Overseas Filipino remittances hit nine-month high in Sept. – Bangko Sentral

Money sent home by Filipinos who live and work overseas registered the highest in nine months in September, driven by sustained deployment of workers abroad and expansion of cash transfer services offered, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported Friday. 

 

Cash remittances – money sent through banks and transfer agents – grew at annual rate of 5.3 percent to $1.935 billion in September, preliminary central bank data showed. 

 

The amount was the highest compared with $1.975 billion registered in December 2012.  

 

"Remittances were driven mainly by the steady demand for skilled and professional manpower," Bangko Sentral noted in a statement. 

 

Total cash transfers grew by 5.8 percent to $16.48 billion in the first nine months of the year, still above the Bangko Sentral forecast of 5 percent for 2013.

 

According to preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, approved orders services, production and technical jobs in the January to September period rose 38.3 percent annually. 

 

The central also said that "continued expansion of the coverage of bank and non-bank service providers in foreign countries through tie-ups and establishment of remittance centers abroad has contributed to the capture of a larger share of remittances."

 

Overseas cash remittances hit a record $21.391 billion last year, up 6.3 percent from the $20.117 billion in 2011. 

 

Meanwhile, personal remittances – which include transfers in cash and in kind through banks and hand-carried deliveries – hit $2.136 billion in September, up 6.8 percent year-on-year.

 

Personal remittances in January to September grew by 6.6 percent to $18.17 billion. – VS, GMA News