15 - OFW remittances increase by 15 percent

With the number of highly skilled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) deployed continue to grow, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is projecting their remittances to reach to nearly US$ 15 billion or US$ 14.7 billion by end of December.

This, after remittances course through banks culled by the BSP showed an increase of 15.3 percent level or reaching US$ 9.3 billion in the first eight months of 2007.

In a statement, the BSP said that for the month of August alone, remittances already reached US$ 1.2 billion.

"This marked the sixteenth straight month that inflows were above US$ 1 billion.The cumulative remittance level grew by 15.3 percent compared to the level posted in the comparable period a year ago," the BSP statement said.

BSP attributed the growth in the remittances of OFWs to the "demographic trends in advanced economies, geographical and skill diversification of Filipinos abroad, and the efforts of banks and remittance agents to provide OFWs, including their beneficiaries, enhanced money transfer services and easier access to financial products through the expansion in the number of remittance centers abroad and tie-ups with foreign financial institutions."

Moreover, the Central Bank noted that banks continue to facilitate faster, cheaper and more efficient fund transfer services as well as plans to convert remittance centers into banks offering expanded services next year.

"These developments are expected to further encourage remittance flows into the banking system and support high levels of remittances in the medium term," it added.

The bulk of remittances were recorded in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Citing the records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the BSP said that despite the drop in the deployment of OFWs, remittance sent home by OFWs continue to rise.

Deployment of Filipino workers from January to August 2007 declined by 3.7 percent to 726,620 relative to the level in the same period a year ago.

-http://ofw.balita.ph

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