$21.391 B for 2012: OFW inflows hit new high

MANILA, Philippines - Remittances from Filipinos living and working overseas grew faster than expected in 2012, reaching a new record high of $21.391 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

Last year’s tally   represented a growth rate of  6.3 percent from a year ago, surpassing the central bank’s five-percent growth target. It also accounted for 8.5 percent of the country’s total economic output for 2012.

For December alone, a new monthly record of $1.975 billion was also recorded, an improvement of nearly a tenth from the previous year’s level.

Personal remittances – the cash and non-cash items or goods sent by overseas Filipinos through formal and informal channels –  expanded by 9.7 percent year-on-year to a new record of $23.784 billion.

For 2013, money sent home by Filipinos abroad could grow by five percent, according to latest central bank projections.

OFW inflows… From B-1

“The resilience of overseas Filipino remittances continues to support the country’s economic growth and development,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement.

Continued deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as well as expansion of bank network services boosted remittances inflows last year, he explained.

A total of 1.737 million OFWs are awaiting deployment for the first 10 months of last year, preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showed. This reflected an 8.6-percent growth year-on-year.

As for banks’ network expansion, the central bank said the number of tie-ups among commercial banks and remittance centers increased to 4,750 last year. In 2011, such partnerships only numbered to 4,723.

Sought for comment, DBS economist Eugene Leow said the higher-than-expected remittance reflected “stabilization and pick-up in major economies” where most OFWs are based.

The US remained the top source of remittances, BSP data showed, cornering 42.6 percent of the total. It was followed by Canada (9.2 percent), Saudi Arabia (8.1 percent), United Kingdom (five percent), Japan (4.7 percent), United Arab Emirates (4.5 percent and Singapore (4.1 percent).

The bulk of remittances were sent by land-based workers, who remitted an aggregate amount of $16.6 billion, against seafarers’ $4.8 billion, central bank figures also showed.

“The large amount of remittance has also helped to bolster peso strength,” Leow said in an e-mail.

The peso was Asia’s second best performing currency against the greenback last year, per BSP data. It has appreciated by 6.8 percent against the dollar, trimming the value of export earnings and remittances when repatriated back home.

“Remittance growth should hover around six- to seven-percent for 2013 as global economic momentum gains traction,” Leow said.