Bangladesh expat remittances hit record in July

DHAKA, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Money sent home by Bangladeshis working overseas hit a new record of $829.5 million in July, up from $567.11 million a year earlier, the central bank said on Thursday.

Remittances totalled $7.94 billion in the 2007/08 financial year that ended in June, a 32.8 percent rise over the previous fiscal year.

Booming economies in the Middle East and the Gulf region, as well as an ageing population in European countries and the improving skills of Bangladeshi workers were driving demand for Bangladeshi labour, officials said.

The strong growth in remittances also helped keep the country's overall balance of payments in surplus.

The central bank expects the inflow of remittances to touch an annual $10 billion in the current financial year, boosting a key source of foreign exchange for the impoverished Muslim-majority country.

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

Remittances from more than 5 million Bangladeshis are the country's second-biggest source of foreign income after ready-made garments, which earned $10.7 billion in 2007/08.

The majority of the expats work in the Middle East, the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Anis Ahmed and Ben Tan)