OFW inflows up 3% to $1.749 B in March

MANILA, Philippines - Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) went up three percent to $1.749 billion in March from $1.69 billion a year ago, recording the slowest expansion since August 2009 when remittances grew 2.8 percent, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

For the first three months of the year, dollar remittances rose 5.6 percent to $5.112 billion, still  above the BSP’s  five-percent growth outlook for 2013.

The BSP expects cash remittances from Filipinos abroad to grow five percent this year. Cash remittances in 2012 reached $21.39 billion, up 6.3 percent from a year earlier. 

Remittances – which have been boosting the country’s capacity to settle foreign debts – have been recording a slower growth since January when expansion went down to eight percent from 9.7 percent a month ago. It grew six percent in February.

A separate gauge called “personal remittances” – which represent the sum of net compensation, household-to-household transfers in cash and kind, and capital transfers of overseas Filipino workers- rose by a faster 3.7 percent in March to $1.93 billion.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. attributed the remittance growth to the  continued deployment of  Filipino  workers abroad as well as banks’ expanding presence overseas.

 â€œRemittances remained strong partly on account of sustained demand for skilled Filipino workers,” Tetangco said, adding that “the   expanding operations of remittance service providers across the globe are also expected to allow a broader capture of remittances through formal channels.” 

From January to March, land-based workers repatriated a total of $3.9 billion, while seafarers sent home $1.2 billion, the central bank said.

The figures represented annual growth rates of 6.1 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

The United States remained as the country’s biggest source of dollar remittances, accounting for 42.6 percent of the total. It was followed by Canada (8.2 percent), Saudi Arabia (7.9 percent), the United Kingdom (5.7 percent), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (4.5 percent), Singapore (4.2 percent) and Japan (3.7 percent).

Remittances are expected to grow in the months ahead, Tetangco said, on the back of “continued efforts by the government to promote the welfare of the OFWs.”

A total of 292,483 job orders have been approved for deployment from January to April this year, according to data from the Philippine Overseas Welfare Administration. Job Orders are largely for Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Hong Kong and Kuwait.

In addition, banks have been stepping up the establishment of offices and tie-ups abroad.

For the first quarter, the central bank said a total of 4,750 branches and offices were recorded, up from 4,732 a year ago.

Remittances form part of the country’s balance of payments (BOP), which gauges the country’s capacity to settle external debts and meet trade obligations.

The country’s BOP has been on a surplus since 2005, indicating more than enough resources to pay foreign liabilities.