Remittance growth still at record pace

Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) grew at its highest in 13 months last November, with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) tracing the rise to the continued deployment of skilled workers and efforts by migrants to help relatives affected by devastating storms. The BSP, in a statement issued on Friday, said remittances coursed through banks in grew by 11.3% during the month to $1.5 billion, the fastest expansion since September 2008’s 16.9% "The continued deployment of skilled workers abroad has remained the driving force behind the steady stream of remittance flows ... The higher transfer of funds could also be partly attributed to the strong support of OFWs to rebuilding efforts of families and relatives whose properties were affected by a series of typhoons in September and October 2009," it said. Remittance inflows for 11 months totalled reached $15.8 billion, up by 5.1% from the $15.02 billion recorded in the same period in 2008. The central bank has projected remittances to grow by 4% to a record $17.1 billion in 2009, and climb by 6% this year. For the 11-month period, the major remittance sources were the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and Germany. The Bangko Sentral added that the expansion of transfer facilities had helped capture a larger share of the remittance market. "The enhancement of commercial banks’ operations overseas and the introduction of new products and services have contributed in addressing the banking needs of overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries," it said, adding that commercial banks’ overseas branches and tie-ups with remittance centers and partner lenders abroad had reached 4,153 as of September 2009 from 3,015 in December 2008. The BSP also said the displacement of OFWs had slowed down due to the government’s efforts to help them find alternative jobs in emerging markets. It added the prospects of OFW deployment were sound as work opportunities were still available abroad, citing a Labor department report which stated that in the next five to 10 years there would be employment opportunities in the healthcare, building and construction and education sectors overseas. - BusinessWorld