DHAKA (XINHUA) – Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves reached nearly USD21 billion by the end of September, the latest central bank data showed.
The Bangladesh Bank data showed the country’s foreign exchange reserves stood at USD20,795.44 million on September 30, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) calculation method.
The bank said gross reserves were USD24.74 billion by the end of September. The reserves calculated under the IMF’s balance of payments and investment position manual method were immediately usable, while gross reserves were also usable subject to the realisation of investment.
For a growing economy like Bangladesh, forex reserves equivalent to six months’ import bills are considered adequate.
With the existing reserves, however, central bank officials said Bangladesh is in a position to pay nearly four months’ import bills. Bangladesh’s gross foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of USD48 billion in August 2021.
In a bid to boost shrinking forex reserves, the central bank has taken various measures, including relaxed rules, to woo more remittances from millions of Bangladeshi people living and working abroad in recent years.
After remittances hit USD1.91 billion in July and USD2.22 billion in August, the figure of last month stood at USD2.40 billion, up over 80 per cent from a year earlier, official data showed.
