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Philippines: Remittances up by 4% in April
MANILA, Philippines — Cash sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) went up by 3.8 percent to $2.67 billion in April from $2.57 billion a year ago, buoyed by remittances from land-based workers with long-term contracts, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
From January to April, the BSP said personal remittances increased by 2.6 percent to $11.32 billion from $11.03 billion in the same period last year.
Likewise, cash transfers coursed through banks jumped by three percent to $2.4 billion in April from $2.31 billion a year ago, bringing the four-month tally to $10.17 billion, or 2.7 percent higher than last year’s $9.9 billion.
The BSP attributed the growth in monthly remittances to land-based OFWs with work contracts of one year and above. Based on BSP data, cash sent by these OFWs grew by five percent to $2.02 billion, from $1.93 billion.
On the other hand, land-based and sea-based OFWs with contracts lasting for only a year also raised their personal remittances by one percent to $581 million, from $574 million.
As for cash remittances, land-based OFWs have accounted for the bulk of the amount at $7.99 billion, while sea-based OFWs made up the remainder at $2.17 billion as of April.
By source, the BSP said the United States, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore contributed much of the increase in cash remittances of OFWs.
The BSP said the US accounted for the highest share in personal remittances at 41.2 percent in the four months to April, ahead of Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Qatar, South Korea and Taiwan.
These 10 nations accounted for nearly 80 percent of the total remittances during the period.
Last year, OFW remittances surged by five percent to a record $34.88 billion from $33.19 billion in 2020.
The volume of dollars sent home by OFWs in 2021 also exceeded the previous high of $33.47 billion posted prior to the pandemic in 2019.
The 2021 remittances, when measured against economic output, accounted for 8.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and 8.5 percent of gross national income.
For 2022, the BSP expects personal remittances to grow by four percent on the assumption that the lifting of border restrictions will allow OFWs to return to their former employers abroad.
Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/06/16/2188608/remittances-4-april