Remittances hit $4.3B in first quarter

MONEY sent home by Filipinos working abroad grew by 7% to $4.3 billion in the first quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday reported.

“The steady remittance flows … continued to be propelled mainly by sustained strong demand for Filipino skills and expertise as well as the expanded access to enhanced banking services by overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries,” the central bank said in a statement.

“Prospects for global deployment of overseas Filipino workers remain positive, especially as employment opportunities are expected to rise along with clearer signs of global recovery,” the BSP added.

The 7% growth for the first quarter, it said, came as remittances from both sea- and land-based workers grew by 11% and 6%, respectively.

For March alone, remittances hit $1.6 billion, up 5.6% from a year earlier. The uptick, however, was slower than February’s 7.1% growth and January’s 8.5%.

The $1.56 billion received in March, however, was the second highest monthly total recorded since 2005, the BSP said. The highest was the $1.57 billion notched last December.

The central bank said data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed 155,334 approved job orders for the period. Of the total, some 29%, or 45,393, were for service, professional, technical, and production and related positions in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait and Hong Kong.

The expansion of bank and non-bank service providers in the international and domestic market helped capture a bigger share of the remittance market, the central bank said.

“The upgrading of their operations abroad and the innovations they have introduced in the products and services offered have encouraged more overseas Filipinos to use the formal channels in transferring funds to their beneficiaries,” it said.

The central bank said that as of March, the number of commercial bank tie-ups, remittance centers, correspondent banks and branches abroad had increased to 4,483 from the 4,192 recorded as of end-2009.

Most of the remittances during the period came from the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, Italy, and the UAE.

Remittances, money sent to the Philippines by at least 10 million overseas Filipino workers, have helped spur economic growth by fueling domestic consumer spending.

The BSP expects remittances to grow by 8% this year from 2009’s $17.348 billion. — Jose Bimbo F. Santos, Businessworld