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UAE remains among top sources of OFW remittances in 2018

With the United Arab Emirates among the top sources, the total amount of personal remittances sent to the Philippines by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) reached $29.1 billion in the first 11 months of 2018, newly released data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) indicate.

The annual growth rate of 2.9 percent was slower compared to the 5.1 percent increase recorded in the same period in 2017, when the 11-month total hit $29.1 billion. Total remittances for the entire 2017 reached $31.3 billion, up by 5.3 percent from the previous year.

While the latest BSP report did not provide a breakdown of remittance numbers by country of origin, it did say mention the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as the top sources. The US usually tops the list because most remittance centers, including those in the Middle East, course the money payments through correspondent banks that are mostly located in the US.

Other countries in the list of top 10 sources of remittances included Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom, Qatar, Canada, Germany and Hong Kong. Together these 10 countries accounted for 79 percent of all remittances in the first 11 months.

As a source of growth for the overall economy, the sustained increase in the total amount of remittances in the January-November 2018 compared favorably with the decline in the country’s export revenues at $62.77 billion from the previous year’s $63.33 billion, as per Philippine Statistics Authority data.

Who sends home more cash?

The growth in remittances as of November 2018 was boosted by a 2.8 percent increase in money sent home by sea-based OFWs and by 4.0 percent from land-based workers.

Personal remittances, according to BSP, correspond to the sum of net compensation of employees, personal transfers (cash or in kind), and capital transfers between households including construction of residential buildings.

Where does OFW money go?

Dirhams to Peso

The slower growth in remittances could have been a factor in the decline in OFW households’ funds allocated for education, savings, purchase of appliances, investment and miscellaneous expenses for the fourth quarter of 2018, according to findings from a BSP’s survey of consumer expectations for the period.

Nearly 95 percent of OFW households polled disclosed that the remittances they received went mostly for the purchase of food and key household needs. Other big items on their budgets included medical expenses, debt payments, and purchase of houses.

It was during the survey period that most households in many parts of the country were experiencing the effects of the high inflation rate and a number of powerful typhoons.-BY PING GALANG

Staff Report

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