MONEY sent home by Filipinos working abroad hit a record $3.6 billion in December, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Thursday, bringing the full-year tally to an all-time high of $37.2 billion.
"The robust inward remittances reflected the rise in the deployment of OF (overseas Filipino) workers (OFWs) due to the continuous increase in demand for foreign workers in host countries," the central bank said in a statement.
The December result — up 3.9 percent from $3.5 billion a year earlier — was attributed to higher remittances from land-based workers with contracts of a year or more and sea- and land-based OFWs with contracts of less than a year.
The cumulative count for 2023, meanwhile, was 3.0 percent higher than 2022's $36.1 billion.
Full-year remittances were 8.5 percent and 7.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national income (GNI), respectively, the BSP said.
Of the total, cash remittances rose by 3.8 percent to $3.3 billion in December, up from $3.2 billion, while those for the full year hit $33.5 billion, 2.9 percent higher than 2022's $32.5 billion.
The cumulative growth in cash remittances was attributed to flows from the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The US, meanwhile, accounted for the biggest share (40.9 percent) of overall remittances for the year, followed by Singapore (7.1 percent), Saudi Arabia (6.1 percent) and Japan (5.0 percent).
Other countries that contributed to overall remittances were the United Kingdom (4.7 percent), the United Arab Emirates (4.3 percent), Canada (3.6 percent), Qatar (2.8 percent), Taiwan (2.7 percent) and Korea (2.5 percent).
The US accounts for the bulk as remittance centers in many cities abroad course the funds to correspondent banks that are mostly located in that country.
Sought for comment, ING Manila Bank senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said that remittances remained robust, helped along by steady worker deployment and the sustained expansion of host countries.
"We can expect the same robust pace of growth for remittances again this year as it delivers a healthy dose of foreign inflows while also supporting consumption via peso purchasing power," he added.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort, meanwhile, said the yearend surge was expected as OFWs send more money home during the Christmas and New Year holiday season.
"Further reopening of the economy towards greater normalcy also led to increased spending, with some pent-up demand or even some revenge spending by OFW families ...," he added.
"For the coming months, modest growth in OFW remittances could continue as OFW families still need to cope with relatively higher prices/inflation ..."
Union Bank of the Philippines chief economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion likewise expects remittance growth to stay steady this year but added that this could moderate next year.
"A lot of the prevailing environment last year is expected to persist this year, at least for the first half of 2024... higher for longer interest rates restricting economic activities everywhere in the world, thus affecting OFWs all over the world and the demand for foreign workers," he noted.
Read The Rest at :
