OFWs’ personal remittances exceed 4% growth projection —BSP

Personal remittances from overseas Filipino workers exceeded growth projection, with the December 2015 remittances hitting the $2.7-billion mark, representing a 4.9 percent growth year-on-year.

Full-year personal remittances in 2015 reached $28.5 billion, higher by 4.4 percent compared to the 2014 record.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, last December's remittance was the highest monthly level recorded so far.

BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. said the 2015 figures exceed the BSP’s projection of 4 percent.

Remittances from Land-based OFWs (those with work contracts of one year or more remittances) grew by 4.4 percent, while remittances from sea-based workers with contracts of less that one year grew by 5.3 percent.

The remittances represented 9.8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.1 percent of the gross national income (GNI).

Also, the remittances coursed through banks registered a record high of $2.5 billion or a 4.9 percent rise year-on-year in December 2015.

Full-year cash remittances totaled $25.8 billion, or 4.6 percent higher than the $24.6 billion recorded in the same period in 2014.

The continued deployment of skilled OF workers remained a key factor to the growth in remittance inflows, the BSP said.

Some 1.8 million overseas Filipino workers were deployed in 2015.  —LBG, GMA News