BOP surplus expands to $1.6B in January

The country's balance of payments (BOP) surplus widened to $1.606 billion in January from $1.232 billion in December last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday. BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement that the increase in BOP surplus last month was due to the country's strong export earnings and robust remittances from Filipinos abroad. The BOP is the difference between the total exports and total imports. Having a BOP surplus means that more money is flowing into the Philippines than coming out. The country's BOP surplus surged to a new record level of $14.4 billion last year, from $6.42 billion posted in 2009. This year, the central bank expects that the Philippines will likely post a BOP surplus of $6 billion to $8 billion. National Statistics Office records show that exports rose 34 percent to $51.39 billion last year from $38.44 billion in 2009. More electronic products were shipped out of the country. The BSP, meanwhile, reported that Filipinos abroad sent home a total of $18.76 billion last year, an 8.2-percent increase from $17.35 billion in 2009. Demand for skilled Filipino workers continued to expand. Last year, growth in remittances — which accounted for about 10 percent of the country's total domestic output — exceeded the target of 8 percent set by monetary authorities. Major sources of remittances last year included the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Itala, Germany, and Norway, according to the central bank. — JE/OMG, GMA News