Dhaka: The yearly remittance inflow to the country hit a new record, crossing the $15-billion mark at the end 2014-15 financial year (FY15), according to Bangladesh Bank (BB).

The previous highest record was $14.46 billion in 2012-13 financial year (FY13).

BB data released today (Thursday) showed that the country received $15.3 billion in remittance from expatriates Bangladeshis in the just concluded financial year, which was 7.5 percent higher than that of the previous 2014-15 fiscal year (FY14). Expatriate Bangladeshi sent home over $14.22 billion in FY14.

The country also saw significant rise in the inflow of monthly remittance in June, with receiving $1.43 billion. The amount was 11.27 percent higher than $1.28 billion received in June last year.

The Migration and Remittances Unit of the World Bank (WB) earlier projected that Bangladesh would receive over $15 billion in remittance in 2014 and the inflow would increase further in future if Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) resume Bangladeshi labour recruitment.

At the initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Saudi Arabia in February last lifted the ban on change of Iqama (work permit) for switching jobs.  

Bangladeshi workers were not allowed to change their work-permit in the past six years since 2008. In April this year the Saudi Ministry of Labor also resumed issuing visas for Bangladeshi domestic workers.  

During the visit of Sheikh Hasina, UAE also signed a deal for recruiting between 1,000 and 2,000 female household workers a month from Bangladesh.

‘These developments helped increase overseas employment and eventually the remittance inflow to the country,’ said a BB official.

With the steady inflow of remittance, Bangladesh became the eighth biggest remittance recipient country in the world.

Global credit rating agency Moody's in a report said that Bangladesh achieved positive rating because of its strong reserve and remittance inflow, which also suggested a bolstering of the sovereign's external payments position.

The international rating agency also said the higher remittances helped offset the trade deficit and counterbalanced the lack of diversification in the export, which is highly reliance on garment and textile sectors.