Bangladesh Nov remittances up 24 pct on year

Money sent home by Bangladeshis working overseas in November rose 24 percent to $767.35 million from a year earlier, the central bank said on Thursday.

In July-November, the first five months of the 2008/09 financial year, remittances from more than 5 million expatriate Bangladeshis totalled $3.75 billion, around 34 percent higher than the same period of 2007/08.

The central bank expects remittances to touch an annual $10 billion in the current financial year.

Analysts have expected the inflow of remittances to slowdown as the global credit crisis and recession in the developed world put jobs at risk.

However, the central bank said the remittances would be affected only if instability in financial markets persists for long.

The expat incomes, a key source of foreign exchange for the impoverished south Asian country, hit a record $7.91 billion in the 2007/08 financial year that ended in June, nearly a third higher than the previous fiscal year.

The bulk of remittances for the majority-Muslim Bangladesh come from Middle-Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, followed by the United States and United Kingdom.

Strong remittances also helped offset the impact of the trade shortfall and kept the overall balance of payments in surplus.

Remittances are Bangladesh's second-biggest source of foreign income after ready-made garments, which earned $10.7 billion in the 2007/08 fiscal year.