Remittances reach $11.3B in first half

PERSONAL remittances from overseas Filipinos went up by 5.3 percent to $11.3 billion during the first six months of the year compared to the same period in 2011, the central bank said on Wednesday.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said that for June alone, the money sent home by Filipinos abroad hit $2 billion, 4.2 percent higher from the level posted in the same month a year ago.

"The steady uptrend recorded during the six-month period was supported by higher personal remittances from land-based overseas Filipinos with work contracts of one year or more (by 2.7 percent), as well as sea-based workers and land-based workers with short-term contracts (by 13.7 percent)," he said.

Meanwhile, Tetangco said cash remittances coursed through banks totaled $10.1 billion in the first half of 2012, posting a year-on-year growth of 5.1 percent.

Of the total amount, fund transfers from land-based workers amounted to $7.8 billion and sea-based workers to $2.3 billion, increments of 2.8 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively.

Major sources of remittances during the first six months of the year were the United States (42.8 percent), Canada (9.6 percent), Saudi Arabia (7.6 percent), Japan (5.0 percent), the United Kingdom (4.8 percent), Singapore (4.2 percent), and the United Arab Emirates (4.1 percent). (SDR/Sunnex)