OFW remittances to flow in despite US slowdown
MANILA, Philippines - The US economic downturn should not raise fears that the country will see less remittance inflows as more Filipinos are also seeking opportunities in other regions where growth remains intact, the Philippine Equity Partners, Inc. (PEP) said in a research note released Tuesday.
PEP said the US economic slump appeared not to have an impact on the remittance inflows to the country.
The US economy, although fraught with subprime mortgage crisis problems that eventually resulted in banks’ hesitance to lend funds and growing unemployment rate, still managed to grow beyond expectations.
"The sustained growth in remittance should ease fears that slowing economic growth in the US may impact the remittance flow," PEP said.
Recent data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that money coursed through banks by Filipinos living and working abroad grew by 17% year-on-year to $8.2 billion in the first half, compared to $7.03 billion in the same period last year.
The PEP also said that while about half of remittances originated from Filipinos based in the US, a significant sum of remittances also came from other regions.
Remittances from Filipinos working in the Pacific islands grew by 23.4% to $73.48 million in July, while those from other Asian economies grew by 15.4% to $890.2 million.
Remittances from Europe, which was pegged at $1.4 billion, grew by 13.7%, while those from oil-rich countries in the Middle East grew by 4.94% to $1.2 billion.
Central bank officials said remittance receipts could grow by more than 10% from last year’s $15.4 billion, owing to the growing number of Filipinos working abroad.
Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed that deployments reached 640,401 as of the first half, 33.5% more than the 479,725 recorded in the same period last year. — Gerard S. dela Peña, BusinessWorld
PEP said the US economic slump appeared not to have an impact on the remittance inflows to the country.
The US economy, although fraught with subprime mortgage crisis problems that eventually resulted in banks’ hesitance to lend funds and growing unemployment rate, still managed to grow beyond expectations.
"The sustained growth in remittance should ease fears that slowing economic growth in the US may impact the remittance flow," PEP said.
Recent data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that money coursed through banks by Filipinos living and working abroad grew by 17% year-on-year to $8.2 billion in the first half, compared to $7.03 billion in the same period last year.
The PEP also said that while about half of remittances originated from Filipinos based in the US, a significant sum of remittances also came from other regions.
Remittances from Filipinos working in the Pacific islands grew by 23.4% to $73.48 million in July, while those from other Asian economies grew by 15.4% to $890.2 million.
Remittances from Europe, which was pegged at $1.4 billion, grew by 13.7%, while those from oil-rich countries in the Middle East grew by 4.94% to $1.2 billion.
Central bank officials said remittance receipts could grow by more than 10% from last year’s $15.4 billion, owing to the growing number of Filipinos working abroad.
Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed that deployments reached 640,401 as of the first half, 33.5% more than the 479,725 recorded in the same period last year. — Gerard S. dela Peña, BusinessWorld
Comments