By: Des Ferriols/philstar.com
MANILA, Philippines - Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in May were higher than central bank expectations, with the monthly inflows reaching a new record high at $1.48 billion as more Filipinos sought jobs abroad.
The record inflows in May brought the cumulative remittances for the first five months of the year to $6.98 billion, representing a 2.8-percent increase from the level recorded in the same period last year.
OFW remittances are the most closely-watched economic data since these finance private spending which has become the most critical economic growth driver.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday that OFW remittances coursed through banks grew year-on-year by 3.7 percent in May 2009, higher than the two- to three-percent growth projected earlier.
Before May, the second highest level of remittances was $1.47 billion, registered in March 2009.
BSP data showed that remittances from both sea-based and land-based workers posted gains of 4.6 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
“The stream of remittances from overseas Filipinos continued to show signs of strength despite lingering global economic fragilities,” said BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. He said this provided some basis for “cautious optimism” regarding steady remittance levels for 2009.
Tetangco said remittance flows continued to be underpinned by the steady demand for Filipino workers abroad, specifically professional and skilled workers, as well as the expanded access of overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries to a wide range of financial products and services offered by banks and other financial institutions.
According to Tetangco, the demand for Filipino workers is expected to continue as a result of hiring agreements forged between the Philippines and some host countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia and Japan.
Labor export has been a cause for embarrassment for past administrations but the Arroyo administration has made a policy of aggressive marketing of Filipino workers whose earnings boost the country’s dollar reserves.
Earlier, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported that the Philippine government entered into a bilateral agreement with South Korea on the employment of Filipino workers.
A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment and its South Korean counterpart in May 2009 aimed at hiring up to 5,000 Filipino workers in the South Korean manufacturing industry and other sectors within the next 10 months.
The DOLE also said it has started talks with the Libyan health ministry for the recruitment of about 4,000 Filipino medical workers in Libya.
Moreover, the BSP said the Arroyo administration is intensifying efforts to assist retrenched overseas workers by finding new jobs for them abroad.
For the period January-May 2009, the BSP said the major sources of remittances were the U.S., Canada, Saudi Arabia, U.K., Japan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Italy, and Germany.
With remittances showing unexpected resiliency, Tetangco expressed optimism that consumer spending would recover in the coming quarters as consumers have indicated their intention to spend despite the overall pessimism about the economy.
Tetangco said the results of the recent Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) were encouraging in that consumers indicated their intention to spend on what were considered big-ticket items such as housing, motor vehicles and appliances.
He pointed out that based on the first quarter National Income Accounts, the breakdown in the gross domestic product (GDP) reflected that consumers had already raised what he considered “precautionary savings.”
Tetangco said this behavior was understandable since consumers saw the worst in terms of volatility and uncertainty in global economies and financial markets in the last quarter of 2008.
In reaction, consumers opted to put away their cash rather than spend while bracing for the full impact of the global slowdown that was expected to displace workers and lower household incomes.
“However, as more signs of a slowing of the contraction in global economies are seen, the public’s confidence is expected to rise and, therefore, precautionary savings would fall,” Tetangco pointed out.
Paano na lang kung walang OFWs na nagpapadala ng remittance sa Pilipinas? Siguro matagal na tayo lumubog! Mabuhay ang mga OFWs! Ipinagbubunyi namin kayo.
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Showing posts with label Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Show all posts
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Monday, 6 July 2009
OFW inflows from US down 10% in January-April
Philstar.com - Tuesday, June 23
Got this from Yahoo News. This might interest our OFW friends out there. Read on....
MANILA, Philippines – Remittances from the US declined by 10 percent in the first four months of this year and if this continues for the rest of the year, total remittances could post the first decline since the country started sending workers abroad.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that from January to April, remittances from the US reached only $2.286 billion, accounting for nearly half of the $5.498-billion total remittances for the period this year.
BSP data indicated that the four-month level was 10.43 percent lower than the $2.552-billion level posted over the same period in 2008, with the largest decline recorded in sea-based remittances which dropped by 16.15 percent.
Out of the total remittances coming from the US, inflows from sea-based workers accounted for $635.83 million while land-based workers accounted for $1.917 billion.
The BSP has been careful about breaking down remittances that come from the US since these also include inflows that only pass through the US financial system but do not actually originate from US-located Filipinos.
A clearer indicator, according to the BSP data, were remittances that came from land-based workers which presumably represented workers located in the US as well as immigrants.
Nevertheless, inflows from both sources showed a decline in the first four months, indicating that if the trend continued for the remainder of the year, total remittances could decline as expected by analysts and private think tanks except the BSP.
Remittances from Filipinos in Canada, on the other hand, surged by 64.69 percent to $567.243 million during the first four months of this year from $344.434 million a year ago.
On the other hand, remittances from workers located elsewhere in Asia showed significant resilience except for Hong Kong and Taiwan where remittances shrank during the period.
Total remittances from overseas Filipinos in Asia went up 14.31 percent from $604.1 million last year to $690.57 million despite the 22.45 percent decline in remittances from Hong Kong-based workers.
BSP data showed that workers in Hong Kong sent home $114.479 million this year compared with $147.6 million sent last year because the 25.52-percent decline in inflows from land-based workers wiped out the 18 percent increase in inflows from sea-based workers.
However, BSP data showed that remittances from Japan-based workers increased by 53.37 percent from $164.155 million last year to $251.761 million this year mostly because of the significant expansion in remittances from land-based workers.
Workers from Singapore, whose remittances also represented a significant portion of total remittances, sent home 30.56 percent more during the four months period to $217.226 million from $166.383 million.
Although the slowdown was significant, data also showed that remittances from other areas like Europe and the Middle East still increased but inflows from the US offset these increases.
Remittances from Europe increased by 4.21 percent, mostly from sea-based workers whose remittances increased by 30.5 percent, off-setting the 6.43 percent decline in remittances from land-based workers. - By Des Ferriols (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)
Got this from Yahoo News. This might interest our OFW friends out there. Read on....
MANILA, Philippines – Remittances from the US declined by 10 percent in the first four months of this year and if this continues for the rest of the year, total remittances could post the first decline since the country started sending workers abroad.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that from January to April, remittances from the US reached only $2.286 billion, accounting for nearly half of the $5.498-billion total remittances for the period this year.
BSP data indicated that the four-month level was 10.43 percent lower than the $2.552-billion level posted over the same period in 2008, with the largest decline recorded in sea-based remittances which dropped by 16.15 percent.
Out of the total remittances coming from the US, inflows from sea-based workers accounted for $635.83 million while land-based workers accounted for $1.917 billion.
The BSP has been careful about breaking down remittances that come from the US since these also include inflows that only pass through the US financial system but do not actually originate from US-located Filipinos.
A clearer indicator, according to the BSP data, were remittances that came from land-based workers which presumably represented workers located in the US as well as immigrants.
Nevertheless, inflows from both sources showed a decline in the first four months, indicating that if the trend continued for the remainder of the year, total remittances could decline as expected by analysts and private think tanks except the BSP.
Remittances from Filipinos in Canada, on the other hand, surged by 64.69 percent to $567.243 million during the first four months of this year from $344.434 million a year ago.
On the other hand, remittances from workers located elsewhere in Asia showed significant resilience except for Hong Kong and Taiwan where remittances shrank during the period.
Total remittances from overseas Filipinos in Asia went up 14.31 percent from $604.1 million last year to $690.57 million despite the 22.45 percent decline in remittances from Hong Kong-based workers.
BSP data showed that workers in Hong Kong sent home $114.479 million this year compared with $147.6 million sent last year because the 25.52-percent decline in inflows from land-based workers wiped out the 18 percent increase in inflows from sea-based workers.
However, BSP data showed that remittances from Japan-based workers increased by 53.37 percent from $164.155 million last year to $251.761 million this year mostly because of the significant expansion in remittances from land-based workers.
Workers from Singapore, whose remittances also represented a significant portion of total remittances, sent home 30.56 percent more during the four months period to $217.226 million from $166.383 million.
Although the slowdown was significant, data also showed that remittances from other areas like Europe and the Middle East still increased but inflows from the US offset these increases.
Remittances from Europe increased by 4.21 percent, mostly from sea-based workers whose remittances increased by 30.5 percent, off-setting the 6.43 percent decline in remittances from land-based workers. - By Des Ferriols (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)
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