Tuesday, April 15, 2008
OFW remittances reach US$2.5 billion (2:57 p.m.)
MANILA -- Money sent home by millions of Filipinos working overseas rose nearly 16 percent from a year ago in February as more high-skilled workers left the country, the central bank said Tuesday.
The US$1.25 billion (euro793 million) brought remittances in the first two months of 2008 to US$2.5 billion (euro1.5 billion) -- 15.5 percent higher from the same period last year.
The central bank said it expects total remittances this year to rise by about 10 percent from US$14.45 billion (euro9.1 billion) in 2007.
Funds remitted by expatriates account for 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product, and have helped pushed the Philippine peso to an eight-year high against the US dollar early this year.
About eight million of the Philippines' population of 90 million works abroad. (AP) |
