Remittances stay resilient: Filipinos abroad send $13.3-B in Jan-July

MANILA, Philippines – Personal remittances — the cash and non-cash items or goods carried across borders coursed through formal and informal channels — reached US$13.3 billion in the first 7 months of the year, reflecting a 5.4% increase.

The resilient growth in a key economic contributor continued amid economic challenges faced by some of the host countries of most overseas Filipino workers (OFW), showed the data that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas released on September 17.

In a press conference after the Economic Managers meeting on Monday, September 17, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the personal remittances reached $2 billion for the month of July, a 5.3% hike.

Total cash remittances — which reflect only the funds sent home through formal system or banks — reached $11.9 billion in the 7 months, reflecting a 5.1% year-on-year increase. Cash remittances in July reached $1.809 billion.

“If you look at the cash remittances, these are the cash that goes through the banking system. I think we are on track in terms of remittances,” Tetangco said.

Top sources

“Notwithstanding the weak global economic conditions particularly in the euro zone, and the geopolitical tensions in some parts of the Middle East, remittances remained resilient on the back of sustained demand for skilled Filipino workers overseas,” the BSP said in a statement.

Major sources of remittances for the past 7 months were:

United States – 43.4% of total remittances
Canada – 9.6%
Saudi Arabia – 7.5%
United Kingdom – 4.8%
Japan – 4.9%
United Arab Emirates – 4.1%
Singapore – 4%
Upward revision of targets

Tetangco said the government is also in the process of reviewing the Gross International Reserves (GIR). He said the government may revise its targets upward since the government has already exceeded its fullyear target.

The Central Bank Governor said the GIR is already at $80.8 billion as of end-August. This has already exceeded the target of around $77 billion for the year.

“This reflects the higher than expected BOP (Balance of Payments) surplus so we’ll have to also adjust the GIR target upward for the end of the year,” Tetangco said. – Rappler.com