Bangladeshi diaspora sent home over $9 bn last year

DHAKA - Despite the global financial meltdown, remittances by Bangladeshis abroad, one of the country’s economic mainstays, crossed the $9 billion mark last year.

It was a 40.76 percent year-on-year growth.

According to Bangladesh Bank statistics, the remittances made by Bangladeshi expatriates abroad in 2008 were estimated at $9.22 billion, up from $6.55 billion in 2007, New Age newspaper reported Tuesday.

A bank official said the remittances could cross the $10 billion mark in the current year, ‘as the political situation remains stable in the country after the free and fair parliamentary elections’.