IMF sees payments surplus at $6 billion

MANILA, Philippines – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) sees the country’s balance of payments (BOP) surplus surging to $6 billion this year from $89 million last year due to the impact of the global financial crisis.

IMF mission head Il Houng Lee said in an interview with reporters that the higher BOP surplus would be achieved on the back of robust remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), strong investment inflows, and higher government borrowings.

For next year, Lee said the BOP surplus is likely to dip to $4.5 billion.

The BOP refers to the difference between the inflows and outflows of foreign exchange.

The projected BOP surplus position of the IMF is bullish than the revised projections set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for this year and next year.

The central bank now sees the BOP posting a surplus of $4 billion to $5 billion this year and a surplus of $3 billion to $4 billion next year.

Latest data from the BSP showed that the BOP surplus reached $4.17 billion from January to October compared with a surplus of only $345 million registered in the same period last year.

Lee said the IMF believes that the amount of money sent home by Filipinos abroad would expand by four percent this year and six percent next year, the same growth expected by the BSP.

OFW remittances increased by 4.2 percent to $12.789 billion in the first nine months of the year from $12.273 billion in the same period last year  due to strong demand for skilled Filipino workers and rising number of remittance centers all over the world.

Lee said the international lender also expects foreign direct investments (FDIs) increasing steadily to $1.5 billion this year and $1.8 billion next year from $1.5 billion last year.Total FDIs jumped 30.5 percent to $1.27 billion from January to August this year from $977 million in the same period last year due to sustained equity capital inflows and higher reinvested earnings.

Statistics showed that equity placements went up by 24.8 percent to $1.44 billion from $1.15 billion while equity withdrawals plunged by 30.1 percent to $107 million from $153 million. –Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star)