Foreign transfers seen staying strong

Economists, citing data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, mentioned that personal remittances from overseas Filipinos grew by 5.8 percent to $2.93 billion in November 2022 from $2.77 billion recorded in the same month last year

Several private sector economists on Monday said that the increase in personal remittances from overseas Filipinos as of November 2022 would likely remain positive and would support faster economic growth in the Philippines amid the global slowdown.

Economists, citing data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, mentioned that personal remittances from overseas Filipinos grew by 5.8 percent to $2.93 billion in November 2022 from $2.77 billion recorded in the same month last year.

BSP attributed the increase in personal remittances in November 2022 to higher remittances sent by land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and sea- and land-based workers with less than one year.

In a Viber message, China Bank chief economist Domini Velasquez said the growth of remittance in the country would continue since the country had its first face-to-face holiday celebrations and full face-to-face classes in November.

Sentiments buoyed

She added that “improving sentiments” in sending countries, such as the United States and Asia, will help support growth.

“Also, often, we see remittances increase when conditions in the home country (Philippines) decline. For example, overseas Filipinos likely sent more money to help alleviate inflationary pressures,” Velasquez said.

“In December also, we saw an increase in OF arrivals which can prompt higher spending in anticipation of the holidays,” she added.

Meanwhile, ING Bank Manila’s senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said in a separate Viber message that the overseas Filipinos “tend to compensate for challenges onshore.”

“With inflation hitting multi-year highs, we could see remittances show decent growth despite concerns about a global slowdown,” he added.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort also mentioned that the recent year-on-year growth in overseas Filipino remittances might also reflect a faster economic recovery in several major host countries for overseas Filipino workers worldwide.

“OFW remittances are still near record highs monthly, a bright spot for the Philippine economy in terms of supporting consumer spending, which accounts for at least 73 percent of the economy, and in turn, support faster GDP/economic growth,” Ricafort said.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF ASIF HASSAN/A17CAP PAKISTANI checks foreign currency rates displayed on a monitor at a money exchange market in Karachi. The usually bustling ports of his country have ground to a halt, factories shut down, and tens of thousands of workers laid off as the country grapples with the worst forex crisis in its history.