Remittances up 8.4% to $1.74B in September

INCREASING Remittances from Filipinos abroad were up by 8.4 percent in September 2011 to $1.74 billion from $1.6 billion a year ago, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. AFP

Remittances from overseas-based Filipinos surged 8.4 percent in September to $1.74 billion from $1.6 billion a year ago on continued strong demand for Filipino workers in various parts of the globe.

This brought the total remittances in the first nine months of 2011 to $14.76 billion, up 7.1 percent from $13.78 billion in the same period last year.

BSP officials said the remittances as of September indicated that the total for the year could even surpass the projection of $20.1 billion, a growth of 7 percent from last year’s $18.8 billion.

Remittances are a closely watched economic indicator as these help fuel household consumption, the key driver of growth.

Officials said the sustained rise in remittances gave the country a chance to meet its economic growth target for the year despite the challenges from the external environment.

The government expects the economy to grow between 4.5 and 5.5 percent this year. Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 4 percent in the first semester.

Remittances in September came mostly from Filipinos based in the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany and Norway.

Remittances from these countries accounted for about 85 percent, or $12.5 billion, of money sent in the first nine months.

“Remittances continued to be an important contributor in solidifying the country’s economic fundamentals amid the lingering global economic uncertainties, driven by prospects of sustained demand for Filipino workers abroad,” the BSP said.

Quoting documents from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the BSP said overseas job orders that have been processed for Filipino workers reached 223,172 from January to October. Job orders came mostly from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait and Hong Kong.

The BSP said this indicated that remittances would continue to be strong in the months ahead.

It added that efforts of banks to expand their reach to overseas-based Filipinos also contributed to the increase in remittances.