November OFW remittance up by 10.5%
“Remittances of overseas Filipinos coursed through banks continued to be above the US$1 billion mark in November at US$1.3 billion, posting a year-on-year growth of 10.5 percent. Cumulative remittances for the eleven-month period reached US$15 billion, 15.1 percent higher than the level recorded in the comparable period a year ago. This level is only US$1.3 billion short of the BSP’s projection of a full year 2008 OF remittances coursed through the banks of US$16.3 billion,” according to central bank data released Thursday, January 15, 2009.
“The steady stream of remittances from overseas Filipinos continues to provide the economy with much needed foreign exchange liquidity in the midst of a challenging external environment,” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. said in as statement released Thursday. The statement added that factors contributing to sustained remittance flows were the continued demand for Filipino workers abroad, specifically professional and skilled workers, as well as greater accessibility of overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries to a wide array of financial services by banks that facilitated funds transfer.
Data released by the Central Bank does not include funds sent through informal channels.
While there are concerns that deployment could decelerate in the coming months due to the continuing global economic slowdown, the POEA indicated that the decline could be mitigated by strong labor demand in Canada, Bulgaria, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The major sources of remittances from January to November 2008 were the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.