Remittances Keep Rising in Oct.; 10-month Total Higher at $22.8B – BSP
By: InterAksyon.com
MANILA – Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) reached US$2.5 billion in October 2015, bringing cumulative remittances for the period January–October 2015 to US$22.8 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Tuesday.
On a year-to-date basis, personal remittances increased by 3.5 percent, according to BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr.
Personal remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more rose by 3.9 percent; those from sea-based and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year grew by 3 percent.
Meanwhile, cash remittances from OFs coursed through banks amounted to US$2.2 billion in October 2015. On a cumulative basis, cash remittances for the ten-month period totaled US$20.6 billion, higher by 3.7 percent than the level registered in the same period last year.
Cash remittances from land-based and sea-based workers grew by 3.9 percent (to US$15.8 billion) and 2.9 percent (to US$4.8 billion), respectively.
Eight labor-hosting territories accounted for four-fifths of the remittances coursed through banks. These are the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and Hong Kong. Combined remittances from these countries accounted for more than 79 percent of total cash remittances that were reported by banks.
The BSP report said remittance inflows were supported by the steady deployment of skilled manpower, as well as the continued efforts of banks and non-bank remittance service providers to expand their international and domestic market coverage through tie-ups abroad, as well as the introduction of innovations in their remittance products.
Preliminary reports from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) indicated that for the period January–October 2015, total job orders reached 717,182, of which 44.1 percent have been processed. These job orders were intended mainly for service, production, and professional, technical and related workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Taiwan and Hong Kong.