January 21, 2008

Cash Back Bangladesh



Independent film with a focus on British-Bangladeshi remittances and foreign-aid, and their impact on British and Bangladeshi society.

  • By far, the largest overseas Bangladeshi communities that have settled in the West are in the UK (and increasingly the US,) with well over a quarter of a million people of Bangladeshi origin living in Britain.

  • The total value of remittances sent by expatriates to the developing world was conservatively estimated to exceed $80 billion last year. As members of the largest overseas Bangladeshi community in the developed world, we have a particularly poignant interest in this topic.

  • Remittances are conservatively estimated to contribute at least 4% of Bangladesh's GDP and have directly helped Bangladesh's balance of payments by contributing around a third of its foreign exchange needs. In monetary terms, remittance income is larger as a net gain than the near $5 billion foreign exchange earnings earned by the ready-made garment (RMG) sector, because the latter figure is significantly reduced when adjusted for the cost of materials and tax breaks.

Excerpts from a Memorandum submitted by the British Bangladeshi International Development Group (BBIDG) to the Select-Committee.


Via Bangladesh Blogger

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