Bangko Sentral: Remittances reach $1.867B in May, up 5.3% y-o-y

Cash remittances posted gains above government's goal in May, largely driven by robust demand for Filipino workers overseas, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday. 

 

Money sent home by Filipinos working and living abroad and coursed through banks grew at annual rate of 5.3 percent to $1.867 billion in May, the central bank said in a statement.

 

Although faster than the 5.1 percent in May 2012, the growth in May is slower than the 6.1 percent recorded a month earlier. 

 

Money transfers in the first five months totaled $8.783 billion, up 5.7 percent year-on-year and above the 5-percent forecast by the central bank for the year. 

 

The United States, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Canada and Japan were the main sources of cash remittances in January to May. 

 

Personal remittances—which include cash transfers made through banks and hand-carry transfers both in cash and in kind—hit $2.068 billion in May, up 6.2 percent year-on-year, central bank data showed. 

 

For the first five months, personal remittances amounted to $9.72 billion, an improvement of 6.4 percent.

 

“Remittances remained robust due to sustained demand for skilled Filipino manpower overseas,” the Bangko Sentral said. 

 

It cited a Philippine Overseas Employment Administration report showing that a third of the 431,384 job orders from January to June were already processed. 

 

Expanded operations of money transfer providers across the globe were also seen to have helped  capture a broader base of remittances through formal channels, the central bank said. 

 

“[E]fforts of bank and non-bank remittance service providers to expand their international and domestic coverage have also supported the inflow of remittances,” it noted. 

 

Overseas cash remittances hit a record $21.391 billion last year, up 6.3 percent from $20.117 billion in 2011. — Siegfrid Alegado/VS, GMA News