DHAKA, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves surged past 22 billion U.S. dollars by the end of April this year, the latest central bank data showed.
The Bangladesh Bank reported that the country's foreign exchange reserves stood at 22.023 billion dollars on April 30, compared with 20.35 billion dollars at the end of March.
However, gross reserves stood at 27.41 billion dollars by the end of April.
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 five months' import bills.
Bangladesh's gross foreign exchange reserves hit an all-time high of 48 billion dollars in August 2021.
In a bid to boost shrinking forex reserves, the central bank has taken various measures, including incentives to woo more remittances from millions of Bangladeshi people living and working abroad in recent years.
The country's remittances, one of the key sources of foreign exchange, totaled 24.54 billion dollars in the July-April period, official data showed. ■
