APD | Remittances in the Philippines reach US$2.75 billion in January

By APD writer Melo M. Acuña

MANILA, Mar.15 (APD) – Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said personal remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) grew by 3.4 percent year-on-year in January and reached US$2.75 billion from US$2.66 billion.

In a statement released today, Governor Diokno said personal remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more rose to US$2.12 billion, 2.3 percent higher than US$2.07 billion noted in January 2018.  

Meanwhile, those from sea-based and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year rose by 12.6 percent to US$0.58 billion from US$0.52 billion.

Cash remittances from overseas Filipinos coursed through banks reached US$2.48 billion in January 2019, a 4.4 percent growth from US$2.38 billion last year.  This growth was in line with the increase in remittances from both land-based (US$1.95 billion) and sea-based (US$0.53 billion) workers, which rose by 2.3 and 12.7 percent, respectively.

The United States registered the highest share of overall remittances at 35.5 percent.  It was followed by Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Canada, Qatar, Hong Kong and Kuwait.  The combined remittances from these countries accounted for almost 78 percent of total cash remittances.  

It will be recalled the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has acknowledged personal remittances as a major driver of domestic consumption and last year, it accounted for 9.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.1 percent of the gross national income (GNI). 

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)