Bangko Sentral: BPO earnings, OF remittances kept PHL payments position in surplus

Combined earnings of the  business process outsourcing industry and remittances of overseas Filipinos totaled $21 billion last year, official data released on Friday showed. In a report on the full year balance of payments for 2011, the Bangko Sentral said the resilient incomes of these two dollar-earning sectors of the economy kept the payments position in surplus.   OF remittances were at $10.6 billion while BPO earnings were $10.4 billion.   Their foreign exchange growth offset the 6.9 percent decline in exports to $47.2 billion and made the country post a $10.2-billion payments position in 2011.   BSP data also showed a slight increase of $8 million in net travel services earnings to $794 million in 2011 from $786 million in 2010.   With the full-year figures now in, a revisiting of projections revealed last year is in progress, according to BSP officials.   Any revised forecast will be announced sometime in April. — ELR/VS, GMA News