RemittancesGateway.org

Philippines: Remittances hit a record $1.7b in June

Wednesday, 17 August 2011 12:36

Source: Manila Standard Today
By: Roderick T. dela Cruz

The money sent home by Filipinos reached a record in June, when they remitted $1.73 billion or 7 percent more than they sent home last year despite the global crises, including the Arab unrest and the European debt problem, the Bangko Sentral said Monday.

That amount was also higher than the $1.68 billion that the remitters sent home through the banks in May, and it brought the total amount remitted in the year to June to $9.63 billion, a 6.3-percent improvement from the $9.06 billion sent home a year ago.

“The sustained demand abroad for Filipino workers as well as the diversity of their skills and destinations have contributed to the resilience of the remittance flows...” central bank Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. Said.

The Bangko Sentral is looking at a 7-percent increase in the total remittances this year—to over $20 billion—compared with last year’s $18.76-billion total. Remittances account for more than a 10th of the Philippines’ economic output.

The central bank released the remittance data before the news that debt watcher Standard & Poor’s downgraded by a notch the triple-A rating of US debt.

Trinh Nguyen, an economist at the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp., said a global economic slowdown would affect growth in the Philippines.

Bankers Association of the Philippines president Aurelio Montinola III said the high unemployment problem in the United States, Europe and the Middle East could hurt remittances to the Philippines.

Saudi Arabia has announced it will be hiring more local workers instead of foreigners to reduce its unemployment rate.