Bangladesh expat remittances at record in November

DHAKA Jan 1 (Reuters) - Bangladesh received a record $617.39 million in remittances from expatriate workers in November, up 3.12 percent from a year earlier, the central bank said on Tuesday.

In July-November, the first five months of the 2007/08 financial year, remittances from more than 5 million Bangladeshis working abroad totalled $2.8 billion, nearly 22 percent higher than the same period of the previous year.

"We received all-time high remittances in November as the expatriates have sent more money to their relatives to enjoy Muslim Eid al-Adha festival," said Murshid Kuli Khan, a deputy governor of the Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank.

Remittances hit a record $5.98 billion in the 2006/07 financial year that ended in June, 24.52 percent higher than the previous fiscal year.

The Bangladesh Bank expects the inflow of remittance to touch an annual $10 billion over the next two years, boosting a key source of foreign exchange for the impoverished majority-Muslim country.

The Bangladesh Bank has been making vigorous efforts to encourage expatriates to send money home through legal channels, officials said.

It has expanded drawing arrangements, working with 38 Bangladeshi banks and 229 foreign banks and exchange houses. The banks have ensured the quick delivery of remittances to beneficiaries in Bangladesh.

"We have strengthened our monitoring activities to different banks," Murshid told Reuters.

The Bangladesh Bank has also regularly review of statements received from foreign banks and exchange houses and take steps accordingly, he said without elaboration.

The number of Bangladeshis leaving to work abroad is at a record high last year even though Malaysia recently stopped admitting Bangladeshi workers, officials said.

The majority of the expats work in the Middle East, the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan and Singapore.

Remittances from Bangladeshis are the country's second biggest source of foreign income after ready-made garments, which earned more than $9 billion in 2006/07 fiscal year.

($1 = 68.60 taka) (Reporting by Serajul Islam Quadir)