Friday 21 November 2008

BANGLADESH: Global financial crunch set to cut remittances

DHAKA, 21 November 2008 (IRIN) - Millions of Bangladeshis will be hit by an expected downturn in remittances because of the global financial crisis, experts warn.

Some five million Bangladeshis work abroad, mostly in the Middle East, in healthcare, engineering, domestic service and manual labour.

“We won’t feel the blow of the cut in overseas employment immediately, but after two to three years remittances will definitely dry up if no major changes take place,” Syed Ashraf Ali, former executive director of the Bangladesh Bank, in Dhaka said.

Although foreign workers make up just 2.8 percent of the population, they contribute more than 9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). [Read more]

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