BSP notes ‘steady growth’ of remittances from Filipinos abroad

Dollars sent home by Filipinos abroad continued to rise in August as both land- and sea-based workers remitted more cash to their local beneficiaries, according to latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The central bank said personal remittances from Filipinos, either working or living abroad, totalled $2.9 billion in August 2019, representing a 4.2-percent increase over the $2.8 billion reported in the same period last year.

This brought personal remittances for the first eight months of 2019 to $22 billion, up by 3.6 percent from last years’ level of $21.2 billion during the Jan-Aug stretch.

The BSP said there was a “steady growth in personal remittances” from January to August 2019.

The data also showed that remittances from overseas workers — which are said to account for an estimated 10 percent of domestic economic activity, especially consumption — grew for every month of 2019, except for a 2.7-percent decline in June.

Inflows from the compensation of sea-based workers and land-based workers with short-term contracts also contributed to this growth and totalled $4.7 billion from $4.4 billion a year ago, the monetary regulator added.

Cash remittances made through banks — which exclude transfers in cash or in kind by Filipinos who have migrated abroad — rose to $2.6 billion in August 2019, from $2.5 billion last year.

This brought cash remittances for the first eight months this year to $19.8 billion from $19.1 billion in the same period last year.

By country source, the US registered the highest share of overall remittances for January to August 2019 at 37 percent. It was followed by Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, the UK, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Germany and Kuwait./TSB