Remittances for Jan-May Period Top $10B Mark
Manila—(PHStocks)—Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)—Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) rose by 5.5 percent year-on-year to $2.2 billion in May 2014. This was higher than the 5.2 percent growth posted in April.
On a cumulative basis, personal remittances exceeded the $10 billion mark during the first five months of 2014, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. announced. In particular, personal remittances reached $10.4 billion in January – May 2014, representing a 6.1 percent increase from the level posted in the comparable period last year.
The sustained expansion in personal remittances during the first five months of 2014 was underpinned by the steady growth in remittance flows from both land-based workers with long-term contracts (higher by 5 percent) and sea-based and land-based workers with short-term contracts (up by 8.1 percent).
Likewise, cash remittances from OFs coursed through banks increased by 5.4 percent year-on-year to $2.0 billion in May 2014. This brought cash remittances for the period January – May 2014 to $9.4 billion, higher by 5.7 percent relative to the $8.9 billion recorded in the same period last year. In particular, cash remittances from land-based and sea-based workers expanded by 5 percent (to $7.1 billion) and 8.1 percent (to $2.3 billion), respectively, during the first five months of 2014. The bulk of cash remittances (about 76 percent) during the period were received from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong.
The steady deployment of OF workers remained a key driver in the sustained growth in remittance flows. Preliminary reports by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showed that for the period January-May 2014, approved job orders reached 371,097, of which 38.5 percent were processed job orders intended for service, production, and professional, technical and related employment in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Taiwan, and Qatar.
Moreover, the continued efforts of banks and non-bank remittance service providers to expand their international and domestic market coverage through tie-ups and establishment of remittance centers abroad as well as the introduction of innovations in their remittance products provided support to the robust growth of remittances during the period.
