iRemit's volumes rise on climbing remittances

MANILA, Philippines - I-Remit Inc. said its remittance volume for the first 10 months this year grew by nearly half, after money sent home by Filipinos abroad rose to their second-highest in October. Remittance volume rose 47 percent to $902 million for the January to October period, the Philippines’ largest Filipino-owned non-bank remittance service said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). iRemit's growth “continues to soar higher than the industry," company officials said, a day after the Philippines’ central bank disclosed that remittances from January to October climbed 15.5 percent to $13.7 billion. Despite above-average growth, officials conceded that the company is expecting modest growth owing to the global economic downturn. As part of its expansion, iRemit partnered with Philippine Retirement Authority for information dissemination and promotion of the PRA’s Retirement programs including the tax-free private pension scheme under the Personal Equity Retirement Account or PERA law. “This new partnership with the Philippine Retirement Authority underscores the strong commitment of iRemit to develop tangible strategies to address the needs of the overseas Filipinos in a challenging economic landscape," said Bansan Choa, chairman and chief executive officer of iRemit. The PRA developed certain programs to better attract “balikbayans" and foreign nationals to invest in the Philippines and to boost the retirement industry. Choa added that iRemit has manifested its willingness to disseminate information and to assist in promoting those programs in the countries where it is present. Jacildo added that the partnership with PRA is a tool to achieve the $1-billion mark goal for 2008. This month, iRemit recently opened its new branch in Perth, Australia. The company is currently present in 26 countries across the continents with over 600 international tie-ups and 4000 payout centers nationwide. - GMANews.TV