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Friday, March 29, 2024

Remittances climbed 2.9% to $15.35b in first 6 months

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Remittances grew 2.9 percent in the first half to $15.347 billion from $14.918 billion a year ago, on sustained demand for Filipino workers overseas, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday.

The BSP said cash remittances coursed through banks in June reached $2.8 billion, up 4.4 percent from $2.6 billion posted in the same month last year.

“The expansion in cash remittances in June 2022 was due to the growth in receipts from land-based and sea-based workers,” the BSP said in a statement.

It said the growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Qatar and Singapore contributed largely to the increase in remittances in the first half.

Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, also rose 4.4 percent year-on-year to $3.1 billion in June from $2.9 billion a year earlier. The figures brought total personal remittances to $17.1 billion in the first half, up 2.8 percent from $16.6 billion in the same period last year.

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“The increase in personal remittances in June 2022 was due to remittances sent by land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year,” the BSP said.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort earlier said remittances to the Philippines were consistently the fourth largest in the world after those going to India, China and Mexico. These remittances were a source of resilience despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ricafort said the Philippines was among the biggest suppliers of nurses around the world, accounting for at least 20 percent of the total. The Philippines is also the main supplier of seafarers worldwide, accounting for about 20 percent to 25 percent of the global tally.

He said that over the years, the deployment of OFWs has diversified to include more countries worldwide, especially those outside the traditionally biggest host countries.

Cash remittances hit a record $31.418 billion in 2021, up 5.1 percent from $29.903 billion in 2020. The 5.1-percent expansion missed the 6-percent growth target for the year but was a significant improvement from the 0.8-percent contraction in 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

Remittances were equivalent to roughly 8 to 9 percent of nominal gross domestic product in the Philippines. They were also equivalent to about 32 percent to 37 percent of income from exports of goods and services, and 26 percent to 37 percent of gross international reserves.

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