- February 16, 2021
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Daily News
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- Remittances shrank by just less than 1% in 2020 despite the displacement of close to half a million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) due to the global health crisis, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
- BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said personal remittances slipped by 0.8%, while cash remittances coursed through banks also contracted by 0.8% in 2020.
- This was way lower than the revised projection of a 2% contraction for 2020, but still ended 19 consecutive years of growth since 2001.
- He said personal remittances reached USD33.19bn in 2020 or USD273mn lower than the record level of USD33.47bn in 2019.
- The BSP chief pointed out that personal remittances accounted for 9.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.5% of gross national income (GNI) in 2020.
- Data showed the US still accounted for the biggest share at 39.9%, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, UK, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Hong Kong and South Korea.
- “These countries accounted for 78.6% of the total cash remittances,” Diokno said.
- For the month of Dec 20 alone, personal remittances declined by 0.3% y/y in Dec 20, while cash remittances slipped by 0.4% y/y.
- Despite the decline, both personal and cash remittances still booked its highest level since Dec 19.
- The BSP sees OFW remittances bouncing back with a 4% growth in 2021.
External Link : https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/02/16/2077966/remittances-resilient-shrink-just-below-1
16-Feb-2021