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Bangladeshi workers send record amount home

New job opportunities in the oil rich Middle East have bolstered the Bangladeshi economy, with migrant workers sending him a record $US12.85 billion in the fiscal year, which ended in June.

The executive director of Bangladesh's central bank, M. Ahsanullah said the amount is a 10.26 per cent increase on the last fiscal year.

Bangladesh has more than eight million migrant workers sending money back home.This much-needed foreign exchange accounts for more than 10 per cent of Bangladesh's Gross Domestic Product and helped to ease pressure on the nation's balance of payment and bolster the local taka against the US dollar.

Last year the taka lost 15 per cent of its value against the US dollar after the government sought a $US1 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in April. In the last six months, some 374,837 Bangladeshis flew overseas for work. According to Bangladesh's Bureau of Manpower and Employment Training they work mostly in the manufacturing, construction, farm and service sectors.

Migration from Bangladesh fell sharply during the 2008/20099 global economic downturn as jobs dried up in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world. It depends upon the inflow of foreign exchange from migrant workers to fund its imports.

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