Remittances climb to $23.8B in 2012

MANILA -- Personal remittances from abroad surged to $23.8 billion in 2012 driven by higher personal transfers from land- and sea-based overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs), the central bank said Friday.

Last year's remittances were 6.4 percent higher compared to the level recorded in the same period in 2011, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said.

For December last year alone, personal remittances expanded by 9.7 percent year-on-year to $2.2 billion, the highest monthly growth registered in 2012, he said.

"Growth in remittances was driven by higher personal transfers from land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with work contracts of one year or more (by 13.3 percent), as well as sea-based workers and land-based workers with short-term contracts (by 11.6 percent)," he said.

Meanwhile, cash remittances from overseas Filipinos coursed through banks reached US$21.4 billion for the full year 2012, posting an annual growth of 6.3 percent and exceeding the BSP’s full-year growth projection of 5 percent, Tetangco said.

Remittances from both sea-based workers reached$4.8 billion and land-based workers, $16.6 billion. They grew by 11.4 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively.

The top sources of remittances were the United States (42.6 percent of total cash remittances), Canada (9.2 percent), Saudi Arabia (8.1 percent), the United Kingdom (5 percent), Japan (4.7 percent), the United Arab Emirates (4.5 percent), and Singapore (4.1 percent). (SDR/Sunnex)