Expats are sending more remittances than ever before. At the same time loans and grants from donor agencies have been added. As a result, the country's foreign exchange reserves have increased to 26.09 billion dollars (according to Bangladesh Bank's accounting system). And according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) BPM-6 calculation standards, the reserves stand at 21.33 billion dollars.
Net reserves are calculated as per IMF's BPM-6 measure. Subtracting current liabilities from total reserves gives the amount of net or actual reserves.
But apart from this, there is another account of Bangladesh Bank's reserve, that is expendable reserve. The central bank does not publish this information officially. There, usable reserves are calculated by excluding dollars held in the IMF's SDR sector, foreign currency held by banks as foreign currency clearing and Akur bills.
In this context, the spokesperson and executive director of Bangladesh Bank Husne Ara Shikha said that the flow of remittances is better now than at any time in the past. Besides, foreign donations have also been added. As a result, reserves have increased.
According to related sources, the country's expendable real reserves are now 15 billion dollars. 5 billion dollars per month with this reserve can cover three months of import expenses. Normally a country should have reserves equal to at least three months of import costs.
In the first 28 days of this month of December, remittances worth 242 billion US dollars have arrived in the country legally, amounting to 29 thousand 40 crore rupees (120 rupees per dollar) in local currency. Average daily remittances are 86.4 million dollars.
After the interim government took over, the foreign exchange rate remained stable as it kept pace with market demand. Especially the dollar price was at 120 taka for a long time. However, last week the demand for the dollar increased the price slightly. Due to which remittance flow has also increased. Which has played a helpful role in increasing the reserves.
