WorldRemit sees 'very healthy' remittances for PHL in 2019

Digital money transfer service WorldRemit sees a "very healthy" outlook for the growth of remittances in the Philippines for 2019, citing the expected increase in migration of Filipino workers.

"We do see a very healthy outlook for remittances in the Philippines," WorldRemit managing director for Asia Pacific said in an interview.

The positive outlook for remittances growth is due to the increased numbers of migration of Filipinos workers, according to Liu.

"I think we’re also seeing far more migration of the likes of skilled workers and white-collared workers, for example in the technology space and other services including financial ones," he said.

"I think we’re really seeing that in some of the more developed countries like the United States, Canada, UK, and Australia. So, I think it’s not only just seeing an increase in migration from the Philippines, but also seeing a broader range of occupations that overseas Filipinos are working at. I think that’s going to really drive the increase of remittances," he added.

In 2018, personal remittances, or the sum of transfers in cash or in kind, rose by 3 percent to $32.213 billion for whole of 2018 from $31.288 billion in 2017.

This is the highest annual level for personal remittances to date.

Personal remittances are a major driver of domestic consumption and, in 2018, it accounted for 9.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.1 percent of the gross national income (GNI).

The 2019, being an election year, is also seen not to affect remittances growth in the country.

"Things like elections and other temporary events we’ve had in the past, haven’t really impacted remittances because people still need to send money back home. People have family back home and people need to make money for education or healthcare or food and groceries," Liu said.

"The families need to be sent money. So it’s one of those transactions, I think, that really stands the test of any external events that occur. So, notwithstanding this election, we don’t really see any long-term impact on the number or quantity of remittances being sent back to the Philippines," he added. —KBK, GMA News