The Philippines: Remittances at 3-month low postpone crucial return to growth

  • Cash remittances from overseas Filipinos exacerbated their drop m/m in Jan 21, a shaky start for one of the economy’s brightest performers at the height of pandemic.
  • Cash remittances sent through banks shrank 1.7% y/y in Jan 21, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on 15 Mar 21 showed. The decline was faster than Dec 20’s 0.4%, while the total amount remitted was the lowest in 3 months.
  • Similarly, personal remittances, which include hand-carry remittances of those coming home as well as those made in kind, contracted by the same magnitude.
  • Cash remittances from land-based workers slowed down by 2.4% in Jan 21, while inflows from seafarers grew went up a smaller 1% y/y.
  • By source, the US remains biggest contributor to total remittances with 40.9% share, partly because Filipinos elsewhere uses US banks to send their money back. America was followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the UK, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia and Taiwan.
  • That remittances fell for the first month of 2021 means they have bigger ground to recover if they are to meet BSP’s expectation of a 4% y/y uptick in 2021.
  • On an optimistic note, Saudi Arabia has announced that it is abolishing the kafala sponsorship system, giving all foreign workers, especially overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the freedom to enter and exit the country without seeking an employer’s permission.

External Link : https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/03/15/2084359/saudi-arabia-abolishes-kafala-enables-ofws-job-mobility

External Link : https://www.philstar.com/business/2021/03/15/2084463/remittances-3-month-low-postpone-crucial-return-growth

15-Mar-2021