APD | Remittances of the Philippines hits US$26.5 billion for first ten months

By APD writer Melo M. Acuna

MANILA, Dec.17(APD) – Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) from January to October this year reached US$26.5 billion which showed an increase of 2.9 percent year-on-year growth.

In a statement released by the Bangko Sentralng Pilipinas (BSP), for October alone, personal remittances amounted to US$2.8 billion which is higher by 8.0 percent from US$ 2.6 billion a year ago.

According to BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr., personal remittances from land-based Overseas Filipinos with work contracts of one year or more posted an increase of 2.8 percent or US$20.3 billion which those sea-based and land-based OFs with work contracts of less than a year increased by 4.2 percent (at US$5.5 billion) for January to October 2018.

In a statement released Monday afternoon, for the first ten months of 2018 resulted to cash remittances amounting to US$23.8 billion, or a 3.1 percent increase compared to the US$23.1 billion registered in the same period in 2017. In October 2018, cash remittances from OFs coursed through banks grew by 8.7 percent year-on-year to US$ 2.5 billion.

It was learned the top countries that contributed to the increase were the United States (US), Canada, and Taiwan. Cash remittances from both land-based (US$18.7 billion) increased by 2.8 percent and sea-based (US$5.0 billion) grew by 4.2 percent year-on-year.

About 79 percent of the total cash remittances for the first ten months of 2018 came from the United States of America, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom, Qatar, Canada, Germany and Hong Kong.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)