Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves crossed the $29-billion mark, mainly due to growth in export and foreign remittance despite of lack in investment.

The amount stood at $29.1 billion yesterday, which is sufficient to meet the country’s import bills for 9.41 months, an official of Bangladesh Bank (BB) said.

The figure is deemed satisfactory if it meets import bills of five to six months, according to new standards. The reserves reached $28 billion in February.

The reserves have been hitting new highs every month or two, due to a lack of demand for investment, economists said at a pre-budget discussion with the finance minister recently.

Faster growth of exports compared to imports is another reason behind the hike in the reserves, the BB official said.

Exports grew 8.95 percent year-on-year to $24.95 billion in July-March of the current fiscal year, while imports rose 6.44 percent to $25.63 billion in July-February, according to central bank data.

The central bank has to purchase dollars from the market every month to keep the exchange rate stable since the demand for the foreign currency is not high right now.

The BB, since July 1 till Sunday, has bought $3.3 billion to keep the exchange rate stable and protect the interests of exporters and importers.

There is an upswing in the economy. Also now the political condition is stable. It is thereby better time for universities to invest in the market.

Read the relevant article,

Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Reserves 2008-2016

Bangladesh Bank reserve

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