Inward remittances grow 4.3% in Q1 –BSP

Remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) posted a 4.3-percent increase in the first three months of the year on the back of the continued remittance inflows, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revealed on Monday.

“Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached $7.2 billion in the first quarter of 2016,” the central bank said in a statement.

“The steady increase in personal remittances was driven by the continued remittance inflows from land-based OF workers with work contracts of one year or more, amounting to $5.6 billion, and compensation of sea-based workers and land-based workers with short-term contracts, which reached $1.6 billion,” it added.

Cash remittances for the quarter also grew 4.4 percent to $6.6 billion – those from land-based workers grew 5.3 percent to $5.1 billion, while remittances from sea-based workers grew 1.5 percent to $1.4 billion.

In March alone, personal remittances rose 1.4 percent to $2.7 billion, while cash remittances grew 1.5 percent to $2.4 billion.

According to the BSP, the bulk of the remittances during the period came from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Japan, Qatar, and Kuwait.

“The steady demand for OF workers remained a key driver to the growth of remittance inflows,” it said.  —Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/KBK, GMA News