparently has money flowing in from all the neighboring countries yet complains of neighbors taking their money.

Read the post above.

The flows from Pakistan to India are to pay for the goods (through Hundi) smuggled into Pakistan from India, often through Karachi cartels (via UAE)...called as hundi remittances. It has been documented on this forum itself.

When the economist magazine EXPOSED this quite openly in BD case regarding countries like China (accounting as 1 dollar when its 10 dollar transaction and paying the difference through hundi), its not supposed to exist between India and Pakistan?

But basically BD does much more legal trade with India, thus the massive trade deficit exists officially above the ground. Only 100 million or so is "remitted" from BD to India (by Indian expats etc) unlike the 5 billion USD that BD illegals in India remit back to India:

http://www.pewglobal.org/interactives/remittance-map/

So who are the parasites established by the neutral 3rd party?